It wasn’t a big bad wolf after all.
A “wolf hybrid” that was spotted wandering the outskirts of Sebastopol on Sunday, prompting community safety alerts and a search by local authorities, was actually a pet named Shadow who has been reunited with its owner.
North Bay Animal Services said on social media Monday morning that Shadow, also known as a wolfdog, was caught and reunited with his family, which includes two other large dogs named Max and Sky.
Police said Sunday they were contacted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, saying the hybrid was last seen heading south of the Highway 12 bridge on the eastern edge of the city. Not knowing it was a pet, they urged people not to approach it.
In a Facebook post, North Bay Animal Services described Shadow as being dark gray or black with yellow eyes. They noted there were no reports of him being aggressive, and that he gets along well with other dogs. Photos posted Monday of Shadow with his kennel mates Max and Sky appeared to back that up.