Everyone deserves the right to feel safe in their own home-including Tuffy , N.C. State’s live mascot, and his family members. But after someone poisoned several members of Tuffy’s family in May, no one close to the dogs has felt safe.
On the morning of May 4, at John and Christina Bannow’s residence in Elizabeth City, N.C., where many of Tuffy’s relatives live, someone placed fish laced with antifreeze in the Bannows ‘ back yard to poison the dogs living there. All five of the Bannows ‘ dogs were poisoned and, as a result, John and Christina-who have spent the past five years promoting the wolf-like tamaskan breed-had to euthanize two of their own tamaskans , Blaze and Nusia . Blaze, Tuffy’s father, was a 4-year-old stud dog. Nusia , Tuffy’s cousin, was just a puppy.
This was not the first time someone had targeted the dogs. And while the Bannow family has tried to carry on normally with their lives, they know things will never be the same.
“It’s hard to describe how one feels when they lose a loved one,” John Bannow said. “Of course you’re sad. You wish could have done something beforehand to prevent things from happening. You want to blame yourself for this, and you wish that it never happened. It’s hard to get over something like that. Just like everyone’s children, [our dogs] all have their unique personalities.”
John Bannow said Nusia was a particularly sweet and gentle puppy that was just starting to develop her own personality. He said Blaze was one of the most intelligent dogs he’d ever worked with; Bannow said Blaze had even learned to open the doors to the Bannows ‘ house.
“[Blaze] could think analytically,” Bannow said. “A lot of times, we found we were keeping doors locked to keep the dogs in-and not always in order to keep people out.”
The Bannow family is taking steps to make their property more secure, but the process has taken an emotional toll on the family.
“Imagine having two or three young kids in the house, and you want them to go out on the sundeck and play on the swing set,” Bannow said. “You want to say, ‘Go out, kids. Go out and have a good time but don’t hurt yourselves.’ But in my situation, I have to go out and make sure that there isn’t anyone that’s trying to … kill what I consider to be family members.”
N.C. State reached out to the Bannows to broker the purchase of Tuffy because of the family’s legendary love for tamaskans , Bannow said.
Tamaskan dogs are bred to have the appearance-but not the aggression-of wolves. It is a rare breed, and because of that, the University had to make some important decisions when they looked for a proper live mascot.
“A couple years ago, N.C. State was running a trial on a dog that was billed as a tamaskan dog by a commercial breeder,” Bannow said. “This person was not well received in the tamaskan community due to [allegations of] poor breeding practices.”
Bannow said animal rights advocates contacted the University with concerns that their partnership with an irresponsible breeder would taint the image of N.C. State. In the end, the University dropped its contract with the first breeder and contacted the Bannow family.
After the poisonings in May, Tuffy and his owners have had to change their actions. Right now, one of the advantages that Tuffy’s owners have is their relative anonymity and isolation.
Tuffy’s owners declined comment on this story and said they wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons. However, Tuffy ‘s family did authorize their neighbors to speak on their behalf. Like Tuffy’s owners, the neighbor also wanted to remain anonymous due to the nature of the threat.
“There is a strong belief that the poisonings-not just this one that resulted in the death of Blaze and Nusia , but the earlier poisonings-were motivated by the fact that these dogs are relatives of Tuffy ,” the neighbor said. “If this is the case, it is very disturbing to know that Tuffy might be the next and ultimate target.”
Bannow said he will continue to breed tamaskans and promote the breed. He said when Tuffy returns to the public eye this fall, he said he hopes all members of the Wolfpack Nation see why he is so passionate about the animals.
“I hope that when [fans] see Tuffy , they will feel immense pride, and I hope too that they appreciate Tuffy’s family and what they do,” Tuffy’s neighbor said. “The effort and the energy that [ Tuffy’s family] put forth in order for Tuffy to be there is incredible, and I hope fans appreciate that and understand that Tuffy is not a mascot in a cage…that Tuffy is always a family pet first.”
