History
Teton was born on-site, after his mother Sierra come to the Sanctuary already impregnated. In 2006, Teton's six older siblings Alice, Powder, Sabine, Sugar, Storm, and Thunder came from a breeder in Oregon. When they were picked up, arrangements were made to accept the parents, Sierra and Yukon, as well. It wasn't until March of 2007 that Angel and Leyton were able to make the trek to pick up the parents, as well as older brother, Axel. While Yukon and Axel were neutered before ever setting foot on Sanctuary property, Sierra had already become impregnated, and so that May, she gave birth to a litter of five beautiful Arctic pups: Frost, Flurry, Teton, Shasta, and Trinity. Flurry and his brother, Frost, were pulled at 14 days and bottle-raised by the staff of WSWS. Teton, Trinity, and Shasta were left to be raised by mom and dad. In September of 2007, Sierra began acting ill. Teton also showed signs of an illness, so he was brought to the vet with Sierra. Unfortunately, both of their conditions worsened without a diagnosis, and wasn't until a week after first showing symptoms that it was discovered they had a common fungus called Cryptococcus. Sierra, unfortunately, had to be euthanized, and Teton developed a severe limp in his front two legs. He returned home and stayed in isolation with his sister Trinity while taking antifungal medication. Luckily, the medication worked, and the limp has completely disappeared. He stayed in isolation with Trinity for a few weeks, and then returned to his father Yukon and sister Shasta back in his enclosure. Unfortunately, in November of 2008, Teton's sister, Trinity, passed away. His father, Yukon, passed away from unknown reasons on a trip back from the vet's when Teton was almost two-and-a-half years old.
How Can I Help Teton?
It takes fifteen sponsors to provide the basic care for each of our wolves and wolf-dogs for an entire year. This does not include the cost of medication, vet visits, enclosures repairs, or enrichment treats.
Profile
Bio: Teton is an Arctic wolf mixed with a little bit of Timber wolf. Teton has two other littermates living at the Sanctuary: Shasta and Flurry. One of his littermates, Trinity, passed away when Teton was 1 1/2 years old, and Frost passed away when Teton was almost three years old. Both of his parents passed away - his mother, Sierra, when Teton was four months old, and his father, Yukon, a little over two years later. Teton also has an older brother, Axel, and six other older siblings Alice, Powder, Sabine, Sugar, Storm, and Thunder living at the Sanctuary as well.
Living Arrangements: Teton lives with his sister from the same litter, Shasta.
Am I On the Tour Path? "Yes, and if a tour passes by, especially with treats, I might wander down to the fence to say hi!"
Personality: Teton has grown into a confident wolf. Although he seems to grow weary when strangers are around, he becomes much more comfortable when people he knows are in his enclosure. He has now become the "man of the house", and is taking the responsibility of looking after his smaller sister, Shasta. Teton still knows how to goof off - he not only wrestles with his sister, but likes to experiment with what he can steal off his caretaker!
Likes: Playing with his sister, investigating his caretaker's waste bucket, and splashing water out of his water bucket.
Dislikes: His sister ignoring his dominant actions, when his caretaker fills up the hole he just dug, and bad tasting vitamins and medicine.
Fun Fact: For the first couple of weeks after the pups were born, the babies would not leave the den. To get food, momma Sierra would run down and collect the chicken from the caretaker, eat it, and then regurgitate it for her kids. One day, while feeding, the caretaker saw one of the pups, Teton, leave the den situated on the top of the hill for the first time. Teton caught sight of Mommy and toddled after her. Still learning how to walk, the rough terrain on the hill proved too much and he began to tumble head-over-heels. Luckily, babies are pretty resistant to bumps and bruises, and he quickly jumped back to his feet to resume chasing Mommy, looking no worse for wear.
My Wishlist: "After so many members of my family became sick, my caretaker wondered if there might possibly be something in the soil. I know they sent some soil samples in to get tested. That's very nice of them; maybe someone could help with research bills?"
