Culpeper baby bit by wolf hybrid

VIRGINIA -- The Culpeper County Sheriff's Office has issued a code red message regarding an apparent animal attack that happened Friday morning.
 
At about 8:41 AM, a wolf hybrid bit an infant in the 30400 block of Eleys Ford Road in Lignum  in eastern Culpeper County, according to a news release. The baby was transported by helicopter to a hospital after receiving a bite to its abdomen, according to sheriff's office spokeswoman Angela Deavers.

After biting the baby, the wolf hybrid dog fled the scene and returned. It ran away again after the baby's grandfather shot at it and was last seen at about 9:38 AM at the residence, traveling toward an open field.

The dog is a three-year old black-and-gray wolf-husky hybrid . The wolf hybrid was last seen wearing two collars: one orange, one black. Law enforcement is currently searching with the use of police K9.

Residents in the area are asked to keep their children and pets inside. Anyone with information is asked to call Culpeper dispatch at 540.727.7900.

According to the school of veterinary medicine at the University of California, wolf-dog hybrids have been produced by crossing wolves, with wolf-like dog breeds such as Siberian Husky, German Shepherd, and Alaskan Malamute.

Occasionally natural wolf-dog hybrids occur, usually when a female dog in estrus strays and is mated by a wild male wolf, according to the university.

Most states in the US ban wolf-dog hybrids as pets, due to the unpredictable temperament of these canids, according to the university.

It has been estimated that there are upwards of 300,000 wolf-dog hybrids in the US.

Virginia code allows any locality to establish a local ordinance prohibiting the keeping of hybrid dogs. Such an ordinance is not in place in Culpeper County,

(The Daily Progress - June 26, 2015)