Spirit

sex: male
born: March 1998 (est.)
birth place: Colorado

deceased: 28 July 2006

given sanctuary: 07 August 1998

 

 

Spirit's Memorial
see Newsletter - Summer 2006 (click)

Spirit's Story

Spirit’s story begins many months before anyone at Wolf ever knew he existed. Born at a wildlife photography preserve in Colorado, Spirit’s life began as do all wolf/wolf-dog pups, safe and warm lying close up against his mom’s furry belly, feeling her warm tongue cleaning his own fuzzy little body and the taste of warm milk in his mouth. Life for Spirit and his siblings would have gone well, except for fate.

The owner of the preserve had been forced to move his facility to another state. While in the process of setting up the new facility, he hired a full-time caretaker to run the old facility and care for the wolves, mountain lions, bears, and foxes that lived there. The owner of the refuge put his trust in the caretaker, but trust is not always rewarded in-kind. Pups were born at the facility, and it is believed that some of them were stolen by the caretaker. Several were sold to a photography preserve in Montana and two were kept by this person. The pups were basically “wolf-napped”. The caretaker kept them at his home in a small enclosure without shelter and was remiss in their consistent care. As the pups grew, it became apparent that the caretaker had no options for the further use of them.

In July 1998, the owner of another rescue we work with contacted us. She had received a phone call from the caretaker, who said he had two pure wolves he needed to place. This person refused to give her any information about where the pups had come from, who the real owner was, or anything else. He just needed to get rid of them. This lady runs a reputable rescue and education facility and was concerned about the legitimacy of this person. She contacted Wolf to learn if we knew anything about this situation. Wolf personnel did know something of this situation and informed her about what we believed to be the full story. It will suffice to say that the Colorado Division of Wildlife became involved and the caretaker eventually lost his license to maintain wildlife in this state. One of the pups was taken to the other refuge, and Spirit came to live at Wolf. He was 5½ months old at the time.

Spirit’s story continues with one of those amazing little miracles that often seem to happen when wolves are involved. Shortly after Spirit arrived, we received a phone call from a lady who wanted to visit the facility and spend some time with the animals. We receive calls of this type all the time and sometimes it is just curiosity on behalf of the caller, but there was something in her voice that Frank picked up on, and a time was set for her to visit the facility.

When the lady arrived Frank greeted her and was talking to her about which enclosure she would be taken into. Frank was shocked when the lady said, “Oh, I know exactly which enclosure. I need to go in with Spirit.” The woman saw the shocked expression on Frank’s face and started to explain. “You see”, she said, “I have known Spirit since he was a few weeks old”. “I just didn’t know where he was until very recently.” The woman continued her amazing story. “I used to take care of him and his brother when they were kept next door to where I live (the caretakers home), and then one day they just disappeared.” She went on with her story, “The man that kept them would not tell me what had happened to them.” “Then very recently my 18 year-old son was killed in a climbing accident.” Everyone present was stunned and, as you can imagine, at a loss for words. The woman looked at us all with very gentle eyes and continued to explain. For the past three months since her son’s death, she had lost all interest in living. She had been going through the motions, getting up, going to work, eating, and sleeping. She seemed to have lost all love of life; she even refused to open her mail. Nothing held her interest. Then one day while at work, she felt an overwhelming urge to go out to her car and go through the mail she had been ignoring for months. As she leafed through the stack that had accumulated on the front seat, she came across the Wolf newsletter. A voice she truly believed was her son told her to open it. She listened to the voice, and to her amazement there on the front page was a photo of Spirit. Tears came to her eyes and she believed her son had directed her to find Spirit in order to help her on her healing path.

As the woman, Kari, approached and was let inside the enclosure, she called out to Spirit, now at least six months older than the last time she saw him. Spirit’s reaction to Kari was truly one of the most amazing things ever witnessed at Wolf. Everyone present was in tears as this magnificent animal and the person who had cared for him as a pup were reunited. We still get goose bumps remembering how Spirit and Kari cried, laughed, and rolled on the ground full of joy at having found each other. They gave each other kisses and all present shared in their happiness.

Spirit was a phenomenal ambassador for his species while at Wolf. He taught thousands how truly magnificent and loving wolves really are. His relationship with his first companion, Cheyenne, showed us how bonded and emotionally attached these animals are. After Cheyenne’s untimely passing, Spirit grieved much like humans do. We thought he would die of a broken heart before we rescued Indigo, a wolf-dog puppy. Spirit raised him like his own to adulthood, until meeting Kiki. When Spirit and Kiki, a female wolf, became a pair, Indigo was no longer welcome in the pack. They enjoyed a beautiful relationship until Spirit’s early passing.

On July 28, 2006 Spirit left his physical body. There was no warning, no signs of illness. Volunteers doing morning chores found his body. Everyone that knew him was devastated. It seems, unknown to anyone, Spirit was born with kidneys one third the size they should have been. Even if we had known of this birth defect, the only option would have been a kidney transplant. We still grieve his loss, but his memory will stay with us forever, as he was one of the most caring and loving beings we have ever had the privileged to know.

 

 

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