A beloved wolfdog that alarmed people after it was spotted running free through fields outside of Cork city has been found dead.
Axel, the Czech wolfdog from Rumley's Open Farm in Cork, was a mix between a German Shepherd and a Carpathian Grey Wolf. Axel broke out of his enclosure on Friday and despite concern from the public, owner Ivan Rumley allayed fears at the time, informing that the wolfdog is harmless.
While their pet was similar to a wolf in appearance and stature, they are highly intelligent and can be trained well. He asked that the public contact him if they saw Axel running around.
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However, Vincent Cashman of the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) broke the tragic news this Tuesday that the beloved Axel has been found dead.
Speaking on The Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's RedFM, he said: "Unfortunately it's not good news. The wolfdog was spotted near Ballygarvan this morning."
He informed that it was caught in a yard, with owner Ivan Rumley present. They managed to net Axel while there.
Mr Cashman said: "I reckon the poor guy's heart gave out and it died shortly after" due to his age, and being on the run for nearly five days straight. The original plan was to net the Czech wolfdog, who weighs 40kg and bring him back to Rumley's Open Farm in a van.
This is the second Czech wolfdog that Ivan has had at Rumley's after Diesel, who died two years ago. The breed originated in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s for border patrol, and search and rescue missions
"The problem with this dog is that he has had very little human interaction. He has never been on a lead, he has never had that kind of training that you would do with a normal dog. Any form of what happened to him was completely new to him," Mr Cashman said of Axel, who was 12 years old.
He described it as a "sad finish" after five days of searching and "not the result that anybody would have wanted."
It is believed that the dog dug under his enclosure at the open farm and managed to squeeze out. He may have survived on roadkill and could have been able to find water over the five days, Mr Cashman said on Cork's RedFM.
When asked if there would be a review of Rumley's Open Farm following the escape and death of Axel, Mr Cashman said he is not sure how it would finish.
"With anything that escapes like this, there would have to be a review of enclosures, design, animals being kept. That would be the norm anyways," he added.
