Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf hybrid?

Concerned residents of the greater Auburn area that’s who.

KOMO News 4 reported this week that a lone hybrid-wolf dog came out of the woods and into the backyard of a home in the Heather Highlands off of Southeast Lake Holm Road, where it snatched the owner’s three dogs. When the man confronted the creature, he told KOMO 4, it backed him against his house before taking off.

Efforts by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to track the animal with a search dog were unsuccessful. But it turned up the following morning at a home down the street. The man who first spotted the dog has since set up a trap.

Wolf-hybrid dogs have been illegal to possess in King County for more than a decade, and those that were grandfathered in when the laws were written have since died, according to Tom Harris, animal control officer for the City of Auburn.

“If they are 99-percent dog and only 1-percent wolf, they are illegal, like an exotic pet,” Harris said. “The problem is, you don’t get either — you don’t get a family pet and you don’t get a wild wolf.”

Wolf hybrids are not typically dangerous to humans unless cornered, but they may regard pets as a meal.

“For humans, it’s not that big a deal, because they are shy and want to avoid human contact,” Harris said. “But obviously the wolf part, that prey drive, that live-off-the-land thing, is there. If it lingers and we keep getting reports, people should bring their pets in.”

Animal control officers don’t know whether the animal is the same one spotted in the greater Ravensdale area a year ago.

“If they’re more wolf-oriented, they travel. And it’s very possible that a wolf hybrid could move that distance from the greater Ravensdale area, down the railroad right-of-way, down one of the river trails and get over here in a short amount of time,” Harris said.

And what should people do if they spot the animal?

“If the animal feels cornered, leave him alone and report it,” Harris said. “One sighting is one thing, but we’re very interested if it starts to take up residence — that’s when we have a chance at capturing it.

“If there is a public safety issue where it’s attacking livestock or something to that effect, if it is spotted in a school yard, or if it has been seen several days in a row near someone’s property, we would love to hear from that person,” Harris continued.

“… It can’t live off the land, but there are places where it could potentially be kept in a secure area. Capturing it does not mean an automatic death sentence.”

Anyone who spots the animal should call 911.