Embudo residents press officials to act on wolf-dog complaints – The Taos News

COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.
COURTESY MARGARET CAMPOS
A pack of wolf-dogs living in the Embudo Valley, as seen on local resident Margaret Campos’ ring camera.
COURTESY MARGARET CAMPOS
Margaret Campos, a resident who lives near a pack of wolf-dogs in the Embudo Valley, said she observed the entrance gate to the wolf-dogs’ enclosure left open. The pack’s caretaker, Azlan White, said the animals are enclosed by multiple layers of fencing.
COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.
COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.

COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.
COURTESY MARGARET CAMPOS
A pack of wolf-dogs living in the Embudo Valley, as seen on local resident Margaret Campos’ ring camera.
COURTESY MARGARET CAMPOS
Margaret Campos, a resident who lives near a pack of wolf-dogs in the Embudo Valley, said she observed the entrance gate to the wolf-dogs’ enclosure left open. The pack’s caretaker, Azlan White, said the animals are enclosed by multiple layers of fencing.
COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.
COURTESY MARK RENDLEMAN
Wolf-dog hybrids belonging to Azlan White, as seen at the pack’s enclosure in Embudo.
Two months after six of Azlan White’s hybrid wolf-dogs were discovered dead along N.M. 68, Embudo Valley residents concerned about the pack’s repeated escapes from their fenced enclosure are calling on the Rio Arriba County Commission to intervene.
On Sept. 18, roughly a dozen residents gathered at Embudo Station to discuss issues surrounding the “Emissary Wolf Pack,” a group of about 40 canines that owner White says are descended from the offspring of wolves and Newfoundland dogs.
“The end result of this animal hoarding, neglect and abuse situation is that the pack of animals is unsafe to the residents,” Embudo resident Margaret Campos wrote in a letter on behalf of other community members, “and have negatively impacted the quality of life of the community at large; the animals have been known to attack livestock, pets and emergency response personnel.”
The letter was presented to the Rio Arriba County Commission at its Sept. 24 meeting. It asks the county to enforce its animal control ordinance, allow Campos to set up traps on her property neighboring the pack’s enclosure, investigate alleged attacks on pets and livestock, and impound the remaining pack.
White, who has cared for the pack for 14 years, is working to relocate the animals. 
She has moved her animals multiple times, following neighbor conflicts and evictions in Mora, Taos and San Miguel counties. Court records show White faced nine petty misdemeanor counts in Rio Arriba County in 2022 for lack of rabies vaccinations.
In September, White was cited in Taos County for “Animal Restrictions — Animals Running At Large.” She is scheduled to appear in Taos Magistrate Court on Oct. 26, at 9:30 a.m. According to White, Rio Arriba County’s animal control supervisor, Ismael Olguin, said the court could allow her until the end of October to relocate the pack. 
The wolf-dogs reside near Embudo Station on a 40-acre plot of rocky land she rents from Mark Rendleman.
“I really am working to move them by the end of the month and I believe they’re giving me until the end of the month to move them,” White said.
Tensions reached a breaking point in early August, when six of her animals were discovered dead on N.M. 68 near the Embudo Station Bridge. The animals had escaped from their enclosure that morning; Campos’ security cameras captured as many as 17 pack members running through the area.
Community meeting
At the Sept. 18 community meeting, former Taos High School Principal J.P. Lujan said his tenant saw approximately 15 wolf-dogs near his donkey and sheep on Aug. 3.
“Jennifer told me she saw these dogs tearing a raccoon apart that morning,” Lujan said. “She said it was pitiful. They ran towards the Embudo Station after she scared them and 15 to 20 minutes later, they were back. They were digging under the fence and under the cage to the paddock to get into the barn area.”
Another resident said an animal resembling a wolf-Malamute mix attacked his terrier that morning, grabbing the dog by the neck before fleeing when he approached.
“I don’t know if it’s her dog that attacked my dog, but it looked like a wolf-Malamute [cross-breed],” he said. 
What caused the deaths of the six wolf-dogs isn’t known. The Taos News requested a police incident report and complaints related to White’s pack from the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office.
White initially believed vehicles struck the animals, but now thinks they were intentionally killed, then moved to the highway to make it appear like an accident, or to draw curious pack members onto the highway.
“I may be wrong, but I’m going to stand with my intuition,” White said.
White disputes claims that the animals are dangerous or neglected. She said they’re well-fed and generally shy around people. 
“I think a lot of it is programming from like the Big Bad Wolf to scare them,” White said, “because really, these animals are timid of people. They’re kind of afraid of people and they’re not aggressive toward people at all … The stories that were told at that meeting that my landlord heard, he said none of it was true.”
Campos said two community members came forward during the Sept. 18 meeting to share information about the animals’ deaths. White has accused Campos of the deed, which Campos denies.
“During that meeting, two community members came forward, one to say the animals were killed on highway 68 at around 4:45 a.m. by a Walmart semi who flashed his lights on the preceding blind curve,” according to Campos. “He saw the animals splattered on the highway.”
A partial recording of the meeting reviewed by the Taos News contains no such information. Irene Smith, Campos’ neighbor, confirmed no truck was mentioned, but said they suspect more than one driver was involved. 
“We suspect it was more than one vehicle because they were found in different places,” Smith said, noting some residents reported seeing more deceased wolf-dogs near Vivác Winery — more than three miles away.
White acknowledged some caretakers she employed in the past didn’t do enough to ensure they were secured.
“I think the animal caretakers that I had up there weren’t working that hard to keep them in,” White said. “I think they kind of thought they should be running free, so they weren’t working that hard to keep them in.”
Wolf genetics
The animals’ genetic makeup remains unresolved, a distinction that could determine which provisions of county law apply. White has described them as descendants of Red and Arctic wolves crossed with Newfoundland dogs. She previously estimated their wolf ancestry at between 60 and 80 percent. 
The genetics matter under Rio Arriba County’s animal-control ordinance. It specifically includes wolves in its “wild animals” section, which must be registered and kept in facilities adequate to prevent them from escaping or injuring the public. 
Classifying the animals as dogs brings other requirements. Dogs older than three months must be vaccinated against rabies, while dogs older than six months must be individually licensed. A current rabies certificate is required to obtain a dog license. 
The ordinance generally limits households to six dogs or cats, or eight if all are spayed or neutered, unless the owner holds a professional animal permit, which is required for refuges, shelters, kennels and breeder facilities.
White said she sent three mouth-swab samples to the University of California, Davis for genetic testing, but none produced results.
“U.C. Davis just said all three times that it faltered, that the test faltered, and they got no results,” she said.
Taos County
White has estimated that caring for the pack costs approximately $40,000 per month, a figure the Taos News hasn’t independently verified. Asked how she finances the operation, White said her romantic partner has helped cover most expenses for three years. She declined to identify him due to harassment concerns.
Rendleman said Rio Arriba County Planning and Zoning official Jorge Ruiz contacted him following a complaint involving odors and animal feces. Rendleman said the material was compost and disputed allegations that the animals are inadequately cared for. The New Mexico Environment Department contacted him about the property’s septic system and requested permitting information.
“I’m going to go through the process that he asked me to go through,” Rendleman said.
White is considering several properties, including in Taos County, where she might move her pack. 
“I’m kind of leaning more toward Taos just because I’m terrified and want refuge,” she said. “I mean, I’ll build 20-foot fences with it — I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Rendleman requested the community lend White some support.
“I think she’s got a big heart and she cares about these animals and I completely feel the same way at this point,” he said. “I just want to see them taken care of and there must be a way.”
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