Sigmund

sex: male
born: 18 August 2005
birth place: California

given sanctuary: 21 February 2008

 

Sigmund's Story

Wolf received a call from an excellent supporter who runs Big Dog Rescue in the bay area of California in December 2007. They had a sweet wolf-dog, Sigmund, in need of sanctuary. His background is sketchy, but he has been through multiple homes and escaped from all of them. He was twice found free ranging in the Santa Cruz Mountains, escaping from Animal Control attempts to catch him. The following is an excerpt from one of his champions, describing his background: Sigmund came to us as “Lucci”, as named by his temporary foster parents. He was seen roaming the hills of Santa Cruz for an extended period of time, escaping all attempts by Animal Control and several well-intended parties to capture him and provide safe haven. He was originally adopted out of San Francisco but quickly escaped from his ill-fit urban setting. He was not claimed as the adopter knew he was not ever going to contain this determined creature. He was adopted out a second time by a woman who proceeded to hand him over to yet another inappropriate setting where he again escaped. From that point on he was spotted numerous times in the Santa Cruz mountain area and then migrated to the Woodside region. Another well-meaning party took him in where he endeared himself to every human that he met. The reaction is always the same, regardless of whom he encounters. Everyone who meets him wants to assist in finding the perfect life for such a magnificent boy. We were notified by a fellow rescue group as the woman who had him called us for assistance. Sigmund has an entire fan club working on finding him the ideal place where he can thrive and be the wonderful wolf that he is.

As you can see, everyone he meets falls in love with him, and were working on finding him a perfect home. Well, that home is Wolf, and we intended to pair him with Shaman and Isabeau to keep Isabeau busy and give Shaman a break. Big Dog Rescue held him until we could take him. He arrived on February 21, transported by a caring soul named Al Frischman. Sigmund, or Siggi, was a little scared after his 30 hour trip and shocking new surroundings. We finally won him over with goodies, and soon were best of buds. After letting him acclimate to the new place, we introduced him to Shaman and Isabeau. Things went well, at first. Sigmund handled Isabeau well, but started showing aggression towards Shaman. Scared of losing his girl, Shaman asserted himself as Alpha. This did not go over well with Sigmund, and humans were required to stay with them to monitor the interactions. At end of day, we still weren’t comfortable leaving the three alone together, so they were separated for the evening with plans of fully incorporating them on Friday.

Friday morning began with an emergency situation with Kasha. We were only able to introduce them again for a short time, and things did not go as well. Sigmund was playing fine with Isabeau, but every time Shaman got into the middle, Sigmund became scared and defensive. Suddenly, it was on. Shaman was going after Sigmund to defend his position. Volunteers broke it up before a full-blown fight occurred, but the boys had to be immediately separated to calm down. The next day, the boys got into a huge fence fight before the daily meeting, and were too amped to attempt to put together. It became very obvious over the next few days that Sigmund was not welcome in Shaman’s Pack.

What were we to do with Sigmund now? He became very comfortable in the front enclosure, and loved coming in the house to hang out with his humans. Problems arose as he began dominating Rami and Lakotah in the house, and we knew he needed a buddy soon. Fortunately, Tunyan showed interest in playing with him at the fence. Could this work? We decided we had to try. The gates were opened, and humans were stationed around the enclosure to break up any situations. But they ignored each other! Tunyan seemed more concerned about the people than the new animal. So the people left, and play was on. It came on so fast and furious, Tunyan was exhausted in 10 minutes. After a short rest, it was on again. Sigmund even flipped Tunyan on her back a few times, even though she out weighs him by 50 pounds.

This is the start of an outstanding relationship for both of them. They play well, share food well, and truly enjoy each others company. We have high hopes of Sigmund becoming an Ambassador animal, so make sure he gets plenty of human time and comes into house regularly. He is even trying to get Tunyan to enter the house, one paw at a time. Sigmund has been an absolute joy and life saver to us during this difficult time when we have lost so many friends. We are 100% confident he has finally found the perfect home.

 

 

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