Nakota joined the Big Pack in the Sky on April 25th, 2018.
He was assisted at 15 years old following a stroke.
Nakota was born in May of 2002, and arrived at Wild Spirit in February of 2007. While we were busy making arrangements to travel to Oregon for a separate rescue, a woman named Missy was persistently calling us in hopes that we would rescue two wolfdogs, Lani and Nakota.
Nakota was in her care many years ago, but had since went through several different homes, and ended up in a county in Oregon where it was illegal to own a wolfdog. After many problems brought him to the attention of authorities, his current owner was given a week to either find him new placement or have him euthanized.
Learning of Nakota’s situation, Missy did everything she could to make arrangements for him. With time running out for Nakota and our current obligations with another rescue, it was no easy feat to find a solution. However, Missy’s persistence, passion, and cooperativeness in making arrangements allowed us to move forward with both rescues simultaneously!
Nakota and Lani’s rescue is the perfect example of how Wild Spirit could not accomplish nearly as much without the remarkable people who support us, as well as our mission!
Personality
Nakota was a shy boy, but under that exterior, was a big attitude! Nakota was very particular about those he allowed inside his enclosure, and was not fond of Caretakers getting close to his things. Once he was comfortable with particular people, he did become gracious enough to invite them into his space, allow them to touch his things without intervention, and even sought affection! However, the one thing no Caretaker was ever welcome to touch was his former companion, Maki. Our three-legged gal was quite anxious, and Nakota felt particularly protective of her.
Relationships
Nakota arrived with his life long companion, Lani. When Lani passed, he moved in with a new companion, Silva. The two were a wonderful pair, and very close with one another. When she passed, Nakota spent the remainder of his life with one of our Westeros gals, Arya.
Photo: Nakota and Silva
Likes & Dislikes
Nakota liked to “wash” his Caretakers’ hands with licks, scentrolling on meaty bones, and scaring new Caretakers with false-charges.
Nakota disliked his water bucket being touched, and when his companions went out for a walk without him (even though he refused to go on one himself).
Fun Facts
The most popular name for wolves has to be ‘Lakota’. That was Nakota’s name when he first arrived at the Sanctuary, but due to the fact that we already had a Lakota and a Dakota, we decided to change his name to Nakota. Imagine trying to memorize names as a new Caretaker with this trio, especially after we added a Kota to the mix!
Share your Memories of Nakota Below!
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Oh heart be still, dry those tears, Nakota he lived for many years. His beautiful fur, his handsome face, no other could ever take His place. We’ll always love you Beautiful One, run free , run far into the setting Sun❤️