Now, I'm not going to explain the number 455 right now and if Pat or Frank don't edit this, then you'll find out what 455 means, in my head… uh, oh don't go there!

About 7:45 am on September 30th I get a call from Pat (Mama Wolf) and she wanted to know if I wanted to go on a rescue to Arkansas. Heck, I didn't want to get out of bed, let alone think about Arkansas. Well, as we ALL know, Mama Wolf, is kinda hard to say "NO" to. So I said keep me posted.

We were to leave October 2nd or 3rd, depending on unexpected repairs needed to our transportation. After a new "tranny" was installed and then a new fuel pump, we finally had a departure date. Mind you up to this point I was hesitant and kinda sorta hoping the trip wasn't going to be made.

Pat spent the night with Sharon and me along with our other houseguest Bo and of course our four dogs and one cat. Pat ended up sitting on our kitchen floor before doing anything else, to play with our critters.

October 4th, we pulled out of our driveway, trip meter set to zero and off we headed (Eastbound and Down).

From here the times are fuzzy and the cities are only a blink now, but the trip went well. I found out that Mama Wolf has a skinny, bony butt. Also, I have never, ever, in my life, seen a person be able to curl up on a "bench" seat of a pickup truck. Mama Wolf did it with ease and we had small bags in the middle of the seat.

Ok… fuzzy time here… somewhere in Kansas, we hit 455 miles on the trip meter and since I was napping, it registered, but didn't, you know. Ok, it's an age thing. Deal with it. Later on when I was driving and I read 455 again I thought I read it wrong the first time. We arrived at our motel and upon parking it still read 455. Pat and I joked about it. That the trip was shorter than we thought, a piece of cake, etc., etc. Total mileage was around 825 miles one way according to a computer readout we got from our friend Bo before we left.

Pat and I were so road worn we tossed and turned quite a while before falling asleep, in different beds!

October 5th, at 6:00 a.m. room service called to wake us up. NEED SLEEP…OK COFFEE THEN… you get the picture.

Jennifer (from the Humane Society) and her vet met us at the room at 7:30 a.m. We followed them out to the site and enjoyed the scenic drive. Upon arrival our hearts sank at the scene that welcomed us. It was windy, cold and muddy. Thank the Lord, it had quit raining. We asked Him to have it stop raining and should have asked for the wind and cold to stop but we didn't want to push our luck.

Pat "darted", I captured and I think we made a heck of a team. It took a lot of re-darting but they all finally went down. Pat even went down and we didn't even have to dart her. She fell hard, but this is Pat's story so ask her.

About four and a half hours later we had Foxy, Ringo, Little Bit, and Socks all tucked away in their own separate travel kennels. We departed for a "Rocky Mountain" fix (West Bound and Down). We arrived back home at 6:30 a.m. on October 6th.

Now, a couple of things, in the beginning, I was not looking forward to this trip. I'm absolutely thrilled that I went and partook in this rescue. I can't even begin to describe my feelings during this rescue. Just knowing that we were able to save them is enlightening. The entire rescue, from start to finish, is such an emotional high. One needs to "DO" a rescue in order to "LIVE" it. There is not enough room in this newsletter to go into depth about everything that happened or they wouldn't have room for anything else. So, if you see me up at Wolf, the bald guy named Jerry, I'd be glad to expound on my joy of this rescue.

Now 455, well this number didn't really start bugging me until I got back home, had some sleep and was out in the garage. It hit me! Ok, here goes; 4 - we rescued four wolves. Now 5-5, this one confused me for a while, and then it clicked. When I was in the military, over 30 years ago, when everything was ok or safe we would say 5 by 5. We rescued 4 wolves and everyone made it back ok or safe (5 by 5). So the good Lord had us under his watchful eye throughout the trip. The truck ran good, after all the mechanical problems it had. We made it safely there. The rain stopped when we asked. We made it back safe. If I remember correctly, after the wolves were loaded and we left, I think Pat said, "oh look, a rainbow", and the sun started to come out.

Would I do it again, to rescue wolves? YES! Would I go if there was 800 some miles to travel? Anything is negotiable. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The Situation

These animals were living on borrowed time. Their owner had moved and left them at the old home. Neighbors were feeding and watering them, but were very concerned that they would eventually escape from their enclosure. Calls to the local authorities had not solved the problem.

That is when one of the neighbors contacted Wolf. Wolf then also had trouble getting someone with local contacts to take an interest. The American Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals both seemed to care very little. Finally, Wolf contacted the regional office of the Humane Society of the United States who gave them a contact at a neighboring county, Jennifer Maynard.

Jennifer became their champion. She took care of the legal implications involved with removing them from the property. She also had to distract and eventually threaten the local sheriff who was more than happy to use them for target practice.

Thank you Jennifer!

For the Record

A quick note is needed here in order to make sure our wonderful county wolf counters don't descend on us looking for these animals and trying to shut us down.

These animals have been placed at a foster home and we are still in the process of looking for permanent accommodations.

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