Tunyan

sex: female
born: 27 April 2002
birth place: Arizona

 

given sanctuary: 23 May 2002

 

 

 

Tunyan's Story

Tunyan (pronounced Too-Yawn) is a beautiful, black Mackenzie Valley wolf mix, the first born of an unexpected and unplanned litter of five. The guardian of Tunyan’s mother would regularly visit with a friend who had an intact male. Tunyan made her first appearance on April 27, 2002 at about 2 pm. She was taken away from her mother at 10 days of age. This is done by breeders so that the young, when their eyes first open, will imprint on humans instead of their biological parents. She opened her eyes 2 days later and immediately began learning how to stand and walk. Five days later, she was wrestling with her siblings and stalking her toys.

Wolf picked Tunyan up on May 21, 2002. Pat and a volunteer, Arly, flew to Phoenix and returned with a precious carry-on package that squirmed. She weighed approximately 5 lbs, had beautiful deep blue eyes, and was a typical wolf pup. In other words she was a holy terror. Three of the other pups had been placed, and one would remain with its mother. At this time the pup still did not have a name, and we did not know her well enough to give her one. Because she was so small and required bottle-feeding, she would need to stay in a confined area on Frank and Pat’s deck. As we got to know her, it was decided that her name would be Tunyan, which is Lakota for BRAT!

Approximately six weeks after she arrived, she became ill. Tunyan was very lethargic and stopped eating. After a full day of testing it was determined that she was suffering from iron deficiency anemia. Tunyan’s red blood cell count was 7. Normal would have been 40. Tunyan was rushed to the hospital and, over the next two days, received two blood transfusions and injections of iron. It was never determined exactly what caused the deficiency.

Tunyan had originally come to the Sanctuary to become part of Spirit and Indigo’s pack, but now it was very apparent that she could not be placed with them. It would be imperative for her treatment and recuperation to be monitored closely.

As she regained her health, she also bonded with the house pack -- most notably Kasha and Shaman. Once again, she began eating like a wolf, steadily gaining weight and growing like a weed. She also grew into her name. There was no doubt that she had an alpha personality and knew exactly how to use it. As the trio bonded even closer, volunteers began calling them ‘the Brat Pack.’ It was obvious who was calling the shots and seemed appropriate that the group be labeled accordingly.

Tunyan developed into a magnificent alpha female and eventually chose Kasha as her life-time mate. Unfortunately for Shaman, this was very disturbing as his ‘spirit brother’ was now under her control. She eventually drove Shaman out the pack. Shaman was placed in the enclosure next to Kasha so they could remain close. Although very possessive of her mate, she is still extremely social with humans and enjoys meeting new volunteers and, of course, swapping spit.

Kasha was diagnosed with kidney issues in the summer of 2007, and became very ill in February of 2008. He unfortunately did not survive the illness, which left Tunyan alone for the first time. We made sure she received lots of extra attention and goodies from the humans while everyone grieved the loss of Kasha. Were would we find a good companion for Tunyan now?

And then fate stepped in. Just days before, we had accepted a young male named Sigmund as a companion for Shaman and Isabeau, as Isabeau is just too much for Shaman alone. The pack introductions had not been going well, and it quickly became apparent that Sigmund was not welcomed in Shaman’s pack. He was staying in the front run while we decided what to do for him, when Tunyan suddenly showed interest in playing with him at the fence. Could this possibly work? We decided to try, and the two immediately hit it off. Play began so fast and furious that Tunyan was exhausted in 10 minutes. After a short rest, play was on again. Although Tunyan is 50 pounds larger than Sigmund, there is no doubt he is the boss. Tunyan adores him, and we are hopeful their constant play will help her lose a couple pounds. They remain together at Wolf, happy and healthy, and a favorite of all fortunate enough to meet them.