“We walked in different places so that she could study different smells, hear new sounds. Wolves have an innate neophobia, a fear of everything new. This is a very difficult process, long and tedious, but it is necessary so that Kira can live with me in an urban environment and feel comfortable.”
-Alida
"My Animal is harmless, I am the real danger" or just go rip people together?
I would guess it's a kind of cosplay or japanophilia in general. I think it looks cool, so why not?
After reading that book I would not say raising a Wolf is as easy as raising a dog. It still is a wild animal that does not belong into the human world.