McKinley

Born on April 18, 2005 at Wolf Country USA: Palmer, AK
Arrived at Mission: Wolf on October 29, 2008

Passed away on August 14, 2020
Sex: Female
Lived with Texx, Fenris

Did you know? It takes $3,000 a year just to feed and care for one of our wolves. By giving $5 or more a month, you can take a wolf to dinner by becoming a Wolf Caretaker.

Mckinley’s story

McKinley was born in Wolf Country USA in Palmer, Alaska. She had been sold as a pet and was raised in a house in Colorado. She lived there with her owners for two years until they divorced and sold their home. McKinley was then found by the realtor, abandoned in the backyard of the house when the new owners arrived.

She was taken to a local dog shelter where she was mishandled and bit a dogcatcher out of fear. Most wild animals that bite a person are immediately destroyed and tested for rabies. Luckily, people from another wolf rescue stepped in to prevent her from being euthanized and had her transferred to another shelter where Mission: Wolf was then contacted. We agreed to rescue her, and she arrived at the refuge in the fall of 2008.

McKinley was timid at first and lived alone for a while until we introduced her to a handsome male wolf from Texas, aptly named Texx. The two of them made it clear they would rather have nothing to do with humans, so we decided to give them one of our largest enclosures in the most secluded part of the refuge. From there, they get to watch the humans move around the refuge if they wish, or avoid us entirely.

McKinley and Texx were both cautious of each other at first but quickly made friends. They were together for many years and were one of our favorite wolf couples. McKinley began to warm up to some of the staff over time and became much more comfortable being around humans, even enjoying the occasional back scratch.

McKinley lived with Texx for the rest of his life, until he passed away peacefully due to cancer complications. She made friends with another striking male wolf named Fenris who had also recently lost his partner. The two lived together happily in their hillside home. In the summer of 2020, McKinley began struggling to move around and was diagnosed with a neurological pinch in her spine. She passed away peacefully on August 14, 2020.