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Letter From The President
Spring finally seems to have arrived -- at least we hope so. It has been a very long winter in many ways. Things are hectic around the Sanctuary as the Waltz quickly approaches, but everything certainly looks like it’s shaping up to be our best event yet. Our volunteers have worked very hard this year to collect items for the auction, likewise the businesses that donate items have been even more generous, thank you! For everyone in the area or planning to be, I hope to see you there. Please come and say hello in person! The hummingbirds have returned to the Sanctuary, that’s a sure sign that our fair-weather projects are ready to begin and we have quite the list of them for this summer. Several habitat improvements top that list along with improvements to our emergency accommodations and wildfire protection for the wolves. All of this is of course possible because of our outstanding supporters, like the one who is reading this letter right now, yep, that’s you. Wolf is truly built upon a grassroots network of supporters. Honestly, we do not have a large number of high-dollar donors. What we do have is a large number of every-day folks who care enough about the wolves and what we do to support our efforts and make a difference in the lives of the animals placed in the care of the Sanctuary. This speaks volumes about our supporter base. The life of each wolf we are able to rescue, the outstanding habitats provided for them, the encompassing medical care and the Sanctuary’s educational outreach program -- each and all of these are not possible simply because of one or two large donors, they are possible because of the power and generosity of all of our every-day supporters together. Thank you all so very much for caring enough to make a difference! Gratefully Yours, Frank Wendland |
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Our last update ended with news regarding our emergency request of the County Commissioners. The approvals received allowed us to bring in three animals above our limit of 30. This approval was received on February 22nd, but our celebration was cut very short as the morning of the 23rd Sky was discovered to have passed during the night (see story). As we attempted to make sense of it all and do our grieving, we knew we had a number of animals needing to be shifted around. On February 27th Luna and Lance were moved to one of the new habitats where it would be much easier for her to deal with the nerve root cancer, in her front right leg, which had recently been diagnosed. The move went extremely smooth and efficient and they both adapted very nicely to their new surroundings. |
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On March 1st, Nashoba was moved to become Isabeau’s new companion after the passing of Sky. This move made perfect sense as Nashoba had been with Isabeau in the past, but had to be removed as he became too energetic and aggressive with Shaman, who was part of that grouping at the time. It also made sense as Nashoba was taking somewhat the same course with his relationship with Rajan. We believed that Nashoba just got a bit carried away with himself when Rajan was out on his ambassador wolf excursions. Every time Rajan returned to his habitat and alpha position with Kiki, the alpha female, Nashoba seemed to want Rajan to accept a different hierarchy and Rajan was getting tired of having to prove himself all the time. |
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Nashoba was not going to make the move easy though. He decided he would not go into the smaller catch-up area of his habitat and therefore he needed to be darted in the larger (an acre and a third) part of his enclosure. This meant much more time to get a good shot and then it also turned out that he needed a much heavier dose than normal. After several attempts he was finally subdued and moved in with Isabeau. The new arrangement seems to be working great for everyone involved. Isabeau and Nashoba, seem to be equally matched with their energy levels and totally wear each other out. Kiki and Rajan are much more comfortable with each other and not having to endure the high-energy antics of Nashoba. |
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So, on to the next moves. On March 3rd, Tonka, Meeka and Tala were moved from their respective foster homes to the Sanctuary. We believe that Meeka and Tonka would make a good match and that Tala would be great for Lakota. The habitats would be next to each other, so that Meeka and Tala (both females) who had been together their entire lives could still be close to each other at the fence line. Initially everything was going pretty much as anticipated; Tonka was very freaked and hid in the dog house, Meeka was not sure what was going on so she screamed at everyone, and Tala could not understand why her sister was on the other side of the fence, so she walked the fence line. Lakota seemed very interested in Tala and used a very polite tail wag and bouncy step to introduce himself. Tala was unimpressed as she tried to figure out what was going on. Lakota again politely, left her alone and went about his own business. |
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By March 23rd it was obvious that Tala was not giving up on getting in with her sister and we allowed them to be reunited. Tonka was now doing great and loving his new home and new companion. Now a second girl joined his pack and this one immediately moved into his house and shared that space. Although having two females together with one male has NEVER worked well at the Sanctuary, this arrangement appears to be working very well, so far. This tends to reinforce our beliefs that every individual animal is exactly that, an individual with their own unique personalities -- their is no black and white, only shades of grey. |
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With all the snow and ice, it was noticed that Sigmund was limping. We watched him closely and decided we needed to have x-rays taken. He was examined on April 1st and diagnosed with an acute tear of the left ACL. This was not going to heal on its own and a very expensive TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery was recommended. However, it was also recommended that we not have the surgery performed until after all the snow and ice was finished for the season. We are not real sure when that will be as we have continued to receive some pretty impressive accumulation. On April 23rd through the 25th there was 9” of snow, a mix of snow and rain on May 6th and an amazing 21” of snow on May 12th. |
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On May 2nd, Isis was not herself and we decided to get her into the emergency hospital. Several times over the past few weeks, it had been noticed that she was napping much longer and harder than usual, but that could have just been the changing seasons. Now we needed to find out what was going on. After a series of tests, the preliminary diagnosis seemed to have two concerns. First, she had a number of masses that presented as cancer -- tissue was taken for biopsy. Second, she had what appeared to be a very severe infection -- antibiotics were prescribed. She seems to be doing great now and although the biopsies have come back as malignant, the infection seems to be cleared up and she is enjoying life. |
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On May 20th, Pride was moved in with Lance, to be his new companion after the death of Luna. Pride had been with Kai, but not really getting the type of high-energy play she wanted. Kai turned 17 years old this year and just does not have it in him. The move seemed to be the best decision for both individuals and they appear to be doing great. Lakota’s jaw is again having issues and he is scheduled to be examined next week. On May 21st, Merlin passed after significant struggles with the osteosarcoma, which had invaded his left wrist. We will bring you the details on both of these situations in our next newsletter. |
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WOLF, Post Office Box 1544, La Porte, CO 80535 - USA