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Not
everyone who volunteers for Wolf
is able to actually work with the animals every time they come to
the facility. Getting volunteers who want to do the administrative
or peripheral chores that are required to run a business is extraordinarily
difficult. Why would anyone want to work all week at something and
then turn around on the weekends and do the same thing? Most volunteers
come to Wolf looking for the
involvement with the animals and a break from their jobs.
About two years ago give or take six months, (Frank and I are both terrible with time), we received a letter from Jim Mittl. Jim explained that he had seen our web site, the old one, and felt he would be able to help us with the web site and service our very outdated computers. We are totally convinced that Jim had no idea what he was getting himself into.
Jim works for a government facility providing technical support for the computers plus other over my head computer "stuff". When Jim arrived at the facility it was immediately apparent that we had many things in common. It seems that Jim had adopted a wolf- dog named Myah, a beautiful girl that Frank and I had met several years before under very unhappy circumstances. Myah had lived at a breeders and had been involved in a fight where she had her tail ripped off. Because of this Myah was never placed. Jim and Myah hit it off and he realized because she had no tail she would probably never be placed. Jim and Myah went home together and have been together ever since. Imagine our amazement when we found out what had happened to the beautiful Myah. Over the last couple of years Jim has adopted 3 other wolf dogs. He is a foster home for Wolf. (see One At A Time)
Jim
even got his mother and father involved when he rescued a young pup,
Kawa, that needed constant attention and bottle-feeding. Mom and dad
cared for Kawa during the week while Jim went to work. They continued
this care for a number of weeks before Jim could bring the pup home
to the rest of his animals.
Jim's abilities with computers are amazing to us. He has over time, showed up with new computers, keyboards, local area networking (LAN), mother boards, RAM, programs, virus scanners and just about anything else you can think of to bring the Wolf computers into the 21st century. In addition to all of this Jim has put our web site on its own server, gotten us on satellite service and spent hours maintaining the web site and server.
It takes Jim about 2 ½ hours to reach Wolf and although he tries to spend time with the animals at Wolf, there is usually enough work, expected or unexpected, to do on the computers to keep him busy the entire time he is here. Jim's expenditures of time are phenomenal enough, but he has personally paid for all of the equipment that has been required to make our systems state of the art.
Without Jim's help Frank and I might be using stone tablets to communicate with all of you, well at least two very archaic computers.
Thank you Jim for all you do for Wolf and of course, your friendship.
******
"There
was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn. In the
distance he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw
him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.
The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again threw the
small starfish from the sand to the water. He asked, "Old man,
why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?"
The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in
the morning sun. "But there must be thousands of beaches and millions
of starfish!" exclaimed the young man. "How can you make any
difference?" The old man looked down at the small starfish in his
hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said,
"I made a difference to this one."
~Irv Furman
*****
In the fall of 2001 Wolf received a rather strange email requesting a grant for students of a small school in Lithuania. The letter stated, in rather forced English, that some of their students had excelled in a class project on endangered wildlife and the environment and they were looking for some way to recognize them.
Our first instinct, sadly enough, was that this was some sort of internet scam. Not wanting to prejudge or perceive ourselves as too jaded we politely answered back that we were a very small nonprofit organization that was looking for grants, not making them.
The response came back, again in broken English, that any small token, to reward the kids, would be appreciated. OK, we're not talking money, could this be for real?
We decided that it would be far better for us to get conned than for us to loose our optimism about humanity. We sent some Wolf t-shirts, key-chains, and educational workbooks. We then asked for them to email us some photos of the kids and the story of their project and how they excelled.
The response was very thankful for the items sent, but apologetic in that they did not have a scanner in order to send photos. One thing led to another and we were shipping a surplus scanner that we had to Lithuania. Not being real savvy about international commerce and parcel shipping we insured the package. Big mistake!
Once the package arrived in Lithuania the school was required to pay customs duty on the scanner of $100 because of the insured amount of the package. They did not have the money to pay the duty. You guessed it, Wolf quickly sent a check, priority mail, to cover the fee. Six weeks later they received the check. Problem solved -- right! Wrong.
Evidently in Lithuania all checks are made out to individuals, not schools. Two more weeks were involved to figure out how to cash the check to the school. Finally the scanner was received, installed and sending photos of the kids in their wolf t-shirts.
If this was a scam, it was a great one.
The following letter was received with the photos.
Dear Frank,
Finally, we have been of tremendous success to get the scanner claimed. We are so happy, that we are just scarce of humanly understandable words to express our divine delight. I want to thank you not only personally but on the behalf of our school too. We have benefited a lot, and particularly these were our children to be provided with ultimate joy. Yes, we were praying for some little gifts that pupils might have been granted with. And now having our own scanner, we will be able to expand relationship with our colleagues abroad that will enhance our educational capabilities.
You are a very good man to rely upon. Though I am still a very young educator, I have never happened to have honor to meet such a good person like you. Thank you Frank. These are the words spoken by us all: our principal, teachers I collaborate with, and above all, our children.
Please see photos. They have been scanned by computer teacher. When I learn how to operate this appliance, I will send some photos of my own.
Thank you once again, sir.
Sincerely,
Tomas Samoska
Laibgaliai School
Rokiskis, Lithuania
The following information is presented, not as part of our mission, but rather as a solution to our mission. If all animals could be perceived differently by humans our mission will have been accomplished.
Some
of the individuals we deal with on a daily basis and believe themselves
to be very knowledge about the atrocities that humans bestow on
animals don't like to view graphic situations. They believe there
is nothing they can do about it anyway.
THE WITNESS, although somewhat graphic in places, focuses on one person's approach to doing something about it. His techniques include the very simple non-public personal changes in his mentality and lifestyle to the much more elaborate and public. The bottom line personal commitment being, "it won't happen because of me." There truly is something that everyone concerned about animal welfare can do.
Wolf believes that every individual has choices and the first most important choice is awareness. When they are not aware of what their dollars pay for there is no way that changes will possibly occur. We encourage every individual who is concerned about animals and their welfare to view this video.
THE WITNESS is the best approach to awareness that we have been exposed to. For more information about this and other productions from Tribe of Heart go to http://www.tribeofheart.org
THE
WITNESS asks its audience to consider how a tough New York City
construction contractor could possibly become an impassioned animal
activist. Eddie Lama tells the story of his remarkable change of
consciousness-how the love of a kitten opened his heart, inspiring
him to rescue abandoned animals, become a vegetarian, and ultimately,
to bring his message of compassion to the streets. This award-winning
documentary provides insight into the intellectual and spiritual
transformation that brought a man from a life steeped in violence
to a life devoted to kindness and service. Featuring the song "Angel"
by Sara McLachlan, THE WITNESS is a story of beauty and transcendence
in the face of tragedy and despair.
The Los Angeles Times
"THE WITNESS is one man's truth that cries out for mass exposure… a unique, indelible 43-minute documentary that may be the most important and persuasive film about animals ever made."
Howard Rosenberg
The Fund For Animals
"THE WITNESS is a compelling look at the power of activism, and the ability of one person to make a difference. If the animal protection movement is going to be successful, it will be because films like this one were able to move people and empower them to stand up and speak out against injustice. This powerful film will undoubtedly make a difference in many lives - - both human and animal."
Michael Markarian, Executive Vice President
The Humane Society of the United
States
"As Vice President of Investigative Services for the Humane Society of the United States, I and my section have spent the past several years investigating various aspects of the fur industry both in the United States and abroad. Investigative Services has penetrated and documented the activities of fur breeding facilities, slaughter facilities, tanneries, manufacturing plants, wholesalers and retailers both nationally and internationally. I found the video depictions of the activities of the fur industry in The Witness to be consistent with our investigative findings and in some cases more humane than those observed by us in the field."
Richard W. Swain, Jr., Vice president Investigative Services
FREE - Get Your Copy Today - FREE
Because Wolf believes that the bigger picture is important to our mission, we have purchased a number of these videos that we will send you at no cost.
We received a donation, separate from Wolf's operating mission, to institute this offering. The funds are limited so please request your copy soon. We also encourage anyone who can afford $13.50 which is our cost of purchase and shipping to send a donation for that amount so that we can provide more copies to others. Thank you.
Materials
· 500+ acres of land
· ATV (Four or Six wheel drive)
· Rototiller (In good working condition)
· Fence Materials (9 gauge chain link, poles, gate hardware, etc.)
· Truck Tires - 16" load range D or E
· Motor Home Tires - 7.50 x 17.0 (so we can use it for programs)
· Cinder Blocks
· New Storage Shed 120 Sq. Ft (or materials to build one)
· Veterinary Medications (Nemex, Cestex, Domitor, etc.)
· Office Supplies (11"x17" white paper for newsletters, fax ribbon, etc.)
· Ink Jet Cartridges (Canon BJC 7000 & Epson Stylus Color 3000)
Labor/Services
· Builders (w/knowledge of codes)
· Bookkeeper (to help with data entry -
unfortunately must be done at facility)
· Fundraiser (to help organize events)
· Water-Well Drilling
· Grant Writer
· Auto Mechanic (general maint.)
· Printing (newsletters, etc.)
·
WOLF, Post Office Box 1544, La Porte, CO 80535 - USA