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 Volunteers
of the Quarter - The Dennisons
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Chris Dennison and Susan Barr have been volunteering at Wolf since April of 2006. This is no small feat as they live over 75 miles from the Sanctuary -- a drive of about 2 hours. The number of hours logged by the couple radically increased at the beginning of this year when Wolf was forced to move four animals to the Wild Animal Sanctuary. This location was just 20 minutes from their home and they jumped at the chance to be the social connection to Wolf for these animals. Since then they visited the animals every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thank you Chris and Susan! Here’s their story.
We found Wolf through one of the newsletters left in the waiting room at the medical center where I work, three years ago. The front page was in memory of Sequoia. I read the newsletter, was very moved and would probably have sent money, but Chris thought we should go there and volunteer. Not only did it seem like a great way to help out, but it involved animals and we are suckers when it comes to just about any animal in need.
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That decision has changed our lives. Being allowed to participate in caring for these animals, and finding a type of kinship with such wonderful creatures, really puts a perspective on what is and is not important in today’s society. From Kenai’s tough love to Sky’s gentle kiss, every wolf has shown us his, or her, own distinct personality and how they show love. Even the animals that come from horribly abusive situations are more than willing to forgive and forget with a little patience and respect on our part. Human beings should take a lesson. Since we have started at Wolf we have loved and lost 17 unique friends. We will never forget our visit to the Sanctuary the Saturday after Spirit passed away and the mournful cries from the rest of the packs. It was amazing to hear how Kiki would start the crying on her own and the others would allow her time before joining in with their own sad song. As hard as it to lose them we count ourselves as lucky, to have known them at all. There are not many people that can say they have befriended a wolf.
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Because we live in Brighton we don’t get to spend nearly as much time at Wolf as we would like. However, through an unfortunate ruling by the county, we have been very blessed to be able to help out with the animals that Wolf was forced to temporarily re-locate. Sky, Lakota, Sami and Nugget were all moved to The Wild Animal Sanctuary, near Keenesburg, several months ago. As It turned out, it is about 15 minutes from our home and we jumped at the chance to see at least these animals more frequently. We have been going out every weekend since the animals were moved and we have really become attached. While things have gone pretty smoothly, it hasn’t been with out incident. We were saddened deeply by the loss of both Sami and Nugget, but have done our best to focus on the wolves that are still there (Sky-Baby and Kota Snoot) and try to give them all of the love and care they deserve. While Sami and Nugget are missed, we know that they are still with us and we cherish the time we got to spend with them. As far as the boys go, they are both doing very well and seem to have adjusted very well to their new “home”. The people at TWAS have been outstanding in every way. We talk often about the day that they go back to their real home and it is a little bittersweet for us. While we know they belong in the mountains, we have become spoiled with their close proximity to us for these past months. However, we are committed to continuing to build upon the special bond that we have been able to develop with Sky and Lakota, so we will be headed back to the mountains whenever the time comes.
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All in all, however cliché it may sound, it is hard for us to imagine our lives without these animals and our time at Wolf with them. |
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Training Sigmund and Rajan to walk on a lead has gone well, but while both boys enjoy going for walks around the Sanctuary and elsewhere, there have been a few unexpected issues.
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It is difficult to anticipate how strongly a wolf-dog will react to each new situation and unfortunately, Sigmund is no longer an ambassador. The unfamiliar waxed floors and noisy echoes of a gym terrified him.
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| Afterward, he became more scared at each additional event, spending most of his time searching for places to hide. After his fifth program, we decided it was too stressful for him and turned our attentions to Rajan. We were worried about Rajan as well, after the merchandise trailer scared him as he was loading up. |
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On August 22nd, he loaded up into a different vehicle and we drove him down to his first public event. Rajan was overwhelmed by the amount of activity and everyone’s interest in him. But after a few walks away from the crowds (Rajan loves to explore new places), he quickly became used to the attention and even tried to sneak out under the roped off area to give kisses to a few lucky visitors. So far, Rajan has performed admirably and hopefully he will enjoy being an ambassador for Wolf.
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WOLF, Post Office Box 1544, La Porte, CO 80535 - USA |
