Renata sex: female born: 01 May 2003 birth place: Utah   given sanctuary: 27 August 2010

Renata's Story

The beginnings of Renata's story took place in 2003, in Utah. A gentleman had a male and female pair of wolf-dogs. Although he did not intend on breeding the two, no precautions had been taken and, well… Nature took its course. Around 62 days later, on the first of May, Renata was born. She was only allowed to know her mother for a short time. It is a common practice with wolf-dog breeders to pull the pups from their mother before their eyes open. The belief being the pups will imprint better on humans, if they are the first things the pup sees.

A friend of the man in Utah took Renata and her brother Manny. Renata was originally named Lilly, later in her journeys her name was changed. Renata's new guardian truly was a caring individual. He built the pair an outdoor enclosure, spent a good amount of time with the two of them and a natural bond was formed. After she reached maturity, Renata was allowed to breed and have puppies. We are unsure if the father was Manny, Renata's brother, or another male. It is a common belief that female wolf-dogs will have a calmer personality after having pups. The high energy personality of female wolves, especially dominant female wolves like Renata, actually plays an important part in pack stability. It's an inherent trait, another reason why wolves are perfectly suited for the wild, and not as a backyard pet.

Renata's real problems with her guardian in Utah came from a different direction. A neighbor was aptly against someone in the area having wolf-dogs. Although no problems had occurred with Renata or Manny, the neighbor's irrational fears of wolves spurred a small feud. After some threats were made, Renata's guardian was in fear for her and Manny's lives. They needed a new home before something dire happened. In December of 2006, Renata and Manny had to say goodbye to the life they knew in Utah.

A small rescue facility in southern California took the two of them in. This facility was not a long term sanctuary, so they began seeking a permanent home for Renata and Manny. Not so far away, in northern California, a small sanctuary was able to take the pair in for what was planned to have been a life-long home. Renata and Manny made the transition to their new home very well, at least in the beginning.

In northern California, the two were brought up to date on their vaccinations. They were looking to be good prospects as ambassador wolves as well. Renata and Manny made a handful of outings together, one of them a visit to a hospice home, but things were starting to change for Renata. Less than a month after arriving at her new home, she began to exhibit more dominant behavior towards her caretakers. She started being "grabby" with her muzzle. Initial signs of this started when she gently but firmly took her caretaker's wrist in her muzzle and would not let go. There was no growling or other outward signs, but this was the start of wolf behavior intended to test the pack hierarchy. Renata became more anxious and vocal over time. She held her ears more forward and her tail more raised. Her gaze became very fixed as her dominance behavior increased. Hoping this was only a transitional phase for Renata, they tried using a couple of calming medications. Unfortunately they had little effect on her behavior.

Renata had been removed from the territory she knew for her entire life. The hierarchy of her pack had changed as well. Her original guardian, whom she knew from a very young age, she had naturally accepted as the alpha of her pack. Now he was gone, she was in a new place and it was time to start a new pack. Renata wanted to be the alpha of that new pack and was taking the natural steps to assume that role. But this was not the entirety of what was happening it was mid January, natural mating season for wolves. Renata and Manny were both still intact and Renata was beginning her estrus cycle.

The dynamics of a wolf pack change dramatically when mating season begins. The alpha pair of the pack will become more dominant over the subordinate members of the pack. This behavior ensures that only the alpha pair will mate. In the wild, the entire pack spends more time separated than during other times of the year as the alpha pair go through courtship rituals. In captive situations where people are around wolves when these courtship rituals are happening, problems can occur. Shortly after discovering Renata was entering estrus, an emergency spay was performed. However the hormones that trigger all of these behaviors take time to go away. When one of her caretakers slipped and fell, instincts took over and it ended with moderate bites to the hand and face, leaving the caretaker with a broken finger and several stitches.

Renata had claimed the alpha position, at least in her own way of viewing things. Her behavior towards her caretakers had become more than they could manage. They held no ill will towards Renata, understanding her actions as normal wolf behavior. At the same time, they knew for her own safety as well as the safety of others, Renata needed to make another move. She needed to be at a sanctuary with better facilities to accommodate her needs as well as her personality.

A sanctuary on the east coast had the facilities Renata needed and outwardly appeared to be a good choice. Arrangements were made and a number of caring folks in the rescue community relayed Renata across the country to yet another new home. She arrived to find large, secure enclosures with play structures and all of the necessities.

She was still known as Lilly when she arrived, but the folks at the new sanctuary made the choice to change her name to Renata, which means 'reborn.' Around six months later, Manny began showing similar behavioral issues at the sanctuary in northern California. He made the journey to the east coast and was rejoined with Renata at the new sanctuary.

The details of the next two and a half years of Renata's life are not as well known. Although the sanctuary she went to outwardly appeared to be an upstanding facility, the realities for the animals were not. According to what we have found out, they held no animal related licenses, nor did they hold any sanctuary accreditations. This means there was no oversight of how the sanctuary was run or what kind of care the animals really received. Although it was state licensed as a nonprofit, the facility did not hold 501(c)(3) federal nonprofit status. Some time after Manny's arrival, he was euthanized for unknown reasons. Other animals apparently disappeared from this sanctuary without a trace as well and someone from the inside put out a quiet plea for help. As they came to light, the allegations of what was happening were horrifying and there was equally disturbing photo evidence to back them up. The claim was, as this sanctuary reached its holding capacity for animals and the owner of the sanctuary heard of another group of animals in need of rescue, animals at the sanctuary were killed in order to make space.

Several other sanctuaries, rescues and individuals came together in an effort to stop what was happening there. It made no sense, the very nature of what a sanctuary is was being contradicted by what was allegedly occurring. Due to the suspected mental state of the owner of the sanctuary, the next steps were taken carefully for the safety of the animals still there. The sanctuary was blocked from future rescues and persuaded into releasing a number of animals to other sanctuaries.

This is when Renata was originally supposed to come to WOLF. However the owner of the sanctuary changed their mind and stopped releasing animals before Renata was able to get out. Tactics against the sanctuary were stepped up and state authorities became involved. The sanctuary was forced to release all the wolf-dogs in their care, and not allowed to take in or keep any more. The animals were all safe and moved to new homes. Renata was safe as well and ready to make the move to WOLF. Although everyone involved would have liked to have seen more actions taken against the sanctuary owner, local laws did not permit that to happen.

Renata made the journey to Colorado by plane, significantly reducing the time she had to spend in a travel kennel. She arrived at WOLF seemingly unfazed by her travels, happy, calm and pleased to be accepting affection from the people who were greeting her. We had originally been told Renata was only 4 years old, but her physical traits appeared to say she was older. She was slightly underweight, had strange patches of fur missing from her coat, the tips of her ears were raw from fly bites, her paw pads had deep cracks through them, and she just outright looked like she had been through a lot.

The next day our veterinarian came to the Sanctuary to give Renata a full exam. Despite all of the visible ailments, there were no critical issues, which would require extreme measures -- except for building up her muscle mass. A special dietary plan was put together for her along with a treatment plan for her paws and a number of supplements were prescribed to improve her overall health. Our veterinarian gave Renata the go ahead to be with other animals, it was time for her to meet Webster.

Renata made the move from the isolation enclosure she had been in, to Webster's habitat by walking on a leash. Everyone was amazed at just how well she appeared to be adapting to all of the changes she had just been through. Her introduction to Webster went smoothly. They briefly met a couple of times, almost as if to simply say a polite hello to each other. Renata explored her new habitat until she was tired. Webster was likely remembering his failed introduction to Sasha. He was watching Renata from a distance, acting shy, though you could see he wanted to get closer. By evening, the two of them were laying a short distance apart. Webster and Renata's pairing was looking to be a good match.

Over the next several weeks, the two have slowly become more bonded. We feel everything Renata has been through had made her weary of bonding to other wolves. In the beginning, Renata would howl a mournful song several times a day. Usually when one of the wolves begins to howl at the Sanctuary, everyone else quickly joins in. When a wolf is grieving, they sing a different song and all of the other wolves simply listen in silence. As time passed, Renata sang her mournful song less often and finally the time came where almost never sings it any more. A welcome sign she is adapting well to her new life at WOLF. The cracks in her paw pads have healed well. Her coat looks wonderful now, especially as it fills in for winter and she is back up to a healthy weight. Webster and Renata have been slowly forming a deeper bond with each other, spending more time together and even seen playing every now and then. With her new life at WOLF, we believe the meaning of her new name has finally come to be.

 

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