Direwolves are real! (Sort of.)
Supposed sightings of mythical creatures are always fun to read about. Take the time the Loch Ness Monster appeared in the Thames for example. Clearly, most of them are hoaxes but deep down we’d like to think some of them are true. Well, here’s one that is real, sort of.
Meet Nymeria, a direwolf from Game of Thrones. Ok fine, it’s not really Nymeria but as you can see, the resemblance is uncanny. Speaking to his owner Raven, DannyDirewolf’s West Coast US tour is coming to an end. We wanted to find out more about what they get up to in everyday life.
How did you come to look after Danny?
Danny and I found each other about 10 years ago. We were living in Singapore and my husband and I felt that we were ready for a dog. We found Danny starving in a cage with his sister. Danny was the little runt about half the size of his litter-mate. He was so sweet and we felt we couldn’t just leave him there so we adopted him.
The first time we took him to the vet she said: “what is wrong with him?” He was tiny and only half the weight that he should have been. So we fed him slowly, looked after him and gave him lots of love. And now 10 years later he’s still with us! The vet saw him about a year after we adopted him and she couldn’t get over how big he’d grown!
I don’t know what happened to his sister but I hope she found a good home.
Were you surprised by had large Danny grew?
It was surprising! I’ve had a Malamute before so I was expecting Danny to be about the same size but he just kept on growing! I don’t think he stopped growing until he was about 2 years old.
People are always shocked by his size. Now I just tell them we fed Danny too much love and that’s why he grew that big! Haha.
Is he some kind of cross breed or a pure Alaskan Malamute?
For years we thought he was a cross breed because he didn’t look like other Malamutes and he was bigger than most. But a few years ago we got him DNA tested at the vet and he’s a third generation pure Alaskan Malamute.
What tour are you on at the moment? Do you tour regularly around different dog conventions with Danny?
We are on the last day of a road trip. We took Danny to Portland and Seattle. He’s getting old so we wanted to do a fun trip with him before he was unable to travel anymore. He’s met so many new friends and had such a great time.
I try to take Danny to as many events as I can because he’s a very social dog. He loves meeting people and getting lots of pats. So far we’ve been to Petapalooza, Candy Town where he met Santa and was on the local news, Anime Revolution and also Woof Weekend, which is a charity weekend up in Whistler for their local animal shelter, WAG.
We are going to Anime Revolution again this year on the 5th and 6th of August. He was really popular there last year and a lot of people requested that we go more than once this year.
My dream would be to take him to Tokyo for a few months and explore the city but he’s too old to fly now. We do go around exploring Vancouver where we live to make videos for his YouTube channel. I think he’d make a great tourism ambassador for the city!
What made you get into the world of social networking?
A few years ago I posted a picture of Danny on Instagram and it got a lot of likes and we started getting quite a lot of followers. Now I post a pic of Danny at least once a day and he has over 1000 followers on Instagram! I never thought he would have that many when we first started. It also inspired us to start a YouTube channel. And now he has a Facebook page too! He’s met so many new friends through his social networks.
Has Danny always been a central focus for your online presence?
All the social media is actually his! I’m an introvert and very shy but Danny has helped me become more confident and sociable. He gets attention wherever he goes and people always want to stop and chat. Danny’s presence makes me feel much more comfortable around people and not so nervous!
Danny seems very calm. Have you and Danny had any kind of behavioural training in the past?
Danny has always had a very nice temperament; it’s why we chose him. But I am a certified dog trainer and I worked full time as one a few years ago — I’m now an animator. I trained Danny in basic obedience and behaviour training. Because he’s so nice he wasn’t difficult to train but some Malamutes can be quite wilful. You definitely need to train them properly so that they grow up well adjusted and friendly. And because they are very large you must be in control of them at all times.
Do people get quite intimidated around him?
Because of his size, Danny can be quite intimidating to people who don’t know him. We made the sign (below) to let everyone know that it’s ok to approach and pat him. Once they meet him they are amazed at how gentle and friendly he is.
Does Danny ever get nervous in big crowds?
Danny is really chilled, he’s never acted out. But if I see him getting tired I will take him home to rest. He likes to nap all day like a cat.I do come prepared in case he ever does act out. I bring some treats with me to distract him but he’s never needed them so far.
Have you seen Danny become more popular since Game of Thrones?
Yes! Before Game of Thrones came out everyone was calling Danny a werewolf because Twilight was popular at that time. Nowadays, everyone thinks he’s a direwolf so that became his nickname. (he’s actually named after the cartoon Danny Phantom) I think Danny would make a great Nymeria, who is Arya’s direwolf on the show. He’s super well trained and very patient.
With Danny’s social presence on the rise, what are your plans for the future?
I’d just like to share Danny with the world and get him lots of new friends. He loves everyone and adores all the attention that he gets. I’d love to see our YouTube channel grow because we work really hard on our videos. Filming with an animal is not easy!
I’d also love him to be on Game of Thrones or other tv shows or movies. We recently auditioned for a commercial and while he got a call back he didn’t get the job. It’s fun going to those sorts of things, we call them “pawditions” and he’s become quite the furlebrity where we live. He’s with Lucas Talent in Vancouver. Hopefully one day his dreams of stardom will come true. We always walk past filming sets in Vancouver and everyone has to stop and pat him!
On Danny’s Facebook, it says he loves cheese. Is there anything else that Danny loves?
Cheese is the only human food he’s allowed to eat. Since moving to Canada he’s discovered cheese curds, which are his absolute favourite. He’ll do anything for them. I get them at the supermarket for him.
Danny also loves meeting new people, getting pats, sniffing things, napping and being the centre of attention. And he also loves soft toys. He won’t play with any other toys. He has a stuffed Bolt that friends gave him for the holidays last year. It’s his favourite and he doesn’t travel without it.
Keep up with DannyDirewolf and Raven on all of their adventures on: Youtube, Facebook and Instagram pages. You can even check out one of their cosplay tutorials below.
