08 May - Indigo Scares Us All 

Although Indigo had been gaining more weight in the past 6 to 8 months than we would like, we were confident that his upcoming general exam and vaccinations would allow us to determine if there was really a problem. He had not been acting ill or presenting any other symptoms or problems. On the morning of the 8th, he did not come down for his usual treats. It became obvious he was not feeling good.

The decision was made to dart him so that we could get blood for testing and a temperature. This is always a decision that is difficult to make, as the darting process is not an exact science. Each animal responds differently to tranquilizers and stress. However, Steve’s aim was good and the tranquilizers did their job. Indigo was down in 20 minutes and the team was busily getting the needed samples. His temp was very high and he was obviously suffering from an infection.

Calls were made to two of our vets. We needed to get his temperature down, so we began administration of subcutaneous fluids. We also needed to get a broad-spectrum injectable antibiotic on-board. This was done and a rush was put on the blood tests at the lab.

The fluids and antibiotics had amazing results. By the next morning, he was acting much more like himself. A course of antibiotics were established for the next two weeks. His periodic general exam and vaccinations would be done shortly after that, so we could again check his condition.

10 May - A Young Volunteer Œ

Dalton Klein (9 years old) has an affinity for wolves. He wanted to do something on his own to help them. After talking with one of the founders of Wolf, he knew what he was going to do.

He began collecting stuffed animals for the wolves. These toys provide a valuable enrichment opportunity for the animals. On May 10th, he brought them to the Sanctuary. Although unable to go into any of the habitats, we did allow Isabeau up on to the porch to receive her toy from Dalton. The animals had a great time with them, even though the volunteers were somewhat upset by all the stuffing they would now have to clean up.

We had been watching a growth on Sami’s eyelid for a number of weeks. Although it did not appear to be anything serious or seem to be bothering her, the decision was made to have it removed. She was taken to Dr. Tanja Nuhsbaum, an ophthalmologist with the Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado.

It was removed relatively easily and diagnosed as a Meibomian Gland Adenoma. Sami did well with the whole ordeal and received eye ointment for the next week. We sincerely thank Dr. Nuhsbaum for caring and discounting the bill.

Before moving Mucqua & Gead to their new habitat, it became very apparent that Gead’s difficulties with her back end were getting worse. Periodically, she would loose control of her hind legs altogether and fall on her back side. At 18 years of age, there is nothing remedial to be done. We are providing her with a joint supplement, but there would be no way to totally fix the problem.

The decision was made not to move her and Mucqua to the new habitat, which was built for them. Instead they would go into the catch up area in front of Kiki and Shadowhawk’s area. This is a much larger area than they were currently in and has a much gentler slope. This would accommodate Gead’s hip issues much more effectively.

Before we moved them, we wanted to get Kiki’s general exam and vaccinations accomplished. This would be a much easier task with the catch-up area open, to get her into and darted, without having to chase her in the acre-plus side of her habitat. One of our vets was scheduled and we were prepared for the event. Kiki had different ideas, however, and seemed to read our minds. There was no way she was coming into the catch-up area.

While Kiley patiently waited for Kiki to enter so that she could pull the automatic gate closer, we put the vet to work on the general exams and vaccinations for Kenai and Nugget. Both of their procedures went great, but Kiki was still being difficult.

Finally Kiki entered the catch-up area, the pull cord pulled, but the gate would not shut. Dang! This was obviously not supposed to happen this day. The decision was made to scrap the exercise and try again on another day.

25 May - Mucqua & Gead, Moving Day

Even without having success with Kiki, we were determined to get Mucqua and Gead moved to their new space. We would just have to go through the more elaborate process to catch Kiki later.

Gead had calmed significantly since coming to Wolf, and we figured we could actually get her on a leash and walk her to her new home. Mucqua, however, was still very cautious of all humans and would require a different approach. We would take blankets and catch him up with those, therefore not having to use tranquilizers at all.

The approach worked great. Gead enjoyed her stroll and was intent on investigating and smelling everything on the way. She was a gem and made all of us feel good about her recovery at Wolf. Although somewhat scared, Mucqua was caught up easily, kenneled and driven the short distance to his new home. They were both immediately released and proceeded to check out the entire area. It was amazing to watch. No one could believe how Mucqua, being totally blind, was navigating his way around trees, rocks, dog houses -- he even seemed to know where the fences were and where we were. What extra sense was he using?

They have now been in the new habitat for a number of weeks and the changes in Mucqua’s attitude continue to get better and better. He now allows several of his caretakers to sit by him and scratch him and hand feed him treats. This has been an outstanding gift for all involved.

Larimer County now requires all applicants for a Special Review to present their project to a group of neighboring properties, as determined by the Planning Department. The Planning Department, in our case, determined that there were 35 properties that should be involved. Some of these as far away as 2.25 miles. The decision was made to hold the meeting on the Sanctuary grounds so that all could get a first-hand understanding of the situation. A professional meeting facilitator was arranged for, the day was set, certified letters were sent out two weeks in advance and the day arrived.

The meeting facilitator arrived about 20 minutes in advance of the scheduled time and then we all waited. Finally, after waiting about 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, the facilitator began packing up to leave. Just as she was walking to her vehicle, a car arrived. Shortly thereafter another. Then 20 minutes later another. The record went to the folks who showed up a full 40 minutes late, with their kids, some friends and their kids. Obviously the meeting had a few starts, stops and restarts.

The couple who lived closest to the Sanctuary, but still over one-third of mile and two mountain ridges away, became very belligerent and were finally told by the meeting facilitator to keep their comments civil. The words changed, but the attitude remained the same. The project was presented, questions were asked and answered, a quick tour was given and the meeting was over. The belligerent couple and several others went for a walk down the road and on to an adjoining property. The others who attended left. Finally, after three hours from the start of the meeting, everyone was gone.

In general, three out of the four property owners who attended were pretty open-minded, asked good questions and seemed genuinely interested in the project. This, even though they may still not quite understand why anyone would want to spend money on wolves or operate a Sanctuary.

The next round of periodic exams began early with one of our vets arriving at 9 a.m. and the other scheduled for 9:30. Kasha was first and luckily could be hand injected with a tranquilizer. He went down quickly and the team was efficient and thorough. Kasha was weighed, temperature taken, general exam given, blood was drawn for testing, a fecal sample was taken for testing and vaccines given. The individual is then given a reversal drug to bring them back out of the effects of the tranquilizing drugs. These are the basics given to all animals at the Sanctuary on a periodic basis -- usually every three years.

With Kasha, however, we performed a special exam, as he was a brother to Spirit, who died last year from a genetic defect with his kidneys. We needed to specifically check his kidney functions, so a urine specimen was taken and extra care was taken to palpate his kidneys. We would have to wait for the test results to see what was going on.

Next was Shaman, and although darted, he went down well and the general procedures were performed. Then Kai and on to a recheck of Indigo, along with his vaccinations. Everything was going great. All of the tests were getting done and all of the animals were showing no ill effects from the treatment.