Peter

sex: male
born: January 1993 (est.)
birth place: New Mexico

given sanctuary: 15 June 1995

 

 

Peter's Memorial
see Newsletter - Spring 06 (click)

Peter's Story

Peter is the only individual at Wolf who came with a name that we decided to change. We pretty much accept the names that the animals have been accustomed to their whole lives. In this case, however, he did not respond to his name and we just couldn't make him keep it the rest of his life. It was Oingo Boingo.

Peter came to the Wolf Sanctuary when he was two years old. He arrived with his mother, Chana, and their owner. Peter's mix is unknown, as his owners evidently had an enclosure that was not secure enough to keep Chana away from stray males while she was in season, and they had no idea who got her pregnant. Peter and Chana were the two surviving members of a pack of three. Their companion animal had been wolf-napped and killed. Peter's owner started receiving death threats against the two remaining animals, and feared for their lives.

Under cover of darkness Peter, along with Chana, were taken from their home. The animals, including the male that had been shot, had never done any harm to anyone. Someone in the neighborhood just didn’t like wolf-dogs, and, without a care for the animals or their owner, killed an innocent animal. When Peter and Chana arrived, they were terrified and confused. Peter charged the fencing of the isolation enclosure twice, throwing his entire weight into the panicked attempt to escape. He was comforted by his owner, and soon began to settle down.

The two lived happily together and adjusted well to their new surroundings. Chana, being much older than Peter, did not enjoy the exuberant play that Peter did. We decided to give him a companion closer to his own age. Bacchus appeared to be the logical choice. He was a young male with a lot of energy. Bacchus is an Akita/Wolf mix, and we were a little concerned that his aggressive demeanor would be too much for Peter and Chana. We handled the new introductions very carefully with each animal on a leash so that we would have some control over the situation. As usual, the animals totally surprised us. Chana could have cared less about the new individual; Peter became aggressive and protective of his mother, and Bacchus rolled over on his back doing anything he could to get Peter to like him. After a few tense moments Peter began to settle in and the bonding began. Although Bacchus is the heaviest individual at Wolf, at 160 lbs., and outweighs Peter by about 35 lbs., there is no doubt that Peter is the boss. Bacchus accepts that situation and enjoys playing with Peter and, from time to time, Chana.

Peter is very social with humans, and enjoys scent-rubbing on them and receiving their attention and scratching. He is still very protective of his mother, who is quite ill with Cushing's Disease, and seems to let us know when she is not feeling well. His overall personality is that of a big goofy puppy, who just enjoys about everything that goes on in his life.

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