DIREWOLVES AS PETS

The extremely (and rightfully so) popular Game of Thrones on HBO featured feuding kingdoms in a dark and bloody medieval fantasy world. The sigil of House Stark (who were the good guys in the series--although there weren't that many of them left by the end) is that of a direwolf. In the show, a direwolf is essentially a gray wolf on steroids and is renowned for its strength, intelligence, and ferocity. Each of the five Stark children was given a direwolf puppy who grew up to protect loyally its respective master and who could be relied upon to rip out the throat of an attacker—a service which had to be rendered more often than you might think.

Early in the series, the direwolf named Lady, who was the pet of Sansa Stark, was put to death. However, the actress portraying Sansa (Sophie Turner) grew so fond of Lady during the brief time that Lady was on set that she adopted Lady in real life.

Lady (whose real name is Zunni) and her associates in the show, at least during the first season when the canine characters were not yet supposed to be fully-grown, were not actual direwolves. They were instead Northern Inuit dogs who look like wolves (although later in the series, gray wolves or wolf-dog hybrids and creative photography were used to illustrate the beasts as huge slavering adults). However, Northern Inuits cannot be relied upon to rip out throats whenever necessary. They are one of the most loveable and gentle breeds around, and it is unlikely that one would ever harm a human. That does not mean, however, that they cannot be incredibly stubborn and try to be the alpha dog over their owners, and they need masters who can devote a lot of time to them along with opportunities for a lot of daily exercise. Ironically, because it is possible that there is some wolf blood in their recent lineage, some local governments have sought to ban ownership of them.

Direwolves are not just fantasy creatures. Real dire wolves (generally spelled as two separate words when not used in a Game of Thrones context) actually existed. Most became extinct about 12,000 years ago, although some paleontologists speculate that a population may have lingered in Arkansas as late as 2000 BC.

Subsequent to preparing but prior to releasing the above factoid, I was gobsmacked to find out, on April 7, 2025, that Time Magazine revealed that a company named Colossal Biosciences had recreated three viable dire wolves which are at an undisclosed 2,000 acre location in the northern United States. Colossal compared the gene sequences from fossilized dire wolf bone fragments (one 13,000 years old, the other 72,000) with those of a modern gray wolf. It then modified the gray wolf sequence in twenty different places to accentuate the dire wolf traits, implanted the resulting eggs in large dogs, and produced one female and two male white wolves with thick fur, large bodies, extremely powerful jaws, and other dire wolf characteristics. As for their suitability as pets--probably not. They are already showing wolf-like tendencies to avoid people rather than dog-like tendencies to run up to a human for a belly-rub. Wolves generally make bad pets; huge wolves in a pack of only three without any parents to teach them how to act like wolves could be highly unpredictable and may not be the best choice to bring you your slippers, rescue Timmy in the well, or abstain from ripping out the throats of your neighbors.

Finally, can these be legitimately called dire wolves, or are they still "only" gray wolves, albeit genetically modified? I don't know. You decide.

Photo by Robert Clark for TIME