Ghost

Ghost was rescued from the Humane Society in Colorado Springs, CO where he was relinquished by his owner. He is a sweet Timber Wolf mix who turned one year old in April 2013. Ghost loves everyone from kids to cats.

We are extremely fortunate to have added Ghost to our pack.

Kiowa

Kiowa was adopted in February, 2012 from Indigo Mountain in Lake George, CO.

Indigo Mountain is a wildlife sanctuary that also runs a placement network for animals in need of care. Kiowa is a Timber Wolf mix.

As a young pup he was enrolled in a kindergarten boot camp. With this obedience training he continues to show great signs of becoming one of our top Ambassadors.

Apache

Apache is our newest addition to the pack. After losing Waya, our only female, we heard about this little girl. We picked her up in April, 2017 at 8 weeks old. Spirit has decided that she belongs to him (see photo below). Ghost thinks she’s just a big annoyance but he’s protective of her. Kiowa and Kalani would love to have her in their enclosure but Spirit won’t allow that! She loves going on the wolf walks and will be joining us at the Cliff Dwellings during the summer months. Apache is a Timber wolf mix.

Spirit

Spirit joined our pack in August, 2016. We acquired him at 9 weeks old. He is a Timber-Malamute mix. He shares his enclosure with Ghost and Apache. Spirit loves to go on walks and be around people. While on his walks he’s a hunter. It’s amazing to see him pounce. He also has the most beautiful eyes!

Shasta

Shasta, a timber wolf mix, joined the pack on April 1, 2019 at 15 weeks old after being relinquished by her owner. She already seems to know that her life will be much better, as she learns about pack life from her new male companions, Spirit and Kiowa. She acts like a typical pup, trying to bite their tails and engage them in play. Spirit and Kiowa also have a few things to learn about indulging a growing pup!

Gone, but not forgotten

Saying Goodbye to Kalani

My heart breaks to have to say we had to put Kalani down on October 22nd. The skull cancer that was diagnosed in mid September spread so fast and he was starting to show pain. It’s never an easy decision to put an animal down. I knew it was time but I never thought I’d lose him so suddenly. I had such a hard time saying goodbye to him. He was my one wolf that you had to earn his respect. Interacting with him was on his terms. As he got sicker our bond grew stronger. I know he knew I was trying to help him. The evening before he was put down he gave us a goodbye howl. It lasted about two minutes. It was such a sad but beautiful howl. I sure miss his howls.

Kalani had a hard life from the start….
He was a beautiful Timber, Arctic, & Irish Wolfhound mix. On June 4, 2010 The Saskatoon, Canada SPCA was involved in a large seizure of 84 dogs. The animals ranged from 3 weeks to 6 years. One pup just didn’t seem to fit into the mix. As he grew he started to show signs that he just wasn’t a regular puppy. He didn’t bark, he howled. The SPCA consulted with conservation officers, who decided that he was a wolf dog. Unfortunately they were not permitted to adopt out this pup.

The day after the seize it was found that he could not use his back legs. He was taken to the vet and diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism, because of poor nutrition. His bone density was extremely low, and he had multiple small bone fractures. He was put in foster care in hopes of reversing the bone problems. Within 5 days he started to stand on his back legs. Each day was an improvement as he would take steps in walking but only for short periods. When he started to run it was as if his back legs were taped together, and he would hop on them.

I was lucky enough to be able to adopt Kalani in August, 2010. With lots of work and patience, he turned into a wonderful animal. Happily his foster care saved his life and I was able to have him in mine.

I love you Kalani…. You will be missed.

Peggy

Gone, but not forgotten

A Tribute to Waya

It’s with a heavy heart to say that we lost our beautiful girl Waya on Wednesday, December 28, 2016. Waya was the Alpha of our pack. For two weeks she had trouble getting up and staying balanced. After a third trip to the vet we were told that she had a mass in her spine. Her prognosis was not good and it was progressing fast. Fortunately, she wasn’t in pain. Her mind was fine but she just couldn’t function from the waist down. On her last day, she was in the house laying by the fireplace. I opened the window she could hear the other wolves outside. She was never a huge howler. All of the sudden she howled the loudest, strongest howl I’d ever heard from her. After she was done the rest of the pack answered her back. I have to think she was saying goodbye.

Waya was my first rescue. I acquired her in April, 2006 at one year old. At the time, I was working at a wolf sanctuary. We heard about a wolfdog that was in desperate need of a home. Her owner had chained to a tree for the first year of her life and she was severely underweight. After several warnings to the owner she was picked up by a shelter in Leadville, CO where she was going to be euthanized. We put out fliers in hopes that someone would rescue her. Throughout the day, I kept walking by that flier and thinking how scared she must be. I quickly decided that I wanted her. I picked her up from Indigo Mountain Nature Center in Lake George where she was temporarily being kept. She was quite shy for the first month. She was a work in progress. With lots of love and patience she began to trust.

Shortly after rescuing Waya I found out that another wolfdog “Timber” needed a home. I jumped at the chance to give Waya a companion. It was love at first sight for Waya. They spent five years together until Timber passed away from cancer on January 2, 2012. With Timber gone Waya moved up in the pack to be our Alpha.

Through the years, she was a reluctant surrogate mother for four pups whom she quickly put in their place. The thing I will miss the most about Waya was her gentle soul. She was very feminine, always sitting with her paws crossed.

One of her favorite places was lying down in the corn hut at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. I think that she thought that was her “den”. She loved to have people come in to see her and give her a pet.

Every one of my animals have a special place in my heart. Waya was my one girl that started our pack and will be greatly missed.

Peggy

Gone, but not forgotten

A tribute to Timber

On January 2, 2012, we lost our incredible ambassador wolf, Timber. He fought a courageous battle against cancer for two and a half years. Even through the worst times, Timber was dignified. As an ambassador, he brought smiles to all he met. When he walked into a room with his head up high, he knew he was the center of attention. Crowds or noise didn’t bother him as long as he had his bucket of ice water! He sat for endless hours, crowded by people taking photos for lifetime memories, usually handing his paw over for a greeting. Timber never missed a chance for a quick rollover and nice belly rub. He was one of a kind and will truly be missed by all who knew him.

Gone, but not forgotten

In Memory of Dean

It breaks my heart to say that I lost one of my most dedicated and thoughtful volunteers right before Christmas.

I first met Dean in the parking lot where we meet to begin our walks. He was always sitting in his car reading. At first, I have to admit, I was suspicious of him because several cars had been broken into in the park. Eventually I started to wave to him and he’d wave back. One day he walked over to me and gave me a paper with his name and phone number. He said he probably couldn’t do the hikes, but if I needed any help to let him know. In January of 2020 a volunteer’s car was broken into. I asked Dean if he had seen anything. He said he had not, but he was always there and happy to sit in the picnic area to watch our cars. “I’m here anyway,” he said. From that day Dean was our security guard. I later told him my suspicions about him in the beginning–we both laughed. I always told him that he had no clue what he did for us. He always brushed off praise or thanks like it wasn’t a big deal. He was a private guy in the beginning, but eventually he knew we had adopted him into our pack. Dean was stuck with us.

I have to say he was the sweetest, most caring man I’ve ever met. He was like a big brother to me. If it was raining, he’d open the back of his car, so I could put my computer in while I was downloading my photos. He had raincoats for us if we needed them, hand warmers if it was cold, protein bars if we were hungry. He even had tuning forks that he’d pull out to work on all of our aches and pains. If we needed anything Dean always seemed to have it. He was observant too. Just recently he cut a piece of foam for my computer, so it wouldn’t get cold and kill the battery. He was amazing!

Dean took care of us; he also took good care of the birds and squirrels while in the park. Not only did we all love him, but the animals in the park did too. Recently he said he was sitting at the picnic table and a bobcat came right up to him and then a deer. Human and animal, Dean had lots of friends who would stop to talk to him. I don’t think he realized how many lives he touched.

I was lucky to have time to talk to him while I downloaded the photos. We shared the same views about a lot of things. We seemed to have all sorts of connections. He shared the same birthday as my brother, September 8th, and I share the same birthday as his sister, September 9th. When his birthday came around, I gave him a gift card to Bass Pro Shops. The next day when I went to leave, on the front seat of my truck was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I asked him how he knew what flowers I like. He said he once heard me say was I didn’t like red flowers. I went home and told my husband, “Dean knows I don’t like red flowers! how come after forty years you still buy me red flowers?” If I ever get flowers again, they probably won’t be red!

Dean showed up one day in October and said, “I need to show you something.” He pulled out an elf hat and said he got a part time job working as an elf at Bass Pro Shops. I forced him to put the hat on and got a great photo. He told me not to worry because his first priority was to be in the picnic area for us. One day he showed up and said he was getting frustrated because a lot of the elves were calling in sick. Dean was as dedicated to being an elf as he was to being a guardian and a caring, observant friend.

You may be gone from my sight but you are never gone from our hearts. We all loved Dean and we will miss him dearly. . .

Peggy