Posted on 02/22/2026 6:17:42 AM PST by BenLurkin
LAGO DI TESERO, ITALY — Before he became the most famous dog at the Olympics, Nazgul was not known as an escape artist.
Still, his owners, Enrico and Alice Varesco, were not taking chances when they left him alone at their apartment alongside the Olympic cross-country ski trails this week.
The Varescos were headed out to watch an Olympic biathlon race at another competition venue, a couple hours away over the mountains. Nazgul, a two-year-old, 65-pound Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, was secured inside his spacious kennel, inside the house — with an eight-foot-tall fence separating the Varescos' backyard from the trails where dozens of skiers would hurtle past later that day.
Then, the photos of a dog running amongst ski racers on the homestretch started landing on Alice's phone.
"We thought it was impossible," she said. "There are other wolfdogs in the valley."
But then, a friend working at the competition office sent Alice what has now become an iconic image: the high-definition shot of a dog from the camera used to capture photo finishes. A family member dispatched to the Varescos' apartment reported back, said Alice: "Everything open — and the dog is not there."
Behold the saga of Nazgul, named for the villainous characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy — whose Olympic cameo began by alarming athletes and organizers but ended with social media and TV stardom.
Since ambling out on course amid the women's team sprint qualification round Wednesday, Nazgul has landed on the pages of newspapers around the world, on fan forums for Lord of the Rings and on a post by the 5-million-followers-strong "WeRateDogs" Instagram account. (The verdict: "14/10 someone get him a medal.")
The Varescos spend a lot of time in the mountains of Northern Italy, and they said they originally thought the wildness of a wolfdog would be a good match for their lifestyle.
They were warned that the breed could be difficult, but they found the right kennel, with dogs that are good "from a character point of view," Alice said — and the couple thought they could manage the challenge.
The name was Enrico's idea; he wanted something "powerful and scary," according to Alice.
Nazgul is "not dangerous," she added. But he's "still a wolfdog," she said.
"Sometimes, he is quite stubborn, and he wants to win — but that's our goal, not to let him win," she said.
She added: "This time, he won."
In retrospect, the lever holding his kennel shut may not have been completely latched, Alice, 34, said in an interview in her backyard Saturday, as Nazgul and Enrico — neither of whom are confident in English — played in the sun nearby.
Then, presumably, the dog was able to open the front door by pushing the handle with a paw. As for the fence around the ski trails: Nazgul went "running like a fool" through the open priority line of the spectators' entrance, too fast for volunteers to stop him, Alice said.
The presence of the wolf-like dog on the race course initially alarmed some racers — one of whom said she thought she was hallucinating, and that her initial reaction cost her a few seconds.
But Nazgul did not appear to affect the final outcome of the race, as he showed up after the top-ranked athletes had finished their preliminary round. The TV feed also showed him behaving indifferently, not aggressively, toward the athletes — though the race official who apprehended Nazgul, Michel Rainer, later described a "little bite" from the "nervous" dog that left him with a small bandage.
A number of Olympic athletes said afterward that while a dog loose on the middle of a race course could have ended badly, with a crash or a more aggressive bite, in thise case, the ending was happy.
"We thought it was funny," said Canadian Tony Cyr, 27, after finishing an event Saturday. "I think it put a smile on a lot of people's faces, and I don't think it impeded anyone's race."
Alice stressed that she and Enrico were grateful to all the race officials who helped with Nazgul's capture. As former ski racers themselves, the couple was aware that "many, many things could have gone wrong," Alice said.
"We are sorry for the athletes, if he, somehow, ruined their moment," she added. "We are not proud of him for escaping, but somehow we are proud of how he behaved. Because he was doing well."
After their initial panic, the Varescos have been able to find some humor in the situation. One vignette involved an Italian Eurosport commentator, Silvano Gadin, that the couple knows from his work with them at a local mountain running race they organize. On the broadcast of the cross-country ski race, the commentators were jokingly referring to the dog as "Olympo" and "Lampo," Alice said, so she sentsend Gadin a message.
"If they need to talk about him, at least (do it) with the right name," she said.
Enrico's father ultimately retrieved Nazgul and returned him to his enclosed outdoor doghouse — where he erected a handmade sign: "Nazgul world champion wolfdog."
The sign stayed for a couple of days. But the Varescos eventually took it down because they were worried about drawing too many onlookers. Even during the interview Saturday, a race official spotted Nazgul from the trail adjoining the Varescos' yard, shouted his name and stopped for a photo.
The Varescos have been taking Nazgul on surreptitious walks, to avoid the attention. But they know the Olympics will be over soon. "In a couple of days," Alice said, "everything will be finished, and this place will be quiet again."
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ping
The whole thing is strange..I would have thought when the dog saw the participants “running” in the event, the instinct would have been to CHASE them and that could have ended very badly! Glad it ended well and someone was able to corral the dog without incident. Bet the owners double check the closing of the kennel door from now on!
Wolf/dog hybrids are notoriously unpredictable. It's a damned fortunate thing this animal didn't hurt anybody thinking it was a chance to chase. Prey drive in wolves is no joke.
At least he’s not a timber wolf. Seeing a 200+ lb wolf that I’ve often mistaken for cow elk at a distance from how tall they stand would be something lol.
Just like Balto.
He’s a Czech wolfdog , not a hybrid.
Dog was just a super cool accessory for their lifestyle, accented by its name. I agree with you that it’s quite fortunate that this didn’t break bad. there are other dogs that would be suitable for living in the mountains, but the choice of one of those breeds wouldn’t have been so flashy and self-indulgent
Howlympics
While such is an indication that the dog won't be a problem, it's no guarantee that it won't be aggressive. I have a psychotic Dutch Shepherd (my 4th). Unlike all the dogs I've ever had, I must keep this one on a lead lest she chase off cyclists on the County road 100 yards away by nipping at their ankles (she was born just before COVID hit and thus received very poor socialization as a puppy). Even harsh corrections with an e-collar just don't work with such self-reinforcing behaviors. She ignores it to the point that she turns handler aggressive. Not a way to build a relationship.
Hence, I'm not a fan of breeding wolf genes into domestic dogs. It's asking for trouble. According to Ed Frawley at Leerburg.com, more children suffer serious attacks from wolf-dog hybrids than any other "breed." He should know.
*clarify that the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is a purebred, distinct from wolf hybrids, despite its wolf-like appearance.
They literally have no more “ wolf genes” than your average Labrador.
They were bred to have more "wolf genes" than a Lab. Nor does anybody really know which genes are determinative in behavior especially when combined with epigenetic influences.
I don't buy that for a minute.
You have a Dutch Shepherd whose misdirected herding nature is severely punished with a shock collar to the point where the dog turns on you and you follow Leerburg methods?
Yeah, I’m just going to be leaving this thread now.
That is funny and can be counted on....
You completely misunderstood me. First, Katja was born in July 2019; we took her home in September. I started socialization immediately, but within a month or so, it became IMPOSSIBLE to for me to follow Michael Ellis' methods during the early months of the COVID shutdowns. We live in a rural area. To get her socialization I had to drive seven miles to town. There was NOBODY at any of the venues to which one would rationally go. So I enlisted a neighbor for help. The idiot came up to the house on a motorcycle the first time they met and sent her ape-yogurt. I took her to a specialist in reactive dogs. She said, "Bad breeding." I spent three years teaching her to sit when a car goes by, rewarding her every time. She'll now do it as long as the vehicle is more than 25ft away. Got it? She's nuts.
As to the e-collar, I TESTED it using the method described in Larry Krohn's book. She responded to a level 5 on a mini-Educator, for which she was rewarded. Did that for about a week. Then we went up the hill with her on it. A car drove by about 100ft away. I cranked it up slowly to see what threshold to which she would respond to it AT ALL. It was 35. She growled at me. I discontinued it.
It's an hour's drive to the nearest trainer for reactive dogs. It took me two years working on getting her to voluntarily come into the shower just to get her to tolerate water to cool her off on a hot day. Why? Because the breeder was a dick about giving her a bath she didn't need.
Kaja is my fourth DSD over 26 years. With my other dogs I could leave them sitting on the edge of the County road for a half hour. Not this one. She's that suspicious and always has been.
Yeah, I’m just going to be leaving this thread now.
You don't read very carefully. GFY
That’s true.
Have you had her thyroid tested with a -complete-panel?
Tick borne diseases complete panel?
Tried a 30 day course of Doxycycline just in case false negatives occurred?
Is she spayed or intact?
Rather than going off to FM as you so kindly suggested, perhaps we might find a solution to your very frustrating problem?
“…too fast for volunteers to stop him, Alice said.…”
Not too sure mid be all that quick though jump on an animal that looked that much like a wolf. Doesn’t look like a dog to me.
“…breeding between German Shepherds and Carpathian wolves, with only 6–12% wolf ancestry based on genetic analysis.…’
Twelve percent into German Shepard doesn’t sound like fun to me. I had a full blood German Shepard who was dangerous as hell. He had one move; going for the throat. Add in Wolf potential to that…
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