Dog Mistaken For a Wolf Finds Himself a Family

A four-legged animal who broke into a family’s yard has found himself a loving family.

Earlier this month, Flint noticed a large animal inside his backyard when he got up in the morning to care for his chickens.

Flint, who lives in a desert area between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, wakes up at 6 a.m. every day to let his chickens out. On that day, however, he noticed what appeared to be a wolf trotting around his garden.

The second the animal howled, he acted, taking his small dog Stella back into the house. Once he was inside, he took another look into the garden through the blinds and noticed that the intruder was not a wolf, but a large dog.

Still, he remained cautious around the canine, who he assumed was lost or dumped nearby as people have come out to the area to dump dogs in the past.

Flint and his partner decided to watch the animal, who was hanging around the family’s trash cans, for a little longer, before deciding that he seemed friendly.

Thinking he was probably hungry, the pair prepared a bowl of food and some water for the yard intruder, who quickly devoured the offerings.

After eating, the dog eventually came over to where they were standing and licked their hands. He also leaned his body against them, which made them feel he also wanted affection. Flint and his partner quickly fell in love with the pup, who they named Balto.

After giving the pup more food and water, they took him over to a local vet to see if he had a microchip.

According to the vet, the dog was under two years old, intact, and had an injury on one of his paws, likely from getting swiped or hit by a vehicle. He also had a small infected wound on his belly.

The vet identified the pup as a husky mix but did not find a microchip on the pup nor were they able to locate a potential owner so the pair decided to take the dog home.

The pair is still keeping an eye out for missing dog posters in case he does have an owner who misses him but is also prepared to welcome him into their family.

Balto’s arrival story, which Flint posted on TikTok, has since received more than 3.4 million views.

Flint suspects the dog was likely dumped in a nearby area but doesn’t hold it against his past owners as ‘[they]’ don’t know what circumstances they came from’.

For now, Balto is receiving plenty of love at their home, where he is joined by the pair’s other dog Stella. Just recently, the pup went on his first camping tree, where he had a great time chasing squirrels, and being outside in general.