Friday, December 23, 2005

Introduction: To Catch a Glimpse of a Wild Spirit


For those of us who are blessed enough to spend time at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, a whole new world of understanding forms. We as volunteers and staff members at the Sanctuary are able to live day in and day out with these animals and learn so many things from each of them. Each and every day revolves around providing them with sanctuary, necessities, and hopefully, the best life that we can give them in captivity. As our Assistant Director, Gary Fuller says, "Even a good prison is still a prison," and while we know this to be true, we are constantly striving to better the life that these wild spirits are forced to live in. Each morning we begin our days by feeding, cleaning the enclosures of and for those who enjoy it, socializing each animal who resides with us. The rest of the day follows with each member of the team working in some aspect of the organization, whether by preparing for the following day's feeding, performing maitenence tasks to improve life, appearance and functionality at the sanctuary, or working in administration to keep the organization running and search for ways to fund the sanctuary, educate the public and make a difference in the world of these animals.
While visitors to and members of the Sanctuary are given a taste of life here and an introduction to the residents, only by living here are we able to begin fully grasping the dynamics of each individual animal as well as the dynamics of the organization as a whole. This blog was created as a way to allow readers to gain a better understanding of all things related to Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.
Here we will post accounts of daily activities such as food preparation, meat separation, administrative tasks and current sanctuary projects. We will also relate stories of our residents, the complexities of interaction, and our continuous learning from these fantastic creatures. It will be a place for us to continue our own education, document interactions and evolution, as well as allow those interested a better source of insight into daily life. But most importantly, as with all the work we do, this is a tribute to our residents, who's wild spirits have been trapped in captivity and must now serve as ambassadors for their brothers and sisters.