News, Winter 2007-2008, page 6

In Memory of Kasha

Kasha is a very special wolf for many reasons. Born in an “accidental” litter at a wildlife photography facility in 1999, he arrived at Wolf at only 2.5 weeks old along with Shaman, a 3.5 week old wolf pup from another litter. The two were bottle-fed and hand-raised. The House Pack animals also took their puppy raising duties very seriously, and taught them all they needed to know to be wolves. They were a joy to watch growing up, and educated hundreds of volunteers about the true nature of wolves.

Unfortunately, Kasha was born with a severe leg deformity called hyper parathyroidism with degenerative bone disease. Basically, his front legs were growing incorrectly and he was not expected to live very long. A new procedure was recommended by orthopedic surgeons at CSU, so $15,000 and two major surgeries, at 9+ hours a piece spaced a year apart, would give him the best chance. After months of healing, the legs were good enough to allow him to lead an almost normal life, though they were never perfectly straight.

Kasha and Shaman did great in the house pack until Tunyan began maturing. The three were separated into their own group called the “Brat Pack”. They certainly lived up to their name, especially when Tunyan decided Kasha was to be her mate and kicked poor Shaman out of the pack. Kasha and Tunyan enjoyed a wonderful relationship in the habitat next to Shaman. Kasha was rather timid with most people, as wolves usually are, but did allow a few people to scratch him occasionally. It was an honor to pet him and look into his beautiful eyes. As he aged, it was obvious his legs started to bother him as he became less active and started limping on his left hind leg. Last summer we learned he had kidney issues as well, but we treated it with a diet change.

February 22 was supposed to be the day we introduced Sigmund into Shaman’s Pack (See Sigmund Arrives At The Sanctuary). But the Universe had a different plan as we awoke to find Kasha in severe pain and unable to use his right front leg. Arrangements were immediately made to transport him to South Mesa Vet Clinic, but he had to be sedated for the trip. After several creative injections and little response, he was down and loaded on a stretcher. He awoke on the stretcher and required a third shot. We managed to get him to the vet for blood tests and X-rays, which required up to 5 people at a time to hold his huge body in the right position. He was sedated again and moved into a different room where his vitals crashed and fluids began oozing from his nose. Everyone went in hyper-mode and the vet and techs quickly stabilized him. We needed to wait for the results -- he was brought home.

He was doing better the next day with pain medications. Then the blood results came in and indicated acute renal failure. There was nothing we could do except help his pain until it was time. Staff worked tirelessly to get pain killers in him: hiking the mountain day and night, belly crawling over ice to him, hiding pills in every wonderful treat, and killing themselves to keep him comfortable. Eventually nothing worked and he made it clear he wanted no more nonsense. On February 26, we helped him pass. We are still struggling to accept his loss, but know his spirit is at peace and he is no longer confined by health issues. Kasha, you are WOLF, go run with the wind and be free.

Sigmund Arrives At The Sanctuary

Wolf received a call from an excellent supporter who runs Big Dog Rescue in the bay area of California in December. They had a sweet wolf-dog, Sigmund, in need of sanctuary. His background is sketchy, but he has been through multiple homes and escaped from all of them. He was twice found free-ranging in the Santa Cruz Mountains, escaping from Animal Control attempts to catch him. Everyone he meets falls in love with him, and many were working on finding him a perfect home. Well, that home is Wolf, and we intended to pair him with Shaman and Isabeau to keep Isabeau busy and give Shaman a break. Big Dog Rescue held him until we could accept him. Although losing an animal at the Sanctuary is very hard, it does allow another homeless one to be saved. Chocolate’s passing (See In Memory of Chocolate Face) allowed a new individual to receive sanctuary.

Sigmund, or Siggi, arrived on February 21, transported by a caring soul named Al Frischman. Siggi was a little scared after his 30 hour trip and shocking new surroundings. But, we easily won him over with goodies, and soon were best of buds. After letting him acclimate to the new place, we introduced him to Shaman and Isabeau. Things went well, at first. Sigmund handled Isabeau well, but started showing aggression towards Shaman. Scared of losing his girl, Shaman asserted himself as Alpha. This did not go over well with Sigmund, and humans were required to stay with them to monitor the interactions. At end of day, we still weren’t comfortable leaving the three alone together, so they were separated for the evening with plans of fully incorporating them on Friday.

Friday morning began with an emergency situation with Kasha (See In Memory of Kasha). We were only able to introduce them again for a short time, and things did not go as well. Sigmund was playing fine with Isabeau, but every time Shaman got into the middle, Sigmund became scared and defensive. Suddenly, it was on. Shaman was going after Sigmund to defend his position. Volunteers broke it up before a full-blown fight occurred, but the boys had to be immediately separated to calm down. The next day, the boys got into a huge fence fight before they were scheduled to meet, and were too amped to attempt to put together. It became very obvious over the next few days that Sigmund was not welcome in Shaman’s Pack.

What were we to do with Sigmund now? He became very comfortable in the front enclosure, and loved coming in the house to hang out with his humans. Problems arose as he began dominating Rami and Lakotah in the house, and we knew he needed a buddy soon. Fortunately, Tunyan showed interest in playing with him at the fence. Could this work? We decided we had to try. The gates were opened, and humans were stationed around the enclosure to break up any situations. But they ignored each other! Tunyan seemed more concerned about the people than the new animal. So the people left, and play was on. It came on so fast and furious, Tunyan was exhausted in 10 minutes. After a short rest, it was on again. Sigmund even flipped Tunyan on her back a few times, even though she out weighs him by 50 pounds.

This appears to be the start of an outstanding relationship for both of them. They play well, share food well, and truly enjoy each others company. We have high hopes for Sigmund becoming an Ambassador animal, so we make sure he gets plenty of human time and comes into the house regularly. He is even trying to get Tunyan to enter the house, one paw at a time. Sigmund has been an absolute joy and life saver to us during this difficult time when we have lost so many loved ones. We are 100% confident he has finally found the perfect home.

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