Rhode Island shelter finds home for wolf-hybrid in Vermont

SHELDON, Vt. (WCAX) - A wolf-hybrid dog is settling into his new home in Vermont -- which isn’t out of the ordinary. What makes Zeus special is how he wound up in the Green Mountain State.

“You’re a good boy,” said Ron Monroe, Zeus’ new owner. It’s only been a few weeks that the wolf-hybrid dog has called Franklin County home.”And he’s living his best life right now, he’s doing so well.”

But his journey began in the Ocean State, specifically, the Potter League in Middletown, Rhode Island. “His former owner could no longer care for him the way he wanted to, and that’s why we’re here. And so we took him and he walked through our doors and we were like, ‘Oh, that’s a large.... dog,’” recalled the league’s Kara Montalbano.

The shelter put out a call for potential adopters -- either in Vermont or New Jersey -- the two states that allow them. “We actually contacted our state vet because we knew they were illegal in RI, and we started doing some research and found that the closest states to us were New Jersey and Vermont,” Montalbano said.

Zeus’ story took social media by storm and he wound up reaching Sheldon’s Ron Monroe. “Whether he was a wolf-breed mix or not, as soon as I saw him I needed him,” Monroe said.

Like all other potential adopters, the former Rhode Island resident filled out the paperwork and waited, hoping for the best. “And then a few days later, my friend reached out to me and said, ‘That’s my brother’s dog, by the way.’ And I did not know, and I knew the family. So, they had gotten the dog after I moved up here. So, he contacted them and told them we want him to have the dog. The whole family agreed,” Monroe recalled.

Monroe was planning to go get him at a later date but he heard Zeus has seizures and wasn’t doing so well in the shelter. So, he took the six-hour drive to pick up the four-year-old almost immediately. “Oh my God, it was instant love. I was like, ‘That’s it.’ I was in awe. The size of him when he came walking around the corner,” Monroe said.

After a long ride home, Monroe says the sweet boy is settling in as his older brother, Titan, slowly warms up to him. And Zeus has warmed up to the frigid winter weather. “He loves laying around in the snow, rolling in the snow, laying there he’ll just lick it and eat it nonstop. If I don’t pick him back up, he’ll just lay there for hours just laying there eating snow,” Monroe said.

Monroe says he’s awaiting a DNA test to see how much wolf Zeus has in him -- and what kind -- but kennel records indicate it’s likely somewhere around 30%.

He doesn’t bark but howls sometimes, and Monroe says that since moving to Vermont, his seizures have nearly stopped. With his health looking up -- and lots of snow falling down -- Zeus seems to have found his pack. “That’s what I’m saying -- this is the best place for him, huh? He’s very good,” Monroe said.

Zeus has gained a lot of fans through all of his fame. He has Instagram and Facebook pages where Monroe posts lots of pictures and video updates.

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