Saturday, March 17, 2007


I live in a 5th wheel trailer at the edge of the Sanctuary’s campground. It might not seem like much to many people, but as far as life is concerned here, it’s the luxury suite of volunteer housing. What’s made the trailer even more entertaining, is the constant animal presence.
I’m an animal lover. I’m a critter fanatic. I want warm, furry creatures to surround me at all hours of the day. I love the fact that I wake up each morning to the sound of wolves howling, I walk my dog to the office, I spend the first part of my day caring for wolves, and the latter, working toward funding their care. I love that after work, I visit with the residents, and come home to a house full of critters.
On a normal evening these days, the trailer is pretty quiet. It’s me, a Saint Bernard, and two lovable black cats. But the change over has been amazing, and at some points, you’d have a hard time believing there’s room for humans in this house.

Last summer, a friend of mine, Mary, came to volunteer at our Sanctuary for four months. She ended up sharing the trailer with myself, and at that time, a small dog named Nakita, as well as her dog, Sierra, a husky-shepherd cross. For a while, I was living in the Animal Care office with the puppies, and so, it was just Mary & the dogs. When the pups moved into an enclosure, however, I came back and started bringing with me two wolf-pups each night.
Even though the pups had moved outdoors, we still felt it extremely important for them to stay bonded with humans overnight, to spend time indoors in different situations, and to be around dogs. Each evening, I would bring home two of the pups, and sleep on the couch while they examined how to get around all of the puppy-proofing I had attempted. My bookshelves, counter tops, tables, etc. were all clear – anything on them would be tossed to the floor. Any food items were secure placed in a cabinet, or the refrigerator – nothing could be safely kept out. All electrical wires were taped securely. My floor was lined with cardboard so when the pups had to go to the bathroom, it was an easy clean up; you can’t house train a wolf!
They of course still found all kinds of mischief to get into. Parts of my carpet have been removed. The furniture all has “nibble marks.” That “secure tape” didn’t last long, and soon, the pups watched me open the cabinet & refrigerator doors and began doing so themselves. My curtains became shredded, the blinds mangled, and certain cabinet handles are now missing. But, of course, such can be expected with a trailer full of critters, especially wolf pups who are just exploring their abilities.
My favorite day, was after we had picked up Savannah, the Saint Bernard, who helps socialize the animals, and Mary had adopted Malik, a low to no-content wolf-dog who mistakenly came through the Sanctuary. Mary’s parents happened to be visiting, and they were baffled to walk into a trailer with two people, four dogs, and two wolf puppies.
What was more entertaining is when Mary’s mother commented: “I can’t believe you sit on the floor so the animal’s can have the couch!” Mary and I smiled at one another as we looked behind us. As we leaned against the couch, on it, chewing on rawhide, was Thunder the wolf pup, Malik & Sierra.
The thing about working with wolves is, you work with them on their terms. They will never learn things like dogs do: don’t get on the furniture, don’t chew things up, human food is not for you. They have no capacity to want to please humans, and thus, ideas like that never register with them. The thing about dogs that get to play with wolves is that they quickly learn they get to get away with a lot more when the wolves are around!
The pups are between 80 and 100 lbs now… While they still come to visit the trailer, typically I don’t let them spend the night. There’s too much of a danger of them figuring out an escape route or something physically harmful to get into while I’m asleep. Mary is back in Ohio with Malik & Sierra, and Nakita has moved in with another volunteer. It’s almost lonely only having one dog & two cats to keep you company. But, then again, it’s a lot cleaner and the trailer is in much better shape!