Memories of Xavier & Peter

Xavier

Xavier was only supposed to stay at Wolf for a few weeks, until his owners could find a place to live that would allow him to stay with them. On rare occasions they would come to visit him, once asking if they could take him camping. This didn’t last and Xavier became a permanent resident of Wolf.

Xavier had a quiet personality, very shy and unsure of himself. He was the Omega of the House Pack and this caused him to be seriously hurt on two different occasions. Xavier was an animal that wanted to live. He recovered from his injuries and gradually moved up in the ranks of the pack.

Xavi loved to sing, but was very shy about singing. We encouraged him to sing every chance we had and eventually he became the Pavarotti of the Wolf Sanctuary. Of course Xavi was part wolf, part dog and part coyote so calling him Pavarotti may have been stretching things just a little bit.

Xavi was a natural clown, he made everyone he came in contact with happy. You couldn’t be around him without smiling.

Xavier was diagnosed with a cancerous growth in his lower intestinal tract causing a blockage. He was treated with various medications to help relieve the blockage but eventually was unable to remove waste from his body.

Xavi spent his last few weeks at home with the humans who loved him and his four-legged companions.

Everyone at the Sanctuary misses his funny personality and his voice. It has become very quiet at the Sanctuary since Xavier had to leave us.

Peter

Peter came to Wolf with his Mom, (and a different name), after their companion was shot and killed by a neighbor. Unable to insure the safety of the two remaining wolf-dogs, their caretaker drove them from New Mexico to Wolf under cover of darkness.

Peter was terrified, when he was unloaded into the holding enclosure he actually threw himself so violently up against the fencing, we were sure he would be hurt. The trauma of losing his companion and the nonstop drive from New Mexico had taken it’s toll. It took Frank, Pat and his caretaker several minutes to calm him down. It was about then the woman looked at us and said, “Now you know why his name is Oingo Boingo.” She then calmly added, “but he doesn’t answer to it”. It was the first time we ever changed an animal's name. Peter’s left ear would droop and when it did, he reminded Pat of the wolf from Peter and the Wolf. He responded to Peter and it stuck.

Peter soon became a favorite of the volunteers. He was a happy go lucky creature who loved everyone.

When he became ill, all the cards were stacked against him. He had Cushing's disease, the same illness that his Mom died from. Then he developed diabetes and on top of this he was hypothyroid. We had to get the diabetes under control in order to treat the Cushings. We had to regulate his thyroid to control the diabetes, it went on and on. Suddenly in one day’s time Peter could not get up. He lost the use of his rear legs. We did exercises, even going as far as building a mobile sling to help him move. It was not to be.

We called the vet and asked her to come. When she arrived we all said our goodbyes to a sweet and gentle creature. We held him as he left his body to join his Mother and friends that had left before him.

Volunteer Spotlight
David Haggerty

David Haggerty has been volunteering with Wolf since May of 2003 and was a supporter long before that. David is at the Sanctuary at least twice a month to volunteer.

During the past three years, as a result of the time he has dedicated to the animals and experience he’s acquired, David has achieved a Level Three position as a Volunteer. Always willing to do whatever is needed, David usually ends up doing poop-scooping. David looks at this assignment with a positive attitude, describing the chore as “a great experience because you get to walk throughout the entire enclosure and see the animals in their daily routines.” David continues by saying “once the animals have gotten over the excitement of you being there they tend to go about their business, giving you time to spend with them.”

David has received four Certificates of Appreciation for his dedication and has also been certified, by Wolf, to perform canine CPR, should the need ever arise. At the 2005 Waltz for the Wolves David was honored for his untiring work on behalf of the animals of Wolf by receiving the Poop-Scooping Award. In addition to all his volunteering David is also a financial supporter of Wolf. We appreciate all he does for Wolf. In his normal life, David works for the City of Fort Collins Public Transportation Department. Thank you for all your help and dedication David.

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