Newsletter - Summer 2002
(click to link to pdf download)

Tunyan & Indigo
(Larimer County Commissioners Come Through)

With the passing of Cheyenne, (see In Memory of Cheyenne), our attention was turned to Spirit. Spirit was grieving the loss of his companion to the point where he had stopped eating and refused to socialize with any of the other five wolves we tried to place with him. All of the humans at the sanctuary were concerned for his well-being. Spirit needed help or he was going to grieve to death.

We knew that what Spirit needed was puppies. All wolves love puppies, and will not turn away any puppy. It is their natural instinct to raise and protect them. The problem we were facing was one of the conditions placed on us by the Larimer County Commissioners. Wolf was not allowed to take any new animals and in fact was under a directive to reduce the number of animals to thirty. Due to the deaths of several of the wolves at the sanctuary, our numbers were down but not to the number where we would be able to take in any new animals.

In an effort to build a working relationship with the County, Wolf was following all of the conditions placed on us to the letter. We truly did not know what to do; Spirit's life was in the balance. Our attempts to communicate with the commissioners individually in the past had been refused. After much deliberation, it was decided that two representatives of Wolf would attend an informal, public, morning coffee with one of the county commissioners and discuss the seriousness of our dilemma.

The commissioner listened to our plight, asked some very good questions and told us the proper procedure we would need to follow. We were asked to make a formal request in writing and have our veterinarian sign an affidavit stating the facts about Spirit's condition and that it was potentially life-threatening if companions could not be found and placed with him at the sanctuary. The commissioner made no promises; in fact, no indication was given as to how our request would be received. All we could do was present our request and then hope and pray that it would be granted.

As several days went by, with no word, we all spent extra time with Spirit. Volunteers would sit with him, encouraging him to eat; he took barely enough food to survive. Spirit was loosing weight and his normally friendly attitude was gone. He stayed to himself, not greeting us the way he used to; there were no Spirit kisses to be had.

On the 6th day after our request was made, we received word that, based on humane considerations, the commissioners had granted Wolf a one time exception to the condition. Everyone at Wolf was ecstatic. I must take time here to thank the commissioners for their cooperation and favorable decision in this urgent matter. Thank you commissioners Bender, Gibson and Rennels. All we had to do now was find suitable companions. If you would like to send them a 'thank you' -- their email addresses are: bendert@co.larimer.co.us, gibsong@co.larimer.co.us, rennelskc@co.larimer.co.us

Spirit is an extremely high percentage wolf and it would be necessary that his new companions also be of high percentage. A call was placed to several of the rescue/sanctuaries Wolf works with across the United States. Two rescue animals were needed for Spirit who was grieving. It would have to be one male and one female. Meanwhile we were still receiving calls for animals that needed placement. With every call we hoped they would be young and high percentage. Unfortunately during this period of time all the animals needing a home were older or lower percentage. It breaks our hearts when we are unable to take these animals. Doing what we always do, we referred the owners to other rescues.

Finally, we received a call from Sue Cranston of Indigo Mountain; a four-week-old female had been located in Phoenix, AZ. Arrangements were made for Pat and a volunteer, Arly Miner, to fly to Arizona and pick up the little female. The two left for Arizona on Wednesday and returned on Thursday with their precious carry-on luggage.

The little female had come from a private owner who had an accidental litter. All 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. Also, because she was so small and required bottle-feeding, she would need to stay in a confined area on Frank and Pat's deck. The pup is a beautiful, black Mackenzie Valley wolf mix. When she arrived she weighed approximately 5 lbs, had beautiful deep blue eyes and was a typical wolf pup. In other words she was a holy terror. As we got to know her it was decided that her name would be Tunyan, (pronounced Too-Yahn) which is Lakota for BRAT!

Another call and a young male named Indigo had been located in Florida. Indigo was a rescue animal saved along with the rest of his litter by Thom Whaley. The entire litter was going to be destroyed because they were born on state land in Indiana. The young male was perfect; he was slightly over a year old and in the range of 90 % wolf dog. This time, because the animal was older, it was necessary for volunteers to drive to Florida to pick up Indigo. Cheryl Budler and Steve Wolfsong left Wolf for Florida on Friday evening, loaded with darting equipment a kennel and everything else they would need to accomplish transporting Indigo from Florida to Colorado. Because Indigo would be stressed from the move, it would need to be a quick trip. All went well in Florida and Cheryl and Steve made it back to Colorado on Monday. The Great Spirit watches over us and this trip was no exception. Four blocks from where Steve works as a master mechanic in Denver, the truck broke down. This is not really surprising as all of the Wolf vehicles are well past their prime. In this case it was the alternator. After emergency repairs, they continued their trip to Wolf. Indigo was placed in the isolation run for a few days to be sure he was healthy and to give him a chance to adjust to his new surroundings. After two attempts Indigo was placed with Spirit and they have bonded very well. Spirit, as we knew he would, accepted the young male and has been teaching him how to behave like a wolf. It is truly wonderful to see them together, running and playing. Spirit has returned to the gentle soul he was, greeting all the volunteers, giving kisses and showing off his new pup. He has gained back the weight he lost and we are now sure that he will not only survive but will be a happy and well-adjusted wolf.

Tunyan has still not been placed with Spirit and Indigo. Approximately two weeks after she arrived we noticed that she was ill. She became 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. The low end of 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 is not known exactly what caused the deficiency but it is believed that her mother could have also been deficient in iron. We are happy to report that Tunyan is well on the road to recovery. She is once again eating like a wolf and steadily gaining weight and generally growing like a weed. She still needs to be monitored. So until we are sure she is totally healthy she will remain close to the house.

We would like to thank Madison (a golden retriever) who became an emergency blood donor for Tunyan.

Maine Rescue
(Results)

We must apologize to all of the individuals who became involved in helping to finance this rescue. (see Spring 2002 Newsletter - 28 At A Time) We were expecting to be able to send an update and photos on how the events transpired and the final disposition of all of the animals.

Unfortunately once the funds, Wolf collected, were sent to Dawn we have received very little in the way of information. I know she has been busy and obviously does not give as much attention to her supporters as Wolf does. We do apologize.

We have included however, an article written by Aimee Crosby of Loki Clan Wolf Refuge. She is located in New Hampshire and was involved in the rescue on that end. Most of the basics are included in her article. You will notice that some of the numbers and the actual location do not match with what we were originally told.

Wolf ended up collecting and sending $3700 to help fund this rescue. Without your help I don't believe this would have been possible. Please know that we appreciate your help and that many wonderful animals have been saved because of your generosity.

Thank you for caring!

The Rescue…
Written By: Aimee Crosby, Loki Clan Wolf Refuge

It seems somewhat ironic that a terrible situation usually makes you realize just how kind, generous and willing the people around you are. This simple truth has been brought to our attention frequently over the last few months as we have dealt with a major tragedy in northern New Hampshire.

A long time owner and breeder of wolf dogs unexpectedly passed away leaving over 30 unaltered adults, 3 litters, and two pregnant females in the care of her two young daughters. We received a call in early March from one of the woman's daughters, and through tears she explained the situation and asked for our help. Our first thoughts: Oh no, what are we going to do?

Currently there are over 90 animals at LCWR and we are working fervently to replace our existing pens with larger ones to allow the animals more room. This means we are building pens for the animals we have now, not to make room for more. Yes, we have room here and there depending on the individual packs, but for all of their animals? It would be impossible.

We promised the girls we would help transport all the animals they wanted to place to other facilities, but we had no idea how such a job could be accomplished. Our first call was to Dawn Bednar from Federal Wolf Dog Rescue (FWDR). We had worked with her in the past and knew she had many connections in the rescue world. She could tell us if it would be possible to pull off such a rescue effort. When the news was delivered to Dawn, she had a similar response "40?" Yes, we replied, 40. The only good news was that there was no deadline for the animals; the daughters were willing to care for them until proper placement was arranged. Dawn is a fighter when it comes to animals and in her eyes, nothing is impossible. Challenging? Yes, but she was not about to say no to our plea. Immediately she started making calls to find out who could help.

While Dawn made the calls around the country, we dealt with the issues that needed to be addressed at the site. This consisted of going to the location to get an accurate head count, take pictures of the animals and collect information on them. We were happy to find the total number was somewhat less than we were first told as the girls decided to keep some and family friends had offered to take a few into their homes. The head count was: two packs of six adults, six young pups, two older pups, and one lone male. A grand total of 21. A lot less than 40 but still a major rescue.

As we toured the site, we found that the pups were being housed in a small room and the girls simply couldn't socialize them enough. If they stayed until a rescue date was set, they would become extremely fearful of people. We decided to bring them to LCWR to work with them until new homes were found. LCWR does not adopt animals out but FWDR does. They have the time, connections and applications to find appropriate homes for wolf dogs and they follow strict guidelines while adopting them out. We brought the pups back to LCWR and introduced them to Silver, a very loving foster dad. He immediately fell for the pups and thoroughly enjoyed his role while the pups were here.

While we busied ourselves with the normal day to day chores and puppy play, Dawn continued to work the phones, pulling animal lovers around the country together in a mass effort to save the wolf dogs. It was amazing to hear her reports on how the different organizations were willing to help. Normally opposing opinions and the fear of having ideas stolen prevents rescuers from talking on a personal level but this time everyone put their differences aside in order to help. It was a tremendous feeling and gave us all hope for a happy ending.

After less than two months, a date was set and plans were coming together not only to transport the animals but to spay and neuter everyone even those staying with the girls. The older pups and one of the packs were going to Full Moon Farm and Sanctuary (FMFS) in North Carolina, the other pack was going to EagleWolf Foundation (EWF) in Tennessee and the young pups would be going to Florida and then placed in their new homes.

The day came quickly and the first surgeries started around 8:00 AM. It was just the beginning of a very long but successful day. All but 4 of the adults who needed to be transported or altered had to be tranquilized to be moved safely. This is never an easy task when dealing with wolf dogs and because of their adrenaline, drugging them can be frustrating and dangerous. One major problem involved with tranquilizing a wolf dog is that they have the ability to override almost any drug if they try hard enough. A potentially dangerous situation can arise when, all of a sudden, the animal decides to give into the tranquilizer, allowing all of the previously administered drugs to take effect. If this happens too quickly it can become hazardous so darting, capturing and crating all the adults was, to say the least, a trying task.

While some of the volunteers stayed to dart and catch the animals, others were busy transporting the animals to and from the vet's office in town to be altered. The volunteer veterinarians worked steadily all day and into the night, putting their exhaustion aside for the sake of the animals. Everyone involved in the rescue effort signed on for much more than they bargained for but managed to keep their humor, calm, and care for the animals through out the day. Around 11:00 PM (after over 16 hours of straight work) we gathered around, thanked each other, and left smiling. The fact that we had successfully pulled off a major task was known by all and didn't need to be mentioned.

Once everyone was loaded into the truck the total head count was down to 20. We were short one animal because a female from one of the packs not only turned out to be pregnant, but delivered seven pups while we were there. Such a long trip would be detrimental to their health so we decided to leave her behind. Plans are in the works for another rescue effort when they are ready to travel.

Unfortunately for Dawn and all the animals aboard the transport vehicle, the long trek home was still ahead. The lone male would have the shortest journey, as he was to be dropped off at LCWR, but the other 19 had a long way to go. Because Dawn traveled alone, the trip to North Carolina took XX hours. Some people from EWF met Dawn at FMFS and took their new charges home from there. The remaining animals were temporarily housed at FMFS until permanent housing could be constructed. After everyone was settled, Dawn and the pups headed off to Florida for the last leg of the trip.

We want to thank everyone for their physical, moral and financial support for this major rescue effort. Donations are still needed to defray the housing, medical and transportation costs; if you wish to help with this all donations marked 'rescue' will be forwarded to FWDR.

******

To say the least: Thank You! The entire rescue effort was pulled off by the joint cooperation and dedication of many generous people. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them and let them know they are very special to us as well as the entire animal community.

Four Your Paws Only: Lending crates for the transport
Alan Borgal and Brian O'Connor: Capturing and loading help
Dr. Tarkelson: Veterinary work and the use of his clinic
Dr. Maynard: Veterinary work
Jan Maynard: Veterinary Technician work
Pam Renard, Crystal/Faith Hodge: Capturing and loading help
W.O.L.F. Sanctuary: Raising $3000.00+ to make this possible

All the financial and moral supporters, Federal Wolf Dog Rescue, EagleWolf Foundation, and Full Moon Farm & Sanctuary.