When they were young... It was soft cuddly little balls of fluff weighing just barely a pound each. It was bottle feeding, potty training, stuffed toys and puppy breath. Just as with human children they kept us very busy making formula. Of course it was just a little different than human babies, it included ground elk or deer, but otherwise it was more or less the same. Powdered puppy milk-replacer, Karo Syrup, an egg, vitamins, you know, all the stuff to help them grow strong and healthy. It was a labor of love. They made us joyful just watching them grow and with wolf puppies you really can watch them grow; an inch a day, two to five pounds a week, just faster than Jack’s Beanstalk.

As with human babies, we took photos of their progress, we laughed with, and I must admit at their antics. We were fascinated watching the adult wolves teach them the things they needed to know to become, as we would say, “real wolves.”





Suddenly, they were toddlers! We needed extra hands and eyes to keep track of them. They were everywhere, eating chairs, carpets, doors, towels, plants, climbing in our large bird cage to chase the birds, shredding newspapers and fingers. It became a twenty-four seven job to just keep track of them and when I say them, I mean nine. Nine our first year, in a cabin barely large enough for Frank and I. People would ask, “how do you do it? I have trouble taking care of one .” Frank and I would look at each other and smile and say, “We love them, if we hadn’t taken them and cared for them they would not be alive today.” We both enjoyed every second of their young lives.







And then, before you could say, “Grab that puppy, he is chewing the couch cushion,” they were teenagers. If we thought toddlers were tough, we were in for one heck of a surprise. Any parent of a teenager knows what I mean. Your main goal in life becomes keeping them and yourself alive until they reach adulthood. Most of the time they think they are smarter than you and half the time they are right. They will do dangerous things, double team you and play you against each other. They will fight with their siblings until you are blue in the face from telling them to stop and they make you love them more every day. You just can’t help it -- they are intelligent, beautiful, handsome, charming, disarming, silly and funny. Your love just grows and grows until you think you will burst with love and pride. It makes no difference whether they have skin or fur on the outside. “We still love them, if we had not taken them and cared for them, they would not be alive today.” We both enjoyed every second of their teenage lives.

















As with human children they soon became young adults, getting on with their own lives. Not quite as much time for the old fogies (Frank and I). Oh sure, they would come for pats on the head, dinner, love when they were sad, a little play now and then, or to cuddle on the couch but they were very busy -- chasing squirrels and chipmunks, chewing on bones, digging holes, shredding bushes, destroying dog houses, all the things wolves do. We didn’t mind, we knew they loved us and that we would always be there for them. “We loved them, if we had not taken them and cared for the, they would not be alive today.” We both enjoyed every second of their adult lives.



















You see, this started so many years ago, they were so young when we adopted them and Frank and I were younger also. The hard part is that our second family, the furry four-legged, don’t have a life expectancy as long as humans.


A large number of our furry kids are now what we lovingly call “Geriatric Wolves”. They grow older every day. Some of them have become ill and passed away, some require twenty-four seven attention just like when they were puppies. Now, we spend time making up medication trays instead of formula. The days are taken up with caring for and worrying about the old ones.
















There are special meals to prepare, medications to be given throughout the day, insulin shots for our little diabetic, thyroid medicine for six of our dear ones, pain medication for the ones having difficulty with their hind ends and cancer drugs for one with incurable cancer. It means carrying a one hundred and ten pound friend up the stairs when he can no longer manage it on his own. It means checking every morning to see if Ashley and Jasmine, the ancient ones, (seventeen and one half years old), have made it through the night. Wondering if today will be the day we must help them to leave us. It is holding a paw when they are afraid of the thunder or holding them in your arms when they pass from this world to the next.

I can hear some of you now, “if they are so ill why don’t you euthanize them?” Please understand that we are very grateful that we can offer our friends an easier passing when it is their time, but as long as we can keep them comfortable and their quality of life is reasonable, we will care for them -- they let us know when they are ready to go. Frank and I will never use Euthanasia as a convenience. “We love them. If we didn’t take them and care for them they wouldn’t be alive today.”



























No, it is not easy to carry a one hundred and ten pound wolf up the steps, it is not simple to make sure they all get their medications or spend a lot of time preparing their meals, while still caring for the ones that aren’t old or ill. People ask, “How do you do it? I have trouble caring for one.” Frank and I smile at each other and think of the wonderful memories that each one of our friends have given us. We remember how each one has trusted us to care for them as puppies. We believe each and everyone made us a part of their family and remember the joy they brought to our lives. We think of the ones who are still here, needing our help, the ones that have passed on and run in our hearts and the ones we will help in the future. We think of all these things, remember when they were young and know we can do our best to never fail any of them. After all, we love them and if we don’t take them and care for them they wouldn’t be alive today. That, our human friends, is how we do it, so very simple,

“We love them.”