News, Summer 2008, page 1

Volunteer of the Quarter - Michael Hogan

Newsletter - Summer 2008
(click to link to pdf download)

Sanctuary Update

Summer has again pushed the limits of our emotions. As we begin healing from one loss, another challenge presents itself. Although we bounce back pretty quickly, it gets very tough to focus on the necessities of running a business, especially during the tough economic times we are in.

Immediately following the Waltz on June 21st, Indigo became sick and we rode the roller-coaster with him until August 20th (see In Memory of Indigo). The day he became sick we actually had the vet here to do surgery on Merlin, to extract a tooth that was broken and had infected his jaw. Merlin underwent the surgery just fine and has recovered wonderfully.

During the first few weeks of July Shaman began having more serious problems with his rear legs and even being able to get up from a lying position. After a visit from the vet we decided to have our chiropractor out to examine him. She came up on July 20th and adjusted his spine. It appears that all of the rough treatment from Isabeau indeed had pushed several of his vertebrae out of alignment. Since that adjustment and several more over the next month, Shaman is doing outstandingly well and we are very hopeful.

From August 6th through the 16th, we received over 7 inches of much needed rain. Unfortunately, the 16th and 17th we were exhibiting at a public event in Fort Collins -- New West Fest. Although the first day of the event was a total ‘washout’ (literally) Sunday was much better.

On August 15th a strange feral cat showed up on the property and initiated a fight with ‘our’ resident feral cat, ‘FK’. Although there was a lot of noise, both were alright. We figured the stranger left. Not -- on the 21st, the day after Indigo passed, we discovered 4 kittens in one of our sheds as they were crying for attention. It was very apparent that they were in distress and we were concerned that something bad happened to mom. We were lucky to find that the Fort Collins Cat Rescue had a lactating cat who had just weaned her kittens. We rushed these four little ones down and they are all doing well after extreme efforts by the foster care individual. We did find the mother cat on the 25th, dead in one of the wolf habitats.

On August 26 we began a three-day exercise to get caught up on general exams and vaccinations (see Vet Days). Not only is the process of darting animals very stressful on the staff at Wolf , but the complications that occurred this time has had devastating emotional repercussions (see In Memory of Menemith). It will take us some time get through the grieving process.

However, we just do not have the time availability to properly deal with it. We were immediately thrust into the decision process of adjusting groups and moving animals, so that their needs were accommodated. We needed to move two of the animals from WideAwake to the Sanctuary, which now had space for two and then find a companion for Webster.

On September 4th, we were off to WideAwake to move Boots and Lena. While we were there we would do some of the exams/vaccinations that were needed up there. Lucan, Kasota, Hammer and Gina were caught up without drugs, examined, vaccinated and blood drawn for testing. Likewise Boots and Lena were given the full treatment and loaded for the trip to the Sanctuary. Everything went outstandingly well -- we thought and Boots and Lean were doing great in their new larger habitat. However, the next day Lucan was found to have died in his sleep (we will cover the details on this in our next newsletter). WHAT in the world was going on! Another 6-hour round trip was undertaken to retrieve his body for a necropsy at CSU. The results have shown that he died from kidney failure although his blood showed absolutely no signs of an issue. Now we needed to find Kasota a companion as well. It seemed like a no-brainer -- she should go with Webster, but was that best and how long did both of them need to grieve.

During all of this we still had to run a business and meet other educational commitments. We were invited by our new Advisory Board (see Press Release for more details) to attend a special dinner function at the Stove Prairie Ranch and then to exhibit at the Rist Canyon Mtn. Festival, which is a by-invitation only fund raiser for the volunteer fire department. The dinner was an outstanding event where Wolf was acknowledged to all of the special invitees.

The mountain festival was spectacular as well and gave us a great opportunity to let more of our neighbors learn about Wolf and our mission.

As this report is being written, Kasota is being brought to the Sanctuary. We will have the details in our next newsletter.

Our law suit with the county is proceeding, but there is not much to report on that. The extra expense this year, along with the poor economy and extreme vet bills, is pushing us beyond our limits. Please do whatever you can to help with these expenses. Please see the Special Offer (below) we have initiated to help acknowledge your extra effort and support during these critical times.

THANK YOU!

Special Offer

	Please Help WOLF Through This Economy 2008 has become a tremendously challenging year. Not only emotionally as we struggle with the loss of some dearly loved animals and our challenges with Larimer County, but with the financial ramifications of higher expenses than normal and lower donations due to the economy. Wolf is very proud that almost all of our funding comes from ‘grass roots’ support. It is testimony to the passion you possess for the wolves, but indeed that base is dramatically impacted during hard economic times. We know that our supporters are suffering just as much as we are and although we hate to push for more, we must. Without additional funding we will be in serious trouble. Knowing the sacrifice we are asking of you, we have initiated a special offer to acknowledge your extra efforts. With any donation of $10 or more we will send you a ‘Kasha’ bookmark. Please Help Us Get Through These Tough Times! RECEIVE A KASHA BOOKMARK (with your donation of $10 or more) (please consider a monthly automatic donation -- call 970.416.9531 for more details )

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