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As I write this message Pat Wendland (Wolf), Cheryl Budler (Wolf) and Sue Cranston (Indigo Mtn. Nature Center) are traveling to Texas to help with a tragic situation.
NAWA (North American Wolf Association), a rescue/sanctuary in the Houston area has been hit with an outbreak of canine distemper. Approximately 20 animals have died horribly from the disease. There are 20 wolves and wolf-dogs that are still alive and the team from Wolf and Indigo Mountain are going to help with medical procedures needed to ascertain the health of those remaining and provide vaccinations. Due to the fact that many of the animals are not social, they will have to be darted with a tranquilizer to perform the necessary procedures. After tranquilization, blood will be drawn for general blood tests and an immediate heart worm test. Based on the results of these quick-response tests from Heska the animal will be treated with Revolution (controls heartworm, round worm, hook worm, fleas, ticks, and mites). They will then be vaccinated for rabies, distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, type 2 parainfluenza, coronavirus and bordatella. At this point a general exam will also be performed. All of this will be accomplished under the supervision of local veterinarians.
This situation has developed into a rather complicated and tenuous predicament. Due to this specific event and other factors the guardianship of the animals has been removed from the founder of NAWA and temporarily placed under the care of another individual. That individual requested help from a number of concerned organizations including Wolf. Wolf immediately recommended a protocol for working with the animals that would help retard the spread of the distemper and other diseases that might be present in the area. Strict procedures were implemented dealing with food, water and waste removal containers/tools, protective hand and foot gear as well as shoe baths.
As it currently stands the future for these animals is fairly uncertain. Although we are confident that the medical procedures will assure the recovery and health of the animals, it turns out that the owner of the land where the animals are located seems unwilling to sign a new lease or extension when the current lease ends on February 17th. Technically the judge can assign permanent custody of the animals after February 10th. That date is the end of the time period that was allotted for the founder of NAWA to remedy a number of legal issues. Those issues involve an outstanding personal injury judgment in the amount of $220,000, back veterinary bills and back property rents as well as securing a new facility with adequate containment and utilities.
We will keep you updated on these events as they transpire.
The current report from Texas is the proverbial 'good news/bad news' scenario.
Pat Wendland (Wolf), Sue Cranston (Indigo Mtn. Nature Center) and Cheryl Budler (Wolf) began their day yesterday very early and did not leave the ex-NAWA facility until dark. When I spoke with Pat she was exhausted and I did not want to keep her on the phone too long. So, although I do not have a great deal of specifics on yesterdays events, I did want to disseminate what I did find out.
A good deal of time was spent on setup of an exam area and arrangement of the tools necessary to perform all of the tasks efficiently and effectively.
A quick visual inspection of the animals indicates that there may be other problems associated with the health of the animals. We will get more information on this as we receive more detailed information from the team and the results of blood tests come back from the lab.
A total of nine animals were treated yesterday and the team was very optimistic about being able to finish the initial procedures on the animals today. Unfortunately, a snag occurred as there was no vet available for today. The last time I spoke with Pat she was still trying to get a vet. If this does not happen, the team will take the day off and wait for a vet to continue tomorrow.
I'm sorry the details are not available at this time, however we all need to be patient and let the team do their jobs, focusing on the animals as opposed to keeping us informed.
Sunday's events unfolded much later than was originally planned because a vet could not be found to assist with the treatments. Although Cheryl Budler from Wolf is a highly trained Vet Tech and is very experienced with wolves and wolf-dogs, and Pat Wendland from Wolf has had 10 years of hands-on medical assistance experience with wolves and wolf-dogs, "The Team" still wanted the advice of a licensed veterinarian. (I guess they don't work on Sundays). After an exhaustive search they were finally able to get a vet to advise via cell phone. The symptoms were given to the vet verbally and the vet gave verbal advice back.
"The Team" was only able to treat 5 animals on Sunday, because of this delay. That brings the total treated to 14. They again had to stop procedures as it grew dark. I was able to get more data from them, however.
As more animals are treated, the picture of the situation/conditions at the facility starts to become much clearer. I will try to give you as detailed of a run-down as I was able to glean from "The Team". We did receive some photos of the events and I am including some of them with this report. If your computer has a problem with accepting these photos please email me and I will send just the text.
The entrance road into the facility starts to give an indication of what is ahead. The Team decided not to attempt taking vehicles to the site. This required all supplies and equipment needed to treat the animals to be carried the approximate half-mile to the enclosures.
Set-up of the tools was accomplished in pretty much of a MASH format. Rustic but efficient.
As the team tranquilized each animal, everyone had a role to perform in order to insure quick, efficient, low-stress procedures. Each animal (in this photo - Dutchess) had:
Blood Drawn
Heartworm Test Performed
Temperature Taken
Parasite Medication Administered (if heartworm test was negative)
Vaccines Administered
General Exam Performed
General Antibiotic Administered
Tranquilizer Reversal Administered
As of the end of yesterday, they had treated a total of 14 animals. All of them have problems and it appears that two are extreme. Whether these problems are a result of weakened systems from the exposure to distemper or from other factors is still unknown. More will be verified as the results from the blood tests are received. The symptoms that are common to almost all of the animals examined so far and that are causing concern; dehydration (which makes it very difficult to draw blood), low body weights, and high temperatures. It is suspected, based on a lot of stagnant water in the enclosures (like the Donally Pack enclosure photo shown here) that they may have giardia or some other water-born intestinal parasite. It is also suspected that they are malnourished as well.
photo - two surviving members of the Donally Pack
The way the statistics pan out for the 14 that have been treated:
Tranquilization - 4 by hand injection (social enough to accommodate), 9 by dart (not social), 1 not tranquilized (suspected kidney problems precluded the use of drugs - leashed and held down for the treatments).
Temperatures - 2 normal, 10 higher than normal and in the concern category, 2 extremely high at 105.7ºF.
Heartworm Test - 13 negative, 1 positive.
The 6 remaining animals, yet to be treated, are purportedly survivors of the distemper virus. The Team has been told that they all had the disease and survived.
This photo is representative of the average enclosure at the facility. Approximately 10' x 20', covered with fencing that is swaying due to debris on the top. This has made it difficult to walk upright in the enclosures, even for some of our shorter team members. The Donally Pack enclosure is the largest at approximately 50' x 50'.
As we receive the results of today's activities, we will get another report sent out.
Yesterday's events cleared up a few mysteries for "The Team" working in Texas. They have been stumped as to the lack of concern by local vets. Both Wolf and Indigo Mountain are professionally managed organizations that believe in good relationships with all of the folks that they deal with, including their vets. Evidently, that was not the case with NAWA. The vets did not want to work with our team because of past dealings with "wolf people". It appears that their relationships with NAWA were not very professional. Therefore, they wanted no part of anything related to NAWA.
Beowolf
After Pat was able to spend some time talking with one of them it became radically clear that not all "wolf people" are flakes. Dr. Heidi immediately changed her entire day's schedule and spent the day with "The Team".
The final six animals were finished up yesterday and these were the results:
Temperatures: 1 at 107.2º, 3 between 103.5º and 104.2º, 2 had normal temps
Heartworm: All were negative
General Condition: All were dehydrated to varying degrees
Treatments Given: All had blood drawn, All were vaccinated, All were treated for parasites, All were given antibiotic injections, All had fecal samples taken, All had general exams.
Max
By dark "The Team" was exhausted, but feeling the exhilaration of having completed the important first step in a long journey for these animals. Their joy bubbled over into their conversations with me, on the phone, that night. They had been to dinner and celebrated the occasion.
This morning they have a short break while they wait for all of the results of the blood and fecal tests to be finished. Once those results are in step 2 will begin. Treatment protocol must be established for each animal. They are hoping and praying that the ailments that exist can be treated more easily than the procedures required in step 1. We will let you know as we receive those results.
Current beliefs would dictate that all of these animals are going to require a minimum of 90 days in isolation/quarantine in order to prevent the spread of any "bugs" that are or might still be present in the animals. The best place for this isolation to occur is somewhere far away from their current environment. Accommodating that option is still a major source of concern.
Dutchess
Please send this message to everyone you can think of. As it currently stands there are no good options as to permanent suitable accommodations for these animals. It is imperative that they not go to any location where there are other animals that may become infected. The ideal situation would be virgin property close enough to an existing sanctuary that treatment can continue efficiently, yet enough distance that infection possibilities would be eliminated. Although we have discovered one such option, the additional land would have to be purchased and enclosures built. The total tab for such an undertaking would be $ 175,000. As it currently stands there are no funds available for this option.
Here we go again. All kinds of clichés enter my mind at this stage of the game. "Good news, bad news". "Hurry up and wait". "The watched pot doesn't boil". You get the idea anyway.
Yesterday "The Team" was waiting for the results of all the tests performed on the animals. Their desire was to set up the treatment protocol for each animal with volunteers that will be caring for them, before they left Texas. The initial indications were that all of the fecal exams came back negative for giardia. Great news, right! Not necessarily - if the dehydration and temperatures were not being caused by giardia - then what?
OK, they would just have to wait for the results of the blood tests to get a better understanding of the situation. As the lab proceeded to test the blood it became apparent that this was not going to get accomplished soon. It appears that they encountered problems with the blood itself. Evidently the blood is so dehydrated that they are having difficulty getting enough serum from the blood to do their tests. The lab is going to have to go through a more elaborate process to get the blood tested. This could take as long as 4 to 5 days to accomplish.
The Team arranged with Dr. Heidi to train the volunteers on what was necessary, if anything, to treat the animals and they headed out of town. I will bring you more information about the test results as we receive them.
Alright, I know your thinking - job well-done the Team can head for home. Wrong, as they were packing up and getting ready to head back to Colorado, they received a plea for help from the Executive Director of TAOS (The Association of Sanctuaries), Craig Brestrup. It appears that there are 15 wolves or wolf-dogs in the San Antonio area that were abandoned by their owner and even though neighbors were trying to provide care for the animals, they were afraid of them. The question/plea "would the Team be willing to swing by San Antonio to assess the situation and provide more specific information about the animals." How could they say no?
So, as of this writing the Team is in San Antonio and preparing to get out to the facility where the animals are located. We will bring you information on this situation as we receive it.
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