Sky
sex: male
born:
May 1997
birth
place: Colorado
champion:
John Lehner
Almost
every animal at Wolf has had a
champion, someone who connected with them and their plight.
A special person who went the distance to find them a home at Wolf.
given
sanctuary: 03 January 1998
Sky's Story
Frank and Pat Wendland, cofounders of Wolf, were away on an emergency in Wisconsin, leaving the rescue in the care of one of the sanctuary’s capable volunteers, John. The Wendlands checked in with John every day to make sure all was running smoothly at the compound, and had spoken to John once in the morning of January 1st. So it was unusual for him to be calling them for a second time on this particular New Year’s Day in 1998.
The Wendlands
were slightly apprehensive as they took the call, hoping nothing had
gone wrong at the rescue. But John was calling to let the Wendlands
know that an animal needed help. It seems that a couple in the Denver
area had a 7-month-old wolf-dog that they needed to place. You see,
they were moving to Texas, and didn’t want to be bothered taking him
with them. John wanted to know what to do: should he take the pup
or not? The owners said they would deliver him, along with a temporary
dog enclosure he could stay in, until it was decided whom he would
be placed with permanently.
Frank and
Pat told John to make the arrangements and bring Sky to Wolf.
On January 2nd, John again contacted the Wendlands. He
told them that the owners called and said they did not have enough
time to bring the pup to Wolf. So they
were going to have him euthanized. If Wolf
wanted Sky, arrangements would have to be made to pick him up. John
said he would make the trip to Denver, if it was okay with Frank and
Pat.
On
January 3, 1998, John made the trip to Denver, kenneled Sky and made
the trip back. Sky arrived at Wolf, still
a pup. You could already see what a magnificent adult Sky would be.
He was pure white, with the most beautiful yellow eyes you have ever
seen, but he was very, very shy of people, as most wolves are. Sky
was eventually placed in an enclosure with Ahzeem, and they bonded
very well. Although Ahzeem is significantly smaller than Sky, Ahzeem
is the dominant individual in the relationship. Periodically, Ahzeem
will demonstrate his position by pinning Sky. However, he never causes
any injuries. The majority of the time, they play a game we call ‘chase
me, chase you’, which consists of taking turns chasing each other
at high rates of speed over the entire enclosure. To watch this activity
and the apparent lack of aggression or animosity and such an outpouring
of energy is truly amazing. We have seen this same game played by
a number of the groups at Wolf, and wish
we could find a way for humans to enjoy this same type of relationship.
It has taken
months of caring attention for Sky to bond as well with people. Sky
is still a little shy, especially with new individuals, but has improved
as time has gone by. Sky is now one of the favorites of visitors to
Wolf, and continues to live happily with
Ahzeem and another companion, Nugget. Every time we look at Sky and
see the magnificent wolf he has become, we wonder: how anyone could
even think of putting an animal to death because it is simply more
convenient for them?
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