Rami

sex: female
born: 16 February 1995
birth place: Colorado

deceased: 14 November 2008

given sanctuary: 01 March 1995

 

 

Rami's Memorial
see Newsletter - Fall 2008 (click)

Rami's Story

Rami is one of the sweetest animals at the Wolf, willing to snuggle up to any human for attention. She also has an alpha personality, and will initiate an attack against another female in order to prove her position. These dichotomies are exactly the reason that a lot of wolf-dogs get themselves into trouble, even if they are fairly low content wolf.

Her story, although tragic, could have had a much worse ending. Wolf received a phone call from a terribly distraught individual who was trying to find a home for nine puppies and their mom. The family who owned them was being forced to move, and could not find another home that would allow animals. They had contacted the humane society, and were told that all wolf-dogs that are surrendered by their owners are automatically euthanized. This approach is used pretty universally across the United States.

The woman who talked with us was frantic, and could not believe that this approach was reasonable. The individual she had spoken to at the humane society suggested she call us. As the story unfolded, it appeared to be completely human error. The mom of the pups, Kodiak, was purported to be a 75% arctic wolf and 25% husky. She was pure white and very beautiful. The owners opted to lock her in the garage when she went into season, instead of having her spayed. As nature would have it, they came home from work one day to find that she had eaten through the wall of the garage, and was in the backyard with a pure husky.

Although Wolf tries to accept only the higher percentage wolf-dogs that are more difficult to place, we could not say no to these helpless, seemingly doomed animals. We accepted them and watched them closely as they grew and developed their own personalities. We were looking for the traits that would determine whether or not they could be adopted out to families. We ended up placing five of the puppies and keeping the other four.

We also learned some invaluable lessons about the social and training behaviors demonstrated by these animals, even when they are captive. The alpha male of the house pack, Sasha, adopted these pups and became their patient, yet insistent, instructor. Watching them imitate his behavior, and get reprimanded when they were out-of-line, was amazing. Encouraging them to fight back by pushing them down a snow bank was hilarious. Their biological mom and their adopted dad switched off responsibility, and showed patience that most humans only dream about.

Rami and one of her sisters, Chocolate Face, used to team and attack other members of their pack. We were forced to separate them into their own enclosure in front of the house. They were, of course, still allowed into the house at night and anytime they pleased during the day.

Over the years, the house pack has decreased in size, so Rami and Chocolate were again allowed into the main enclosure. In 2006, we accepted a 4 month old puppy named Isabeau into the pack. She quickly became too much for the older ladies to handle, so they were once again separated into their old enclosure. We even build a ramp so they did not have to use the stairs.

Rami recently became the last member of the house pack. She is now more spoiled than ever, going on walks daily off leash, and getting lots of extra goodies and attention. We thought this would be hard on her, but Rami seems to enjoy the company of humans more than animals. She remains very happy at Wolf.

 

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