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| September 2, 2008 |
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Las Golondrinas Animal Fair: Fur, Fangs and Feathers We are going to be heading back to Las Golondrinas for the second time this year to attend the Animal Fair: Fur, Fangs, and Feathers! Along with our outreach team and one of our ambassador wolves, there should be many other critters to see and greet. Las Golondrinas offers many fun and educational activities, including buildings and costumes representing the time period, and demonstrations like sheep shearing and tortilla cooking. Las Golondrinas is one of our favorite events to visit, and we hope to see you there as well!
Date: September 13th - 14th
For more upcoming events, please check here |
As you probably already saw, we placed up information about our Howl-o-ween Party 2008 on the Home page. With each year, we are getting better and better, and we are hoping that this year will exceed all expectations. You must reserve your ticket ahead of time. The price is $30 for adults, $15 for children 7-12, and under the age of 7 is free! Ticket price includes all of the day's activities, camping (until spots are filled), and a tour for either that day or next day Sunday. We hope to see you out there! |
Our wolf ambassadors' roles stretch beyond that of just going out and greeting the public. Their sociability provides huge help while they our at home as well. Raven, living up to the true role of ambassador, is one of the first animals volunteers get to meet. Long-time members or great supporters of the Sanctuary, when they make the long trip to see us, will sometimes have the chance to greet this sweet old man. Raven just said "hello" to Melissa, the woman who organized for the wolf-dog Nakota and his companion Lani to get out of their dire situation and come to Wild Spirit. Forest is also true to the definition of an ambassador, and will usually greet new animals that arrive at the Sanctuary. We know and trust Forest enough to be confident that he would never attack another animal. When a social wolf comes to Wild Spirit for the first time, we sometimes let Forest greet the animal to let us better judge their sociability. Our ambassadors play so many vital roles at the Sanctuary, and we don't know where we would be without them. |
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Welcome to your new home, Contessa! 
We welcome a brand new animal to our four-legged family, Contessa! This black and silver high-content wolf-dog is one of the few animals that came from a loving family. Contessa was socialized to humans and other canines, and spoiled like a well-loved companion. However, her owners would travel several times a year, and an upcoming trip to Thailand for three months made the owners realize that they did not want Contessa spending so much time by herself. They asked if we could accept Contessa to Wild Spirit. With three males at the time without female companions (Doc, Lakota, and Axel), and our two bachelorettes, Shakti and Lycea, seemingly uninterested in a boyfriend, we knew we had to accept some new females.
Last week, Angel and Mary began the long trip to Boston to pick up Contessa. When they arrived in Massachusetts, they drove to Contessa's home to get to know the new animal better. They played with her in her enclosure and asked all the questions under the moon about Contessa's personality, likes, and dislikes. The afternoon interacting with the wolf-dog made them much more comfortable, and Angel and Mary were ready for the long drive home. They took shifts driving the van the forty-eight hours back to the Sanctuary. They arrived home late last Monday night, and Contessa spent her first night in our isolation enclosure. The next day, Contessa's owners arrived after a plane ride from Boston, hoping to look around the Sanctuary and see Contessa's new potential boyfriend, Axel. When the time for the big move came, we were greeted with an unexpected surprise - buckets and buckets of rain! Dripping wet, the group walked up to Axel's enclosure with Contessa. Axel, upon seeing the stunning girl, immediately began to play bow once the group wandered off. Contessa, on the other hand, seemed a bit more apprehensive. With an excited male play-bowing at her feet, two pups and an exuberant Sassy fence-fighting on her right, and the four wolves of Powder Pack racing the fence on her left, who can blame the girl! Contessa still seems a bit unsure about the situation, but after a successful feeding and plenty of interaction from volunteers, she is beginning to find her bearings. We will have her profile in the Animal Story section of our website as soon as we take some stunning photos of this beautiful girl. Come out to the Sanctuary to see her, and think about becoming one of her very first sponsors!
And what about Lakota?
The question is: what about Lakota? It is unlikely we will accept another animal, with sixty-one critters currently residing at Wild Sprit, and a fox about to arrive shortly. Moving him in with another animal currently at the Sanctuary is out of the question. Only Shakti and Lycea are eligible, and both are very dominant females. If Doc, who use to be able to hold his own against Whitney, couldn't handle them, it is unlikely that Lakota will either. We cannot move him in with an existing pair, since wolves usually reside in family groups. The couple of enclosures we have that contain more than two animals have at least two of the members related (expect for Seal Beach Pack, which is a group of dogs). Lakota would be beat-up and rejected if we tried to place him in another enclosure. For now, Lakota will remain by himself. When one of our males pass away, we will have to find a companion for the female he leaves behind, and it is possible that she will move in with Lakota. Luckily, Lakota does not seem too bothered being by himself, and enjoys the peace and quiet that life offers him at the back of the Sanctuary. |
August was the start of a volunteer rush, with a new volunteer coming almost every week. The flow won't stop; many more new volunteers will be arriving in September and in October. All of the staff and more experienced volunteers are busy training the new crew. New volunteers follow morning rounds and guard duty every day until they can perform the tasks themselves, and tag along with the staff while they clean and care for their enclosures. Then, it is time to head to the wolf kitchen where they learn about animal diets, medications, supplements, and recipes. It is difficult to walk into our wolf kitchen, look around, and figure out what all needs done that day. Luckily, it only takes new volunteers about a week or two to fully understand. We are glad to have so many people on board, and look forward to having a full crew during the usually lean winter months. |
We are once again running low on rubber gloves. We use gloves whenever we handle raw meat to prevent contamination around the Sanctuary. We are in need for all sizes (Small to X-Large), and wish for latex and vinyl gloves (not the thin plastic food gloves; they fall our hands too easily). We could use your help! For more information, please visit our Wish List |
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"Teton and Shasta - Secret Club House (No adults allowed!)" Visited the sanctuary and have a great picture to share? Send your photo to webmistress@wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org and have your photo featured as Photo of the Week! |
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I Need a Home! 
We have a low content wolf-dog that needs a home! She came here with her three pups, and now that her kids have been adopted out, we need to find a home for Momma! She is sweet and social, and although she has been spayed, she has not had all of her shots yet. We do not know her exact age, but we believe she is at least six years old. She would be a great companion in an adult home. If you have any questions or have an interest in adopting this sweet girl, call us at (505) 775-3304 or email us at info@wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org.
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Most wolves will disperse from their original family pack. In the rare instances where the wolf assumes a breeding position, the wolf will stay. Otherwise, all wolves will leave the pack they are born into. |
<< Week of August 19th
Date: Friday - Sunday, September 12th - 14th
More Upcoming Events
Rio Rancho Thunder Motorcycle Rally
While at the Fire and Motorcycle Rally, some nice folks came up and told us about another motorcycle rally in Rio Rancho. After looking into it more, we are signed up to be heading over for the Rio Rancho Thunder Rally! Our outreach team will be there for all three days, along with one of our wolf ambassadors to meet and greet the public. With wolves, live music, and motorcycles...how can it go wrong? Hope to see you there!
Where:
Camping World RV Sales
14303 Central Ave NW
Albuquerque, NM
Website: http://www.rioranchothunder.com
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The last couple of months have left three of our animals with the newly acquired status of 'bachelors'. First it was Doc, who lost his companion Whitney in early March. Then it was Lakota, who lost Waya in July, and two weeks later, Princess passed away leaving Axel to his lonesome. We wanted our bachelors to have love in their life again, so we began looking for potential females to come to the Sanctuary. We accepted the two-year old wolf-dog Riot and planned for her to move in with Doc. Not only has Doc gone the longest without a love interest, but he also was the poor old man that was beat up by three separate females we tried to place in his enclosure. We thought a young female would be a lot gentler, and our assumption proved correct as the two have fallen in love. When we accepted Contessa, we had to decide who she was going to move in with. Lakota or Axel? When we chose Axel, we were sure Lakota's heart was broken. After all, who wouldn't want a beautiful new female to live with? The choice to move Contessa with Axel was not a simple one, but we made that decision for several reasons. Personality wise, Axel and Contessa seem a better fit. Contessa is very social, and while Axel has not let anyone approach him yet while staying at the Sanctuary, he shows potential for becoming more social. Lakota, on the other hand, is much shyer, and we are afraid his behavior will rub off on Contessa in a negative way. We also want to encourage Contessa's friendliness towards humans by having her on the tour path, where she wouldn't be if she moved in with Lakota.