That day four animals were darted, examined and thankfully only one needed to be neutered. They were all treated and relocated without incident. The Texas build team was finishing up the final touches on the enclosures that evening.

On the 28th, five animals were darted and one animal was able to be leashed and treated. Again, only one surgery was required, a spay. The events went without a hitch and they were transported to their new homes without incident.

On the 29th, three animals were treated (two leashed and one darted) and moved to their new homes in Texas. None of them required sterilization. The last two, Frackette and Beowulf, were darted and crated for their trip to Colorado. They received all of the treatments except for sterilization, which would be done after they arrived at their new home in Colorado.

The team breathed a sigh of relief. Some of them cried with joy at seeing nothing but empty enclosures at this depressing place. Knowing that somewhere around 20 animals had died horribly there and approximately another 30 were unaccounted for, left an uneasy feeling with everyone who had been to the site.

The events had been stressful and complicated, but came off with the precision of a well-tuned team of professionals. The television production crew had understood the gravity of what was going on and were much less of a concern to deal with than expected. Jeff Corwin jumped into the process and helped with procedures being accomplished by the various groups. All in all, it was an amazing combination of efforts and talents, all geared toward the best interest of the animals.

Now the focus was to get Beowulf and Frackette to Colorado as quickly as possible and with the least amount of stress. The van that Wolf rented for the move was on the road by 3:00 p.m. and would not stop until it reached their new home. Again, the Great Spirit seemed to smooth the path. The 21-hour trip went flawlessly and as the team reached the Fort Collins area they called ahead to get the release group ready. A number of the Colorado build team had been up at the new enclosure, since early morning, completing the final touches. Some others joined them and the group returning from Texas for the release.

This was the moment that symbolized everything that all of those involved in the rescue sought to accomplish. Although not free, they would have enough room to run and play and act like wolves. They would not have to feel threatened and cornered constantly in too small of a space. They would not have a cover over their heads keeping them stressed and continually on-guard. The three-quarter-acre site would be as close to free as captive wolves get.

The anticipation was in the air, the emotions were running high. The long hours of planning, the feverish pace of building, the anxiety of treating and relocating and the expenditure of so many dollars that are so difficult to come by, were about to pay their dividends. This was the "paycheck" for everyone involved and the animals did not disappoint. After a few seconds of uncertainty, they seemed to sense that this was theirs. They began to run and play and run some more. Their whole persona changed in front of our eyes. The humans could sense the change. It was absolutely amazing to experience. This truly is what Wolf is all about.

Even though the individuals involved all have their own personal reasons and rewards for their participation, we feel it is important to acknowledge them and thank them from the depths of our souls.

 

Texas Relocation Team

***** THANK YOU *****

The current update on all of the animals is fairly good. Unfortunately, Max, the animal suffering from congestive heart failure, died approximately a month after being relocated. For a while he seemed to be doing much better and really enjoying his new home. He had bonded with his new guardians and they with him. His treatments were going good, and then he started failing very quickly.

The remainder of the animals are all doing great and from all reports are changing into well-adjusted, fun-loving wolves.

The location in Texas, where the three 100' x 100' enclosures were built, has determined that they cannot keep any of the animals permanently. There are eight animals still residing there and Indigo Mountain Nature Center, in Colorado, has graciously agreed to accept all of them. Of course this puts a huge financial and labor burden on their shoulders. This also means that there will be one more trip to Texas to move animals to Colorado.

Your help is still needed. The process to pay for everything that Wolf has spent, to save these animals, is on-going. Not to mention the help that is required by Indigo Mountain. Please do whatever you can to help defray these expenses. Please indicate on your check to Wolf whether you would like it used for Wolf expenses or Indigo Mountain fence-building. Also, please send this story to everyone you know.

A breakdown of the expenses for each phase of this rescue are outlined on page 7.

We will be sending an email notification to everyone on our email list as to when the Jeff Corwin Experience will air its program on this event. If you are not on the email list and would like to be notified, please email our request to: fwendland@wolfsanctuary.net