For those of you who have never had the opportunity to meet Kasha in person, he is a beautiful pure wolf. Unknown to the owners of Kasha’s biological parents, at the time Kasha and the rest of the litter were born, his mother was gravely ill with cancer. In this instance what that meant was that Kasha was deprived of calcium since his mother’s body was trying to repair itself. Kasha also was the runt of the litter, which was the second strike against the little wolf. As the pup continued to grow, Frank and Pat noticed that his front leg bones were absolutely huge and that his feet were beginning to turn out. The Wendlands called in their vets and Kasha was diagnosed with hyper para-thyroidism with degenerative bone disease. As the pup continued to grow, his legs became more and more deformed until at 17 months of age both of his front legs were shaped like backward C’s. The condition was so serious that it could be strike three against the, now not so little, wolf.

After numerous consultations with veterinarians and orthopedic surgeons, and a great deal of soul searching about Kasha’s quality of life, the ultimate decision to operate on his legs was left to Frank and Pat Wendland. There were so many things to consider that it was not an easy thing to do. Frank and Pat had serious concerns about what this surgery would do to Kasha, not only physically, but emotionally. Would his life be better or worse? Would his pack accept him back after the surgery? Frank and Pat felt there was no way that a pure wolf could be confined in a travel kennel for 3 months, which is what the doctors were recommending. That type of confinement would drive the wolf insane and he would more than likely do harm to himself if kept in such close quarters. Wolves must have the companionship of their pack members and enough of an area to be able to get away from humans or anything else they might fear.

The Wendlands made the decision to let Kasha live out his life without having the surgery. This was extremely distressing to both Frank and Pat; after all they had raised Kasha from the time he arrived at the Wolf facility approximately 19 months ago. Kasha was 2 ½ weeks old when received by the Wendlands. This tiny ball of fuzz had been bottle-fed by both the Wendlands and several volunteers at the facility. As far as Kasha knew, these two humans who had no fur, only two legs and couldn’t howl properly to save their lives, were the only parents he knew. Frank and Pat were aware that this decision would mean that Kasha would only have about one more year to live. The disease would eventually cause him so much pain that he would no longer be able to walk and therefore he would have to be euthanized. This was abhorrent to the Wendlands and so they continued to search for an alternative means of saving Kasha’s life.

Sometimes miracles arrive in the most unexpected and unlikely way. Kasha’s miracle arrived at the Wolf facility in the form of a stray kitten no more than 5 or 6 weeks old. This little creature, small enough to be held in one hand, was trapped in a 50-foot tree outside of one of the wolf enclosures. The Wolf facility is very remote and the closest year round neighbor is ¾ of a mile away. Calls were made to see if any of the neighbors were missing a kitten, but no one was. So where then had this little angel come from?

The kitten was screaming so loudly that Frank and Pat knew it was terrified. Taking great care not to traumatize it any further, Frank climbed the tree and handed the kitten to Pat. Bringing it into the house Pat realized the little thing was starving to death, she could feel every bone in its body. Carefully placing it in the same bathtub that Kasha had lived in for the first few weeks he lived at Wolf, the kitten was given small amounts of water and food. Frank called our vet, Priscilla Dressen, and explained the situation. Priscilla agreed to take the kitten, nurse it back to health, and find it a home. Frank headed into town with the kitten.

Now, I know you’re wondering what in blue blazes this has to do with Kasha. Well when Frank arrived at the vet clinic with “Hors d'oeuvre”, which is what Frank jokingly called her, he was introduced to Dr. Randy Fitch, a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, and Kasha’s miracle began. If the kitten had not shown up at the Wolf facility, Frank never would have met Dr. Fitch and never discussed Kasha’s situation with him. Frank and Pat never would have learned of a new technique being practiced by Dr. Fitch, and Kasha would never have had the surgery that will save his life.

But a little miracle did occur and Kasha would have the lifesaving surgery on September 15, 2000. Dr. Fitch proposed doing the surgery on one leg and then 12 weeks later operate on the second leg. By placing all of the necessary hardware on the inside of Kasha’s leg, instead of using an external fixator, Kasha would not have to be isolated in a travel kennel for 3 months. Still, it would be necessary for Kasha to remain sedated for 2 to 3 days, away from the other animals, humans and any stressful situations. Dr. Fitch would perform the surgery at Colorado State Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Dr. Dressen would stay with Kasha throughout the entire operation.

Early on the morning of the 15^th Kasha was sedated by Pat and with the help of Frank and Eric loaded into a travel kennel and then the Wolf-mobile and driven to Colorado State University. Upon arrival Kasha was intubated and immediately taken to x-ray. Pat waited with friends to learn how the x-rays had turned out but when the news came it was not what she had hoped to hear. Dr. Fitch called Pat into the lab to show and explain the x-rays. Kasha’s leg deformities were much more severe than had been expected. There were also hundreds of stress fractures in his ankle. It was so bad that the ulna had taken over as the main bone in the leg. In a normal leg it would have been the radius. This presented another problem; both bones would now need to be cut. There was no way the surgery could be performed as originally planned. There would have to be an external fixator since none of the hardware needed to hold Kasha’s leg together could be placed on the inside. Dr. Fitch gave Kasha a 75% chance to first survive the surgery and secondly to heal properly. Pat immediately called Frank, who was still at the rescue caring for the rest of the wolves. A very emotional conversation was held, going back and forth between bringing Kasha home or proceeding with the surgery. Discussing what would be done if the emotional stress on Kasha were too much, Dr. Fitch, Dr. Dressen, Frank, and Pat finally agreed to give Kasha the only chance he had for a normal life.

Immediately after the decision was made Kasha was taken into surgery. While being prepped for the surgery, Kasha started to bloat. He was rushed back to x-ray to insure that his intestines had not twisted. Fortunately this was not the case but an extra tube was placed down his throat to relieve any gas pressure. Kasha was then taken back to the operating room.

This was an extremely difficult surgery. It involved making two incisions on the side of Kasha’s leg. Dr. Fitch, using what is called a rake, lifted the skin, muscle, and tendons of Kasha’s leg enabling him to expose the bones without having to cut through the muscles and tendons. Dr. Fitch then made two ‘V’ shaped cuts in the bones, removing the excess bone. Now he was able to straighten the leg, and using Kasha’s own bone and marrow he transplanted it into the cuts in Kasha’s leg bones. Kasha had received a bone marrow transplant using the very bone that was causing his deformity. Because the marrow was from Kasha’s body there would be no chance of rejection. This at least was in his favor.

Meanwhile, Pat with the help of her friends and volunteers Gail Daugherty, Lorraine May, Debbie Sannan, and Kerry Tripp waited. Every hour or so Dr. Dressen or Gina Kettells would come out and explain what was going on and how Kasha was doing. Thank goodness all was going well.

Back in surgery Dr. Fitch was placing the newest technology, a fixator called an Ilizarov on Kasha’s leg. The Ilizarov is a circular contraption that looks like a giant spring. Because it is circular it enables the doctor to place stainless steel pins in any direction necessary to support the bone and hold it together.

Kasha was taken home immediately after the surgery where he gave everyone caring for him gray hair and heart palpitations. Kasha remained calm in the small enclosure on Frank and Pat’s porch for the first night. On the second day he climbed on the doghouse Frank had built and tried to go over the roof of the house. He was quickly moved to the front run where he couldn’t climb on anything. After almost a week, he was feeling well enough to try and figure out a way to get out of that enclosure. There was no choice but to place him back in his own enclosure. Since doing that Kasha has improved steadily.

Kasha’s surgery took almost 9 hours. The costs were climbing over $3,000. The reward of seeing Kasha with a straight leg and knowing that the doctor will be able to repair his other leg is priceless. Everyone at Wolf is very optimistic about Kasha’s recovery. If little miracles continue to happen, Kasha will be walking on two straight legs by next fall.

Speaking of little miracles, the kitten, was adopted by a wonderful lady and renamed Wolfie. Wolfie is now a healthy and happy cat and soon Kasha will be a healthy wolf with, if not bionic legs, at least strong and straight ones.

Approximately eight weeks after the entire facility had to be evacuated due to a forest fire that came within 400 feet of the animal enclosures, the Bobcat Fire was burning out of control just a few miles from where Wolf is located. Once again we were put on alert by the fire department. There was a good chance that the facility would have to be evacuated to protect the lives of the residents, both four-legged and two-legged.

Calls were placed to all of the volunteers that had helped evacuate the animals during the first fire. Again the response was overwhelming. Cars and trucks started arriving, lining the driveway. Help came from as far as Denver and Louisville. This time the Humane Society for Larimer County did not have enough trucks to go around. There were so many displaced animals from this fire that not only couldn’t they help move the animals but also all of the kennel facilities in the area were full to overflowing. We were on our own. Thank the Great Spirit, we had more time to accomplish the evacuation if it became necessary. One of the major concerns was where we would take the animals if we did evacuate. Contacting Jeff Battle of the Larimer County Humane Society, we were given the name of the kennel director of the Cloverleaf Dog Track. Arrangements were made to bring all of the animals there if it became necessary. One problem solved. Another problem would be that many more portable kennels would be required to move the animals.

An emergency call went out to our friends at PetCo. Paula Hanson, the manager, took a quick inventory of all the portable kennels that were at the store. Arrangements were made for someone to pick up every large, X-large and giant size kennel PetCo had in stock. Also needed were additional leashes and collars. Paula made arrangements for Wolf to receive a substantial discount on the numerous items they had available.

When the kennels were delivered, some of the volunteers were put to work assembling them, while another team placed the correct number of kennels outside each enclosure. Meanwhile another team was bringing collars and leashes and placing them with the kennels.

Inside the house dosages of tranquilizer were being calculated for each animal. Someone was loading darts so that the tranquilization process could begin. It was decided to move the House Pack first as all of those animals could be given hand injections of the tranquilizing drug.

The preparations were going along smoothly. All we had to do now was wait it out. More help arrived including Paula and members of her staff from the PetCo in Fort Collins. They said they needed to come and help, waiting at the store was too difficult.

The reports on the fire were sounding worse every time we heard a new one. We were in constant contact with Jan from Wilderness Ranch, a farm animal rescue and sanctuary located just a few miles from Wolf as the crow flies or in this case as the fire burned. If the fire reached Wilderness Ranch and it became necessary for them to evacuate, Jan would notify us that they were on their way. We all hoped and prayed it would not be necessary for either Wilderness Ranch or Wolf to evacuate but that’s not the way it was to be.

The call from Jan came; she and her volunteers were evacuating all of the animals. We wished each other luck and hung up, both knowing what now needed to be done. We contacted the fire department to check on how close the fire was. The fire department spokesperson told us that the Bobcat was totally out of control, being whipped by strong winds and headed our way. If it jumped the Buckhorn Road it would reach us within hours.

The evacuation began. Eight of the House Pack animals were loaded and taken into town. The remaining House Pack animals were given injections and loaded into travel kennels. Darting of the animals that need to be tranquilized to even load them into kennels was just about to begin. Suddenly, as if the Great Spirit had heard our prayers but was prioritizing his work, (after all we were not the only people asking for help that day), the weather changed dramatically. The clouds rolled in bringing drizzle and snow, the wind suddenly stopped blowing, and it turned cold. The weather front came in so fast that it was almost unbelievable. Everything stopped and the evacuation was put on hold. If the weather held we would not need to complete the evacuation. We waited and waited and the Great Spirit smiled down on us. The evacuation was called off. In a few hours we knew we would be able to actually bring the animals already in town back to the rescue. Volunteers went to fetch them, the homecoming sweet for all involved.

This fire season was difficult for Wolf, as you know one animal was lost. This was the greatest cost to all of us who volunteer here. We are happy to tell you that no animals were hurt during the second evacuation. Also, Jan and her volunteers at Wilderness Ranch evacuated and returned home with no injuries.

Frank and I want to thank everyone who helped get us through the fire season. We would also like to let you know that we are continuing with our fire mitigation plan to make the Wolf facility as safe as possible for the four-legged and two-legged that live and volunteer here.

Since Wolf is a nonprofit organization, it depends entirely on volunteers to care for the animals, raise funds for maintenance of the facility, and present programs to inform the public. Our volunteers are our most important asset. We are always seeking dedicated people to help with the monumental task of maintaining a well-run facility for the wolves and wolf-dogs that have come to live at Wolf. There are many opportunities to assist. We are in need of people to collect items for auction, write grant proposals, maintain the website, interface with similar organizations, write articles for the newsletter, solicit items for Wolf use, perform bookkeeping data entry, answer e-mail and help run bingo games to raise funds.

If you are not presently a volunteer and would like more information about how to become one, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Gail, at (970) 461-8447. She will send information and an application. Once she receives the application, she will put you in touch with Lisa or Eric, our volunteer trainers.

Wolf depends on the continued support, both physically and financially, of the people who are devoted to helping eliminate the breeding of wolf-dogs and helping to keep wolves in the wild where they belong.

Our thanks for your help will never be sufficient for all the work accomplished. What is fulfilling for individuals involved at Wolf, is the depth of spirit that is shared when they connect with the animals’ souls through their eyes.

 

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