Mystery of wolf-type dogs solved with DNA test

Three large dogs roaming the streets of a Lancashire town on the day before Halloween have been confirmed as wolfhounds after a rescue center conducted a DNA test.

dogs Found abandoned in Preston On 30 October 2025 their wolf-like features went viral despite Preston City Council describing them as a German Shepherd type breed.

Siblings Little Timmy, Boo and Brooke were taken in by a rescue center and later transferred to specialists at Wolves of Wiltshire, who confirmed that they were, in fact, of the wolfhound breed.

Oli Barrington, a trustee of the exotic animal charity, said the emaciated dogs were now “comfortable, safe and free of distress”.

The council said they were told by the kennel contractor that the dogs were a “German Shepherd type”.

A council spokesman said the dogs were only in the authority’s care for a “short statutory period”.

“We do not do DNA testing, so we relied on the statement given at the time,” he added.

Millions of people watched videos about the dogs and subsequent DNA test results on Tik Tok and other social media platforms.

Mr Barrington said the focus at Wolves of Wiltshire was “on the animals themselves, their welfare and happiness”.

He said the rescue center does not plan to rehabilitate the animals or turn them into pets.

“They will be whatever they want to be here,” he said. “If they want a life with minimal human contact, that’s what they’re going to have.”

A wolfdog is a domesticated dog breed that has been bred with a wolf.

In the UK, they are legal to own as long as they are three generations removed from the original parent wolf. According to PDSA.

First- and second-generation wolfhounds with a direct wolf parentage require a license to own and are classified as exotic animals.

Mr Barrington said Wiltshire Wolves had special licenses allowing them to care for the animals because they were “an unknown quantity and they may require a license for potentially dangerous animals”.

Little Timmy, Brooke and Boo’s DNA tests, provided by the Embark company, showed 49.1% Gray Wolf and 50.9% Czechoslovakian Vlcak.

The tests were ordered by 8 Below Husky Rescue, which was the first rescue center to receive the animals from the city.

Mr Barrington said he thought the law was “a bit of a problem” because it was about the number of generations removed from a wolf rather than the percentage of wolf DNA.

The problem, he said, was that breeders were irresponsible people who raised animals with high DNA content that were “perfectly legal on paper”.

“There are very few people out there who can really provide a decent home for a high-content wolfhound,” he said. “You really need to give up your life.”

An RSPCA spokesman said: “They are large, much tougher animals and require highly experienced handlers who have worked not only with dogs but also wolves and fully understand their needs.”

They also said they did not make suitable family pets and that people should be aware of possible legal restrictions on keeping wolf-dog hybrids.

But many in the wolfdog community are confident they can provide these animals with the care they need.

Laura Mackenzie-Hawkins, from Greater Manchester, has four wolfhounds and a Belgian Malinois she says she rescued from a young couple living in a second-floor flat.

He retired early and said he was with the dogs “24/7” at his home, which has a large yard and 6-foot-high fences added to accommodate the animals.

“Like any dog, your responsibility is to keep that dog safe,” he said.

“With the wolf gaze – as we saw with the Preston trio – if one gets loose you get mass hysteria.”

He said the wolfdog community spends a lot of time educating people about the animals’ needs to ensure the animals get safe homes.

“They are not easy,” he added.