Story by Marcy Shortuse
JUST OFF
ISLAND
Photos by Marcy Shortuse, Candy Brooks & provided by Shy Wolf Sanctuary
Approximately 13 miles outside of Naples there is a small neighborhood that is home to
some very special residents. It isn’t uncommon to drive down 27th Street and hear a
mournful cacophony of howling, because the inhabitants of the 1100 block tend to be
quite vocal.
Shy Wolf Sanctuary, a non-profit exotic animal rescue, is home to several pure wolves, a score
of wolf hybrids, a bobcat, a panther, a fennec fox and a couple of singing dogs. The compound is
on 2.5 acres, and one of those acres is allocated for parking. However, the founder and her volunteers
have created a very intricate maze of good-sized habitats and maximized the use of the
space they have.
Many of these animals would have perished if it weren’t for the sanctuary’s founder, Nancy
Smith. While working for another Florida rescue in 1993 she rescued a black Asian leopard
named Moondance, which began the transition for Nancy to one day own her own rescue.
At left, an adoptable low-content wolf hybrid named Harley, a New Guinea singing dog named
Melbourne and a few wolfdogs craving pets through the fence.