HUGE spider in central Louisiana

[Abbie]

My son and I found this big guy on our porch last night. He was unafraid of us. I'd say bold even, and turned to watch us move around him. I wanted to trap him, and bring him somewhere for ID, but I was worried about leaving him in a container all night (read as immobilized with fear). Of course the next morning he was gone, and now I'm concerned about where he's lurking, and what he's doing! We have two small dogs and a cat that spend a lot of time back there.
Is this just a HUGE wolf spider? If you can't tell for sure in the photo, he is more of a gray in color than brown, and had no markings on his body..... oh and he was fuzzy. Thanks in advance for any input!

[Ungoliant]

I can't see all of the eyes, but this does look like a female wolf spider (family Lycosidae). It can be tricky to identify wolf spiders at the family or genus level from a photo, because many of them look similar. When I see a large wolf spider, I automatically think of the Hogna genus, but that's really just a guess.

Some other spider families have members that resemble wolf spiders. One of the best ways to distinguish between these families is by looking at the eyes. Wolf spiders have eight round eyes that are arranged in three rows. In the middle row are two larger, more prominent eyes.

Wolf spiders are hunters with relatively good eyesight (by spider standards). Like most spiders, they are venomous, but they are not considered to be dangerous to humans. (I've never heard that they are dangerous to dogs or cats. In any event, most spiders prefer to flee from danger. They don't bite in defense unless squished or pinched.)

[Eric]

I agree: Definitely a wolf spider, probably in the genus Hogna.

Eric