Terry MacKillop has investigated cases of wolf-dog ownership across the state for over a decade, but said he's never seen conditions as dire as on a farm in Missaukee County.
MacKillop, director of Roscommon County Animal Control, was among animal control officers from five counties who, under a court order, descended upon a farm in rural Missaukee County Wednesday to confiscate 40 wolf-dog crosses.
"I've seen this many animals-plus, in other areas, but I've not seen these conditions," MacKillop said. "If it wouldn't have been a wolf-dog case, it could have been a cruelty case."
Missaukee County authorities sought and won a court order to have the animals removed from a 20-acre property owned by Josephine Tibbits and her husband after a woman who helped care for the animals was bitten and severely injured in December.
Forty of the roughly 70 animals that lived in pens in a barn, in outdoor cages, behind a fence or on chains on the property were determined to be part wolf by a retired Department of Natural Resources expert. Animal control officers sedated many of the 40 wolf-dogs before they were removed.
"These are animals that are caught between two worlds; it's a wild animal that's been bred with a domestic animal," MacKillop said. "You don't know what triggers the wolf mechanism, even if you raised them as pups."
Twenty-three of the animals were placed in animal shelters and await transfer if certified sanctuaries can be found. The rest were killed, MacKillop said.
Around 30 dogs remain on Tibbits property that were determined to be ordinary dogs. As for those, MacKillop said Tibbits must apply for a kennel license.
Sheriff James Bosscher said the case illustrates why Missaukee County needs its own animal control officer and shelter.
Bosscher said the county is ill-equipped to handle animal complaints because it hasn't had an animal control officer for 15 years - or a place to put animals.
"It's something that's desperately needed in Missaukee County," Bosscher said. "I dislike very much being put in the middle of these animal complaints."
Animal control officers from Roscommon, Osceola, Wexford, Ogemaw and Gladwin counties took part along with the Michigan Department of Agriculture, the Michigan Humane Society and a wildlife refuge in Muskegon. References« Back to Search Results
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