"Sam" is one of the thousands of statistics in this country, the product of a wolf-hybrid breeding, many bred solely for money to provide the 'status symbol' that too many people seem to want.

It was in the early summer of 1994. Her owner kept her on a short chain and 'forgot' to feed and water her most of the time. At my request, he agreed to give her up if I could find placement for her.

She was pure white, about 2 years old and her name was Samantha. I knew I couldn't keep her and very much wanted her to live out her life with as much dignity and contentment as possible. I was told to contact one of the regional offices of the United States Humane Society, which at that time was in Kansas. The gentleman there gave me the name and number of a lady in Austin, Texas, Carolyn Edison that had such a refuge, called the Damien Foundation. As I had gotten the information from HSUS, I did not check further, to my extreme sorrow.

In the course of my conversations with Carolyn, we discussed wolves, what Samantha was like, and her plans to shortly move from Austin onto Navajo lands in New Mexico, as her uncle, an elder of the Navajo Tribe, had arranged for her to have access to many acres for her wolves and hybrids. I sent her a video tape of Samantha and we made plans to drive to Omaha, where a colleague of Carolyn's, Carol Sanders, would meet us and accompany Sam back to Texas via American Airlines. Carol seemed to fall in love with Sam and made quite a fuss over her. And as said a tearful goodbye, I felt encouraged that I had done the right thing.

I called about a week later and Carolyn told me that Sam was adjusting well. She gave me a number to contact them in New Mexico. About a month later, thinking they'd settled, I called that number. There WAS no such number; I tried the number in Austin again; it was disconnected. I tried frantically for weeks to find them, calling every entity and agency I could think of. They seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Over the years, Sam was never far from my thoughts and I tried, at different times, to find these people. No one I talked to had ever heard of them. Finally, recently, a person I contacted took pity on me and managed to find someone that had some information.

With somewhat sketchy information and much supposition on my part, this is what COULD have happened. The time frames seem to fit. At the time we sent Sam to Texas, the wolves and hybrids in Carolyn's care were actually living in a north Houston 'exotic' zoo. In early 1997, these wolves, what was left of them, and after maneuvering through the miles of red tape, were rescued by an agency after it was reported that most of them were ill or dying, having suffered tremendous abuse and neglect. Samantha was not among those rescued. I believe that she was probably dead by then, having lived as brood stock and died as a result or was killed. It is also possible that she was sold before that and perhaps her name was also changed to make it harder to track her. I just don't know. I cannot begin to tell you how I felt, hearing the news.

The time that Samantha spent with us was remarkable. Her intelligence and her mannerisms were awesome to watch. She was quiet and accepted us with grace and sweetness and we grew to love her in that short while. Someone, SOMEWHERE on this earth has to remember her or know what may have happened to her and I just have to try and find them. While I know, in my heart, that she's no longer alive, I must try, for her sake, to put her to rest and pay her tribute. There are thousands of these stories but Sam was MINE, at least for a short time, AND my responsibility! I failed her miserably! I can only hope she's at the Rainbow Bridge with my sheepies, happy, contented and waiting for us, and forgiving me.

If anyone reading this, by some remote chance, has any information, please call me collect at 308-346-4376 and give the name Samantha, or e-mail me at snowshoe@micrord.com.

 

Every year, in January, we try to recognize a few of our supporter that have gone extraordinarily above and beyond to help the cause during the previous year. The plaque that we present to them has been named the "Spirit of Wolf" Award (pun intended-the animal's photo in the plaque is Spirit). This year we have presented it to the following individuals or organizations for the reasons delineated.

Jim Mittl (Golden, CO)
Computer hardware, software, install, server setup & maintenance.

Mickey McNeil (Fort Collins, CO)
Howl-O-Ween Run concept & leg work.

Mark & Deena Gordon (Thornton, CO)
Regular pick up & delivery of dog food from Purina.

Eric Epperson (Bellvue, CO)
Regular daily routine chores & special projects.

Steve Shaffer (Littleton, CO)
The horrid task of doing all of our accounting.

Jerry & Sharon Sharp (Lakewood, CO)
Help with emergency projects & regular public event help.

Sharon LaPierre (Boulder, CO)
Helping financially during emergencies to save more animals.

Journey Books & Gifts (Lakewood, CO)
Regular hosting of special events for education & fund raising.

Kinko's - Harmony Road (Fort Collins, CO)
Great discounts on all of our copying.

Ralston Purina (Denver, CO)
Regular donations of quality dog food.

Pfizer, Animal Health Group (Exton, PA)
Regular donations of medications to keep animals healthy.

If you know of any sources for these items that can be contributed or acquired at a significant discount, please contact us.

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