What's Going On at Wild Spirit?

July 29, 2008


Mother Whiteside Memorial Library Presentation We will be at the Mother Whiteside Memorial Library for an educational presentation on August 13th. One of our wolf ambassadors will be there with a member of our outreach team to answer any and all wolf-related questions. We hope to see you there, and bring the kids! Date: Wednesday, August 13 Time: 2:00 pm Where: Mother Whiteside Memorial Library 525 West High Street Grants, NM Phone: 505-287-4793	Due to all the recent animal deaths, I have been spending most of my time working on animal stories. Hopefully in the near future, I will be able to spend more time improving the website, but for now, outreach has me busy everywhere else!
	Forest once again traveled away from the Sanctuary, this time, all the way to Tijeras for the annual Talking Talons Wildfest. The event just celebrated their third year, and Forest has been present all three times! Even though we got a little rained out by the end of the day, we still had a great time, and Forest had fun greeting some of the huskies from the New Mexico Husky Rescue stationed right next door. Forest will take a well-deserved break, but August is shaping up to be a very busy month!
Hallelujah! No More Cone! A few weeks ago, we reported about an abscess growing and disappearing on Lakota's nose. After this cycle repeated over three times, we decided to capture Lakota and bring him to the vet. Once there, it was discovered that a tooth had somehow become lodged in his nose. After a quick surgery and the dreaded cone put on his head, Lakota was brought home and placed in temporary isolation. Although isolation is no fun, it would help us to guarantee that Lakota would receive his medication, and make re-capturing him to remove his stitches easier. The good news is that Lakota has healed up perfectly, and after two weeks, the happy day came to release him back into his old enclosure. Two of the staff members removed Lakota's stitches, and the time arrived to move him. We originally thought that we might be able to walk him the short distance to his enclosure, but once on the leash, Lakota became timid and very uncomfortable. Instead, we quickly crated him and with a short ride in the van, he arrived back at his home. We are still keeping a close watch on his nose, but we expect no complications. Thanks to everyone who sent Lakota well wishes! Good Thoughts for TC We have some other animals at the Sanctuary besides wolves and wolf-dogs. There are a couple of cats that adopted the Sanctuary as their own. One of felines, Weeblo, was famous for following tours and sneaking into enclosures. Unfortunately, he was hit by a car and passed away. His brother, TC (Top-cat, Tom-cat, The Cat, Tiger-cat...take your pick) is still at the Sanctuary, but maybe not for long. The volunteers noticed that our feline friend was losing weight and acting much more lethargic than a cat usually is. Our first thought was worms, and we picked up some de-wormer after a visit to the vet. It seemed to have worked, for TC perked up and started acting like his normal self. Unfortunately, he quickly began acting sick again, and soon, looked worse than ever. TC needed to visit the vet. An examination concluded that his kidneys are failing, and he remained at the vet's office for a couple of days receiving liquids and staying under close supervision. TC was released Saturday, and moved into Danielle and Bec's volunteer house so his diet could be monitored. The vet warned us that TC would not be with us long, but we were holding out hope that he might stay with us for at least a few weeks or months. It appears, however, that his health is very quickly deteriorating. We are hoping for the best, but would hate to see TC suffer. Send your good thoughts to our poor kitty that he feels better soon.	Wolves are great diggers, and so all of our enclosures have wire buried underground to prevent escaping called 'ground wire'. However, the weather and playing animals has caused the dirt to erode away in some places, exposing the buried wire. Right now, Josh T. is working with some volunteers to bury the ground wire that has become exposed in Lycea's enclosure. The process is tedious; the team has to dig a trench about three-feet deep and one-foot wide the entire length of the fence, lay down the wire, and then bury it again. With the team working hard, it should be done in a day.
	Our vitamin cabinet is looking empty. Not only are we very low on 3v Caps for animals like Cove and Lucian, Forest Pack, and Iowa Trio, but we are now low on Joint Discovery. These vitamins help with joint function and flexibility, and are given to many of our older animals. We would appreciate if you could order us some Double Strength Joint Discovery from U.S. Animal Nutritionals and say it is a donation for Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. Usually, U.S. Animal Nutritionals will match whatever you donate! Please help us out today!
	"Cove and Lucian - Wolf Lovin" Created by - Amy Campbell Visited the sanctuary and have a great picture to share? Send your photo to webmistress@wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org and have your photo featured as Photo of the Week!
I Need a Home! We have a low content wolf-dog that needs a home! She came here with her three pups, and now that her kids have been adopted out, we need to find a home for Momma! She is sweet and social, and although she has been spayed, she has not had all of her shots yet. We do not know her exact age, but we believe she is at least six years old. She would be a great companion in an adult home. If you have any questions or have an interest in adopting this sweet girl, call us at (505) 775-3304 or email us at info@wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org.	Similar to 'budding', but not quite, is called 'pack splitting'. In this case, several wolves from a pack might split off to start their own pack. A breeding pair will inevitably form.