Artemis

sex: female
born: March 1997
birth place: California

given sanctuary: 01 Sep 1997

 

Artemis' Story

Artemis was born in California. She was a cute, fluffy, puppy, a cross of malamute and wolf. Artemis and the rest of the pups in her litter were taken to a rest area on one of the major highways frequented by truck drivers. All of the pups were given away. The truck driver who took Artemis thought he was doing a good deed. He took her and gave her a good home, living with her in his truck. The driver believed this would be a beneficial relationship for both of them. He would provide her with food, water, affection, and a good home; she would grow up to be a good watchdog and guard his home away from home, his truck.

Unfortunately, the truck driver did not know that wolves and wolf-dogs cannot be confined, and no one bothered to tell him. As Artemis began to grow, she also started eating the inside of the truck she was forced to live in. The driver meant her no harm, he just didn’t know. Fortunately for Artemis, our volunteer coordinator at the time also happened to be the dispatcher for the trucking company this driver worked for.

Our volunteer coordinator, John, began talking to the driver about Artemis. John explained everything he knew about wolves and wolf-dogs to the driver and, after a few more trips with Artemis in his truck, with her destroying everything in it, he gave up. Arrangements were made and Artemis was placed at Wolf.

At the time, Sasha and Zeke were in an enclosure together, and it was decided that since Sasha loved puppies, Artemis would be placed in with them. The relationship between the three animals grew, and all of them bonded well, but there was to be more trauma in the life of little Artemis. Ten days after Artemis arrived at Wolf, Sasha passed away very unexpectedly. We were all very concerned about how Artemis would react to this sad situation.

Although Artemis and Zeke, along with everyone else at Wolf, grieved the loss of Sasha, we were very happy to learn that Sasha had taught Zeke very well. Zeke took over raising Artemis, and they made it through the grieving process together. Shortly after this period, another pup named Merlin arrived at Wolf and he, too, was placed in with Artemis and Zeke. Merlin was very energetic, and the two pups played vigorously as Zeke maintained order in their small pack.

Again, fate stepped in to remove Zeke from that group when he tore the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his left knee. Showing some concern for his departure, the two pups soon realized that he was doing fine in the house pack. He would come to visit at their fence as he regained his mobility. The original goal was to put Zeke back into his original group upon full recovery. However, as soon as his left knee was back in full working condition, he blew out the ACL on his right knee and the process began all over again. The decision was made to keep Zeke in the house pack, due to his obvious weaknesses.

Artemis and Merlin play well together and will, from time to time, get the packs on either side of their enclosure running and playing as hard as they can. Artemis gets somewhat annoyed at Merlin’s insatiable appetite for hard play, and will put him in his place very quickly. This proves again that although the males may be responsible for protection of the pack, the female definitely sets the rules within the pack. They are still together at Wolf, happy and healthy.

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