Yesterday, Allison and I took Forest to Cherry Hills Library in Albuquerque. It was the first of the library presentations either I or Forest had done, and so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but as it turned out, there was a great group of kids (and adults) that seemed very interested in learning as much as they could about wolves. Forest, also, did a fantastic job.
When you go to an outreach event, you never really know what to expect. Certain tablings you’re lucky if you see a few people all day long; others, it feels like there’s never a break from offering our rhetoric. When it comes to presentations at schools & libraries, for example, it’s always a guessing game as to how the people are going to respond, and with the pups, how the ambassador wolf is going to feel.
Forest amazes me almost every time we go out into the public. At the Sanctuary, and as far as we’ve seen, he’s almost always a “happy-go-lucky” kid. At this particular library, Forest spent the entire time I was talking sleeping on the floor in front of me. More malleable than ever, he let me lift his paws to show the webbing between his toes, stretch out his tail to exhibit its lack of curl, fur pattern, and precaudal spot, and even mangle his fur about to show the two layers and the length of the guard hairs. It wasn’t until the first group of children came up to pet him that Forest finally woke up.
When he first woke up, I must admit a small part of me wondered what his reaction was going to be. While I know Forest to be a very understanding wolf pup, waking up to 6-7 little people petting you and another twenty or thirty crowded behind you can be a stressful situation for even the most well-adjusted of dogs, let alone a wolf. Forest, however, woke up just as pleased with all of the attention he was receiving as ever, and even though I asked the crowd to stand back, he didn’t seem very concerned.
As I walked him around the room then, meeting different people, mostly children, Forest gave kisses – perhaps tongue baths – to almost every small child he came in contact with. One little girl was so appealing, that Forest crawled into her lap and decided he was going to stay there for a bit. It amazes me how at ease this little boy is in such scary, scary situations. We try to explain to our audiences how miraculous it is for a wolf to do a program such as this. After all, here is this naturally shy creature, surrounded on all sides by his only predator; fearing (and thus avoiding) humans is the strongest instinct a wolf holds.
I compare Forest to the other puppies. All of the arctics, who we’ve spent much more time hand-rearing and socializing, are much more fearful of humans. Even Storm, who also acts as an “ambassador in training” shows fear at new things, new atmospheres, and is visibly less excited to meet people. Forest’s brother’s and sisters all have fears of various things. So far, with Forest, the only fear I’ve seen exhibited is toward heights. Strange, but definitely preferable in most situations!
I compare Forest to some of the socialized adults at our Sanctuary. I think about the previous “babies,” who were the only other litter of pups ever to be at our Sanctuary. While they all went through the same socialization process, 11 years later, Ghengis, for example, is one of our toughest characters. I wonder, will there be a changing point where Forest decides he must exhibit his dominance toward humans instead of his affection?
We hope and pray everyday that these beautiful, sociable pups will remain this way forever. We work diligently to keep them socialized, to make sure they are enjoying their ambassador programs, to “condition” them as best as we can. And most of the time, it’s easy to fall into thinking: “They’ll always be so sweet, so cuddly.” Unfortunately, we need to remember that that was the thought behind each and every animal now in our care. The same thought that all new wolf & wolf-dog owners have with their newly purchased pups.
The likelihood that Forest, or any of the pups, will remain quite this brave, sociable and malleable is slim to none. He certainly has something special about him, however, and perhaps, Forest, Storm, or one of the other pups will beat the odds and surprise us all. We can only hope, and continue our efforts.