26 February, Monday
- Amended Special Review - Œ
We finally were able to finish the application and get it submitted to the Larimer County Planning Department. It totals over 125 pages, including six 24” x 36” maps. As with our first Special Review application, it has taken hundreds of hours to assemble and this is just the first step.

Volunteers at Wide-Awake opened a fence joining the enclosures of Bootsy (who had lost Love Girl), and Lena. So far the arrangement seems to be going quite well.

28 February, Wednesday - More Snow
Another four inches at both the Sanctuary and at WideAwake.

01 March, Thursday
- Arkte and Rachane Introduced
The two were kept separated for 3 weeks so Rachane could adjust to his new life and surroundings. Early in the afternoon an opening was made in the fence between them. For the first few minutes, neither of them seemed to know what to do. But after exploring each others territories, it was time to play! They began running full speed -- chasing each other, jumping around, and having a great time. This continued until both completely wore themselves out. To watch these animals bond, especially knowing the situations they came from, has been extremely rewarding. Arkte has never even had a companion before. They belong together at Wolf, and will live the remainder of their lives together, with plenty of space, food, and love.

02 March, Friday
- DOW Meeting Revisited - 
The rescheduled meeting for input from the nonprofit sanctuaries was held. Wolf did attend to express concerns for the focus being placed on sanctuaries rather than on the origin of the surplus of wild animals. If indeed they felt compelled to institute this regulation, it should be universally implemented for all licensees of wild animals. This should include breeders, research facilities, commercial parks and zoological organizations as well. Then when those organizations dispose of surplus animals, their bond should accompany the animals to the sanctuaries they are placed at.

Although we are not real confident that our suggestions will be included into the final regulations, we are comfortable that we had our ideas heard. The DOW has been very vocal, in the past, about not wanting wildlife sanctuaries to exist.

In 2003, they actually reinterpreted old regulations to ban any new sanctuaries from being licensed and therefore existing. It required a significant effort by Wolf and others to get a new bill introduced in the legislature to authorize their existence.

Then in 2005, DOW established very strict regulations requiring any new sanctuary that wanted to be licensed to be AZA certified. This requirement virtually eliminates any new sanctuaries from receiving a license, as the AZA guidelines for certification requires many accommodations for public comfort and safety, even if they are not open to the public. These would include handicap access, restrooms, sidewalks, drinking fountains, etc. AZA primarily establishes standards for zoos and aquariums -- not sanctuaries.

On a more positive note...
We are hopeful that we will continue to be up to the challenges that await us. Although it is extremely tough to lose loved ones, we are confident that their spirits are in a better place and will continue to guide us.
Also, as mentioned before, the two snowiest months of the season are still ahead of us. And once all this stuff decides to melt, we will be challenged with excessive amounts of mud and the potential for flooding. With your concern and support we have been able to meet the challenges thrown at us so far and we are confident about the future.

Just for the record --
As of the end of February the total amount of snow, for the season, is at approximately 145”.

OK, now for the little symbols (Ž) placed within this article.
We receive hundreds of requests every year from folks wanting to dispose of their wolves or wolf-dogs. Trying to list all of those requests during the last quarter, within this story, would have taken an exorbitant amount of space. So, we have put symbols in to represent every time we had to turn away an animal. These numbers do not include requests where vital statistics or photos were not received on the animals.
A Ž would indicate three animals were turned away during that time period. These situations also take there toll on our staff.