News, Spring 2008, page 2

In Memory of Shadowhawk

We don’t know much about his past, or even his age. Shadowhawk only came to live with us in August 2006 from another facility having financial trouble. It was obvious Shadowhawk had a rough life, but his spirit was strong. His eyes told it all.

Before Wolf, Shadowhawk had never had meat, a serious injustice for a wolf. Every meat day, he ate as fast as you could throw meat out of the bucket, barely letting his pack mate eat. After filling his hollow leg, he would collect the rest and bury it for later. He lived with Kiki in a 1.3 acre enclosure, which he loved, because Shadowhawk was extremely unsocial with humans, and the large enclosure allowed him to monitor your every move from afar. Anytime a male human approached the enclosure, he would howl his fool head off until they left.

We tried for months to socialize him, and he would approach female volunteers, if they had meat. He once touched a chunk of meat with his nose in the far outreached arm of Kiley, but that was it. Instead of stressing him, we left the pair alone most of the time, which didn’t bother them.

On 08 March, volunteers were in the middle of massive spring clean up, as all the presents the wolves left over the winter were now uncovered. Volunteers working in Shadowhawk’s enclosure noticed he was lethargic, walked up to him, and immediately knew something was wrong. Staff was notified, and ran up the hill to his side. They approached to within 2 feet before Shadowhawk tried to get up. He stood, then all four legs collapsed. Off to the hospital…

Shadowhawk was partially awake when the vet came to examine him, so much that he bit the muzzle and wouldn’t let go. This sent the vet and tech flying out the door, even though he was in a travel kennel. We’re sure he got a great laugh out of that! Then the mood turned sobering. He had a large tumor on his spine that was using all of his blood. If that wasn’t enough, he was also in severe renal failure. The prognosis was grim and required extended hospitalization.

We couldn’t ask Shadowhawk to go through that. There are few things worse for an unsocial animal than hospitalization. The decision was made to bring him home and euthanize him after his pack mate could say goodbye. He passed very quickly. We miss him, but are confident that he had the best years of his life at Wolf .

In Memory of Faelen

After Shadowhawk passed, Kiki was left alone and grieving for the third time in her life. Her mournful howls were devastating. She needed a companion, and quickly. Wolf soon received a rescue alert about a free-ranging, unneutered male in North Carolina. The photos were shocking. Not only did he appear to be pure, he had an uncanny resemblance to Kasha, who we just lost. We immediately agreed to take him for Kiki. Apparently, this animal did not like people, so we knew he would be a great match for her and Wolf.

He had no name, and was at a traditional shelter that was going to euthanize him. Fortunately, Full Moon Farms rescue stepped in. They planned to have him neutered and vaccinated there, then drive him to Wolf. While catching him at the rescue to take to the vet, one of his teeth was inadvertently cracked by a catch pole. The director called, and we agreed the tooth needed to be pulled while he was under anesthesia.

We had decided to give our excellent volunteer coordinator, Brandy, the opportunity to name this boy in honor of all she does for Wolf. Kiley couldn’t stand the excitement, so she called Brandy at work to give her the good news. Brandy was thrilled, and began researching names, certain she could find the perfect one for him. Not five minutes later, Full Moon Farms called again. There were complications. It appears the shelter had not checked this animal for anything. He was covered in parasites, both internally and externally. This compromises an animal’s immune system significantly. He never woke up from the anesthesia.

The news shook us to the core. Kiley called Brandy back to give her the horrible news. Why couldn’t she have waited to tell her about naming him!? We requested the animal be cremated and his cremains sent to Wolf for burial in our memorial gardens. Even if we never knew his physical form, his spirit could still find peace here.

Being the stand up person Brandy is, she still wanted to name him. After all, we can’t bury an animal without a name. She had picked Faelen, which means “little wolf” in Gaelic. Certainly a very fitting name for such a special boy.

Nashoba Given Sanctuary

Many of you will remember from the last newsletter that we accepted a new animal, by the name of Sigmund, for Shaman and Isabeau’s pack. Well, those introductions did not go well, so Sigmund ended up being Tunyan’s new companion. They continue to do fantastic together and it is great to see Tunyan goobing on him. However, we still needed another companion for Shaman, as Isabeau is just too rough. And we needed a puppy, both from the standpoint that a pup would have the needed energy to keep up with Isabeau, but also young enough to be accepted by Shaman.

Our prayers were answered. On February 21st, we received an email from a humane society in Truth or Consequences, NM. They had a year old wolf-dog named Ison who had been at the shelter for 5 months. The owners never claimed him, and the shelter director had fallen in love with him. He would have kept him had he not been in an area where wolves are still considered vicious baby killers. This caused a major problem when Ison escaped and was free-ranging for a few days. They had to find safe placement for him immediately. Even the local vet threatened to kill him if he was brought in for any treatment!

Luckily, they found Wolf and we had space for him. On March 19th, Steve and a veteran volunteer named Tony set off to meet the transporter in Pueblo, CO. As is our luck, they arrived back at Wolf in the dark. We couldn’t risk introducing him to new animals in the dark, so he would have to spend the night in our geriatric enclosure in front of the house. Ison tried to escape the kennel frantically while being carried in the front gate. We hurriedly let the scared animal out, only to discover he had a leash and rope collar on his neck. Now what? He was very afraid and would not let us take them off. Frank fed him 5 lbs. of chicken trying to earn enough trust to remove the collar, all to no avail. Finally, we were forced to corner him to get them off; otherwise he could get stuck and hurt himself. The rope leash had to be cut off his neck, and it had left an impression in his fur.

The next morning, Ison was still very scared. We let Shaman and Isabeau into his enclosure, prepared for the worst. Boy, were we wrong! Ison immediately rolled over and submitted to Shaman. Good move, Shaman accepted him and actually began protecting him from the maniac Isabeau. She, of course, had to push the limits, and scared the boy a few times. All in all, it was a great meeting, and the three were soon running around like they had always known each other. They continue to do well together. The two pups play constantly, and give Shaman a much needed break. In fact, Ison has so much energy, he actually harasses Isabeau relentlessly, paying her back for all her tormenting of Shaman.

He unfortunately is still afraid of the humans. He is slowly coming around, and eventually we’re sure he will decide we aren’t so bad. On review of his transfer paperwork, it appears Ison has actually been through no less than 5 names in his short life. Because of this, and his finding of a new, permanent home, we decided to let one of our outstanding supporters and volunteers, Pat, give him a new name. He chose Nashoba, which means “wolf”. Nashoba is a great addition to the house pack, and without a doubt a huge relief for Shaman, whose arthritis is getting pretty bad. We think he likes it here too, especially since he gets spoiled with goodies and lots of meat.

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