News, Spring 2008, page 5

Waltz for the Wolves - What A Blast!

The 4th Annual Waltz for the Wolves was an incredible success! Our attendance was the highest ever, and we were fortunate enough to raise a very respectable sum to continue giving our animals the best possible life. We will also be able to accomplish more fire mitigation this summer in an effort to keep the animals, facility, and humans as safe as possible, while also creating a healthier forest.

Back to the event. Not only was the event an excellent success for the animals, a good time was had by all in attendance. Our volunteers did an amazing job setting the room up. So good that we were ready an hour early! That was a true blessing as many attendees arrived early in preparation for the grand entrance by our ambassador wolf-dogs, Samantha and Lakota. They spent an hour entertaining the crowd and being thoroughly spoiled by everyone. Then it was on to an excellent dinner and speech by the co-founder. During dessert, Brandy and Kiley, the event coordinators, presented awards to a few supporters who have truly made a positive difference for the Sanctuary and our residents, past, current and future.

And then the live auction. One of our excellent and energetic volunteers, Mara Miller, was kind enough to be the auctioneer, even with no previous experience! This way, 100% of the proceeds went to the animals instead of a large percentage to a paid auctioneer. It is not enough to say Mara did a great job. She rocked! The bids got competitive, and a few lucky people went home with some really special items. Thank you, Mara!

Everyone then ran around attempting to get the winning bid on all the silent auction items they wanted. There was some fierce competition going on. In the meantime, many enjoyed the bar and socializing, and many got on the dance floor. In fact, so may that we plan to have actual Waltzing next year! Finally the winner of the Kasha original artwork was announced. We were thrilled for the winner to be one of our veteran volunteers, who was very close to Kasha.

For the evening’s finale, the auction winners of the pie throwing contest were announced. To add more excitement to the Waltz, Frank, Kiley and Brandy agreed to take a pie in the face from the highest bidder. This apparently was more attractive to the volunteers, as three of them won the bids. Kiley went first, wearing a trash bag, and was pulling cherry filling out of her ear for days. Then Brandy, who was so covered in cherry filling, someone thought she was bleeding and needed first aid. Next Frank, who ducked as the volunteer threw the pie and missed it! Brandy and Kiley quickly grabbed the pie from the floor and creamed him anyway.

The event was grand. A big THANK YOU to all of our attendees, sponsors, supporters and volunteers for making this the best event to date. Looking forward to seeing you all again next year!

In Memory of Lakotah Sioux

Lakotah Sioux was rescued by the Wendlands before Wolf was even thought of. Frank and Pat originally adopted her as a Christmas gift for a friend. They suspected she had some wolf in her, but didn’t think it would be a problem. However, their friend decided he was unable to handle the responsibility of a puppy, so Kotah joined the family.

She lived a great life, enjoying lots of love and attention, spending plenty of time at the river, and never leaving Frank’s side. Her favorite game was to bite Frank in the nose if he blew air in her face, which she continued to play with anyone brave enough to try. In 2000, Frank and Kotah took a trip to Yellowstone to see wild wolves. They had a great time, enjoying many hikes and some quality time together. But Kotah always had to lead humans on walks. So it was no surprise when she was ahead of Frank on a trail one day, until she turned around and came back to him with a perplexed look on her face. After rounding the corner, Frank saw a huge buffalo wallowing in the dust. Lakotah immediately took off after it, screaming. The buffalo retaliated by charging them. Both survived the ordeal without injury. Obviously, the two had a very special relationship.

Lakotah was originally the alpha female of the house pack. However, she had an attitude the size of Texas, and actually started more arguments than she prevented. The house pack eventually decided they could take no more, and Lakotah was forced out. She and C. C. spent the remainder of their years outside the main compound running free on the property. Of course, they still slept in the house at night.

A few winters ago, Lakotah suffered a bad fall down the stairs. A hip was dislocated,

and for months she could barely walk. She began receiving chiropractic treatment, which lessened her pain and allowed her to walk, but she still needed help getting up. Kotah still lived life to the fullest, relishing the extra special attention she received from everyone.

A few months ago, her condition worsened. We did everything we could to ensure her comfort. Her spirit and attitude kept her going, but slowly the body gave out. She needed help getting up, lying down, and outside due to constant falling. Pain meds kept her comfortable, but the inevitable came. The vet came on 20 May. We carried Lakotah outside to the grass next to the lake. Her loved ones watched and mourned as her spirit passed from this world to the next. We are still struggling to accept her loss, but know she is on the other side helping us.

County Challenges & the Ballot Initiative

In our last newsletter, we reported that Wolf was attempting a ballot initiative to bring our expansion issues to the voters of Larimer County. This was an extremely exciting and promising prospect; surely the citizens understood how unfounded the denial was! Unfortunately the initiative never received a chance. Before the last newsletter reached many of you, Larimer County denied our ballot language. They claimed it was an “unauthorized question”. What does that mean? After many phone calls, web searches, and the efforts of not one, but two lawyers, we learned that residents of unincorporated counties are not allowed to do a ballot initiative for land use issues. This information was conveniently left out of our meetings and multiple phone calls with the Head of Elections, Elections Department staff, and County Clerk and Recorder.

However, please do not be discouraged. Yes, we have had many set backs and disappointments. But we are not done yet! Wolf has filed a lawsuit against our county, and we are proceeding with it. The process is very long and challenging, but it gives us many opportunities to clear the record about many of the misconceptions brought forth by the public hearings.

In addition, many wonderful neighbors have come forth with a variety of offers to help us expand. Several very influential individuals have offered to serve on our Advisory Board, in order to help. Other offers include building foster containment areas on their property, in order to bring the WideAwake Wolves closer to the Sanctuary. One neighbor even offered to give us a small parcel for this purpose.

We are also looking into selling off portions of the land, for development, that we are not approved to use, in order to purchase additional land at another location and basically have two Sanctuaries in Larimer County. As we evaluate all the options available to us, which will not require County approvals, we will keep you informed -- primarily through E-News Updates.

Bottom line, our expansion is vital to the lives of many animals and Wolf is committed to its Mission and will find a way to make it happen. It is a noble and worthy cause, and we will not give up on the lives of those individuals we have the resources to help. The lawsuit will be a very long process, but we will keep you updated. Thank you for all of your support through this process, and please hang in there with us.

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