RI's beloved wolf-dog duo separated after attack at rescue. What changed. – The Providence Journal

Rhode Island’s well-known wolf dog duo ran and lived together for years, but were permanently separated this weekend for the safety of the smaller sister.
Wiley and Willow, also known as the 401 girls at their rescue in Ohio, are the famous “black coyotes” that captured Rhode Island’s curiosity and the media’s attention as they roamed freely across the Oakland Beach section of Warwick in the spring of 2023. (Back then they were named Libby and Bella.)
After the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals finally captured them with the help of air rifles and tranquilizer darts, they were taken in by the Red Riding Hood Rescue Project in Middletown, Ohio, a facility that cares for 25 canines that live somewhere between the domestic and wild worlds.
“This weekend, we finally had to do something we hoped would never occur. We needed to separate our 401 girls out of safety for shy Willow,” Susan Vogt, co-founder and president of the rescue, wrote on Facebook. “While this is unfortunate for this duo, same sex aggression can be deadly.”
Same-sex aggression is common in dogs and wolves, and Vogt knew when her rescue brought the girls aboard as puppies in 2023 that the rescue might someday have to face the issue. With the duo now sexually mature and in the midst of mating season, their instincts and hormones kicked in on Friday, according to Vogt.
Fortunately, Vogt and the other volunteers at the rescue have been watching for signs as the two wolf dogs shared a pen. On Friday, caretaker Braden Matt was tending to other wolf dogs when he noticed a commotion in the 401 girls’ living quarters.
“Wiley attacked Willow,” Vogt said.
Having to pass through several gates, Matt worked his way into the fenced enclosure and managed to separate the pair after several minutes, according to Vogt. What Matt did took courage and might have saved Willow’s life, Vogt said. She said Willow was not seriously hurt.
Knowing that same-sex aggression might someday be an issue, the rescue designed Wiley and Willow’s pen with two separate sections that are connected and can be blocked off. The wolf dogs are now living in their own separate sections of the pen. They can see each other but are prevented from direct contact by fencing.
Vogt doesn’t want Wiley to be painted as a villain; she was acting on instinct, triggered by genetics and hormones. Although the wolf dogs are spayed, those instincts haven’t been eliminated.
Despite her disappointment, Vogt is looking for the positive. Wiley is the bigger and more dominant sister. Willow seemed to live in her shadow, keeping the peace by being submissive. The pair have tussled in the past – not to the extent that happened Friday – with Wiley seeming to remind her sister who’s boss of their little pack.
“Wiley has a big personality, a big sense of self. Everything belongs to Wiley,” Vogt said. “She’s the queen.”
Willow might have “been carrying a little anxiety under Wiley,” Vogt said. Willow has always been “one step behind” Wiley, but she might thrive out of Wiley’s shadow and in her own space, Vogt believes.
On Sunday, a volunteer worked alone with Willow and found her able to follow directions that she hadn’t before.
“The good news is, this allows staff to engage with Willow and help her grow,” Vogt wrote on Facebook. “Today, staff member, Aaron Walters, worked with Willow and is finding her teachable and curious.”
There’s another possibility for Willow. The staff at the Red has been saddened by the Feb. 13 death of one of its wolf dogs, a female named Charley. She’d lived in the same pen as a male named Bear, who has been missing her.
On the day after Charley’s death, Vogt wrote on Facebook, “I hear your deep, mournful howls, Bear. I heard them all day yesterday. I heard them into the night. I’m hearing them right now and they break me. I know you miss her deeply. We all do. I wish there was more I could do.”
Maybe there is something she can do. Vogt plans on introducing Willow to Bear to see if they hit it off.

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