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Steve Shaffer has been volunteering at Wolf since the Spring of 2000. He lived in Littleton, so his visits to the Sanctuary were rather few and far between. However, he became very involved in our accounting as he was a CPA. He helped to set up our, then new, accounting program and has been doing the tax accounting for Wolf ever since.
Last year Steve relocated to Fort Collins specifically to be closer to the Sanctuary. He began volunteering three times a week at the Sanctuary, which allowed the staff to try to catch up on the projects and chores that always take second place to the daily tasks of caring for the animals. Steve’s connection to and passion for the animals is very obvious and we feel very blessed to have such a dedicated and committed volunteer and friend. Here is the way Steve states his story. |
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| Wolf has been my refuge from the insanity of life for about ten years now, but only in the last fifteen months has the impact of interacting with these strong, intelligent, yet fragile souls become the paramount fulcrum of my life. If asked what I do, I’m no longer an accountant or CPA, but that “I volunteer at the Wolf Sanctuary in Rist Canyon as much as possible”. Words, unfortunately, elude me when asked why my love or fascination with wolves, but I no longer strain for an answer -- it’s just there, and very strong. |
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I have hopefully provided needed help to the staff at Wolf who give so much of themselves, and provided an emotional (and yes, culinary) impact on the critters. Whatever I’ve been able to provide, I feel guilty in that I’ve received so much more. Besides a measurable improvement in my health, the positively glowing feeling they provide me is, indeed, priceless.
Part of the magic of being in close contact on a relatively often basis, is learning to recognize, and then accept, the gifts of friendship and trust each animal is willing to risk with a human. The emotional exhilaration has come from the first time Lena greeted me at the gate of her enclosure, the first time Kasota circled near me at a walking pace, J.J. coming to the fence to take a meatball treat from my hand, Kiki coming up to the fence (nope, won’t take nothin’ from my hand -- yet) to Boots not pacing and coming half way down his enclosure while I’m leaving treats and Atlantis coming into eye to eye acknowledgement while I’m interacting with J.J. in their enclosure. Each in their own way and own time, and learning to appreciate each gift, has given me insight and patience both at Wolf and away.
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I moved to Fort Collins to be able to spend more time at Wolf after a number of family deaths within a two year period; I especially looked forward to seeing Whisper more often. I think she’s special to me because of her physical and otherwise similarity to my Cheyenne, some of whose ashes I spread in Whisper’s enclosure. My feelings for Whisper have only grown, but I surprisingly have found that I don’t answer the question of who’s my favorite the same anymore. Frank put my feelings into words best, when he supplied what I was trying to say -- his/my favorite is who I’m with at the time.
I’m honored with the volunteer of the quarter designation, and only hope it helps with other volunteers to make the decision to try out spending more time as a volunteer doing the daily chores -- it’s rewarding beyond belief at so many levels.
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WOLF, Post Office Box 1544, La Porte, CO 80535 - USA |
