Shaman Gets A New 'Squeaky Toy'

As the dynamics in the Wolf house pack have changed over the years, it became obvious that a younger, stronger and more playful Shaman, needed a companion closer to his own size and energy level. There are now only two older females in the house pack for him to play with and they are both half his size.

The quest started almost a year ago, in order to find an individual who would not only be good for Shaman, but also accepted by the two old ladies. It would have to be a young, high-content wolf-dog or pure wolf.

There had been many good prospects, but none ever seemed to pan out. Finally the request came from California. A 4-month old female who was reported to be a pure wolf needed placement. She was much more than the current caretakers could handle -- “we had no idea of what we were getting into.” She also ended up biting (in play) a neighbor’s child. Based on photos and the description of her personality, it appeared that she would be ideal. A date was set for her to be transferred to Wolf ’s care. The location would be half way between the Bay Area in California and Fort Collins, Colorado -- Wendover, Nevada. Wendover? Where the heck is Wendover? The exchange would be made at 9 am. This would require the Wolf rescue team to leave at midnight.

The day arrived, Saturday September 2nd, and the team was in action. The following account, by Brandy, chronicles their adventure. After a long day at work, Friday, a quick nap in the evening and a knock on my door at midnight my Saturday began. Steve was here and the trip was on. Steve started driving and headed for I-80 to head west through Wyoming. Without notable events and having slept on and off in the car I started driving around 3:30 am.

It’s amazing how few cars there are on the highway in the middle of the night. Even the truck drivers had pulled off to sleep, but we had a schedule to keep. We saw the sunrise over Salt Lake City and continued our journey to the state line and Wendover. We found the casino we were meeting them and called to see where they were. As it turns out the time changes at the state line and he wasn’t planning on being there until 9 am Pacific Time.

Groggily, we headed to the nearest fast-food restaurant to eat some breakfast. Another phone call revealed that he was running late and would probably be another hour. When he finally showed up I was shocked to see that he had traveled with the pup in the back of an open-bed pickup with a travel kennel bungeed to the bed. The kennel was so small for her that she was folded up inside. Once we got her settled in our much larger crate she started giving kisses. No matter how exhausted you are, puppy kisses have a way of making everything better. She curled up and slept almost the entire trip, just happy to have some room.

I’ve never been so excited to see La Porte, because it meant we were almost home and it was getting dark. When we arrived at Wolf at 7:30 pm, the other ani­mals had been kept out of the front enclosure so she could have some time to take in her new surroundings. She was given a quick physical exam and was extremely skinny. We could feel every rib and her hips were much too apparent. She also had a patch of fur missing from the nap of her neck. She supposedly lost it being ‘trained’ with a harness, but our belief was that she was probably chained by that harness. Otherwise she seemed to be a long, lanky, high-energy puppy.

She met Shaman at the gate separating the enclosure and all seemed to go well. We decided to let him in to see her as they were going to have to meet nose to nose before either would calm down. Shaman was not impressed initially and showed a lot of fangs. She was so exuberant it seemed to be a little overwhelming for him. He has grown accustomed to lazy naps in the sun, which came to an end the minute she showed up. So eager to play she kept pulling his tail. I don’t think anyone ever taught her that this is not how you get an Arctic wolf to like you.

Or, maybe it is -- Shaman warmed up to her and started playing back. It was a nerve-racking hour, which thankfully ended well. After several hours of playing she slept most of the next day until we went up into the enclosure to check on her. She has a strong personality and is constantly exploring her surroundings; she would never have been happy as a pet.

Even though it was a tiring whirlwind trip to Nevada, it was worth it to see how excited she was to see her new home and pack mates. I would do it again in a heartbeat just to see that look in another animal’s eyes.

It now appears after doing blood tests and reading the instructions given the old caretakers by the breeder, that she was being starved, dehydrated and has signs of kidney issues. We are treating her for those ailments and expect her to recover just fine. We will keep you updated.

The Future of Wildlife Sanctuaries

During the last three months we have been shaken by a number of events that have occurred in Colorado and New Mexico. Their impact will have ripple effects that may determine whether nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries will continue to exist -- not only in Colorado, but nationally as well.

One of the largest wildlife sanctuaries in the world announced that it would be shutting down. They were not receiving enough donations to continue to care for the animals appropriately. They provide sanctuary for over 150 animals, consisting of lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other assorted smaller wild cats.

Several weeks before this announcement a smaller wildlife sanctuary called us for help. They were also shutting down as a result of insufficient donations. They cared for approximately 50 animals, also consisting of lions, tigers, bears, etc.

Approximately a week later another sanctuary, which operates more like a zoo, had one of its founders die very unexpectedly. This followed the loss of their home last year after the other founder had a major heart attack and could not keep his business. This organization has over 100 big and smaller wild cats.

Two wolf sanctuaries we have had a great deal of respect for in the past, announced the acquisition of a number of wolf pups. Pretty innocent on the surface, however as we were searching for a companion for Shaman, we uncovered information indicating both of these organizations had purchased their puppies from breeders.

Another sanctuary, that we had respected, announced that they had worked out a deal with a wolf-dog breeder to acquire two high-percentage animals to use for research. They were going to test different approaches on how to ‘train your wolf-dog.’ Anyone in this business knows that all of the animals are individuals and the dynamics between the two pups, the trainer and their environment is never going to be the same twice.

Just what the heck was going on?! How could all of this transpire in a matter of a couple of months? Were things so desperate financially that folks were either shutting down or stooping to unethical approaches to raising funds? As we pondered the situation, it was simple and the answer was something that we had been urging both national sanctuary associations, whom we are accredited through, to address for a number of years. A little explanation is necessary to fully understand the dynamics at work in the sanctuary community.

The independent movement of hundreds of individuals around the planet, founding animal sanctuaries, is a relatively recent event in the evolution of humans. It originated only about 30 years ago. The passion that has consumed the lives of these individuals is inexplicable. It has overridden logic, reason, societal acceptance, and ready resources. The passion has, none the less, survived and continues to gain momentum. ‘Animal Sanctuary’ is a concept which has no choice but to evolve even further. It must survive and prosper if humans are to continue to survive and prosper on this planet. Without the respect for all living creatures, which sanctuaries demonstrate through their actions and teachings, the ecological imbalances on earth will continue to broaden and soon lead to our own destruction.

The passion of these sanctuary founders, albeit miraculous and awe-inspiring, has not been without tragedies. Not all have been equipped to deal with the rigorous requirements of running a business -- especially a business that depends on the generosity of like-minded persons. Many have found themselves isolated from society, their families and more importantly a support system necessary to balance the needs of a business enterprise with the needs to follow their passion.

Many founders have exhausted themselves caring for more and more animals and have not given the attention that they should to their donors. This fact has led many down a path that destroys the very passion which forced them into the founding of a sanctuary in the first place.

The time has come where the movement of passionate individuals must be joined into a cohesive community. It is imperative that the passion be fostered, developed and supported by other individuals and organizations that have the knowledge and capabilities to help run these businesses efficiently and successfully. All of the talents necessary to make sanctuaries successful should not have to reside in one individual. The ‘Animal Sanctuary Community’ therefore has no choice but to evolve. The quicker the community can come together, the more lives that will be saved and the more the concept, of respect for all life, will multiply.

We believe that there is a way to accomplish this goal. The formation of an administrative services organization, which specializes in all of the aspects of donor relations/outreach could supply the help that passionate animal people need to augment their businesses. These services could consist of bookkeeping, donor receipts/thank you notes, data base management, newsletter development, web site development/maintenance, procurement and event planning. All of these tasks could be accomplished by individuals who have the associated talents to do them well and would have that as their priority. These services could be shared by a group of smaller to medium size sanctuaries, allowing the service organization to stay busy. Yet the costs involved with having experts perform the tasks could be shared among the sanctuaries.

This could happen, but it would take a significant investment. The plan is prepared, individuals have been identified and implementation could begin immediately. If you know of anyone who might be able to help with this concept, please have them contact:

Frank Wendland
970-416-9531

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