Summer 2010 Newsletter from Jean

Our very dear Friends,

Your help - be it physical, spiritual or financial, means more than you know. I was introduced to my first wolf in the 1970s. The Grand Mother of the Seneca Wolf Clan was Twylah Nitsch - a dear friend and mentor. She had a large white wolf in the house - White Tornado. Having spent much of my life with German Shepherds, this seemed perfectly normal. Little did I know where this would lead! The sixteen animals in our care, and EVERY ONE of them who has gone onwards and upwards, have a place in our hearts, as well as our lives.

Over the years, we have come to know the difference between a dog and a wolf. There are some similarities; both respond to love and kindness - as do most animals, be they two legged or four. In the Native American tradition (and those of other cultures) they are the Teachers. We must enter their world, and not expect them to like the one in which WE live! You have only to watch the news to understand that the wolves have a valid point! They are rarely aggressive; they take care of their own families; they have their own language. Scientists are said to have now isolated more than fifty sounds which are actual WORDS in Wolf Tongue. I believe this to be true. Mwitu is a very good example - she SAYS she knows several hundred, but she is inclined to exaggerate!

Some of you may remember that Mwitu came here when she was about twelve weeks old. I put her in an enclosure, but gave up after realizing that she knew more ways to get out than I could find to keep her in. I told her that the house would be for a SHORT period of time - and placed her in the care of my beloved Beau. They convinced me that they can, and do, communicate. Both she and Beau were only in the house as a ‘temporary’ period - to allow Beau to recover from his injuries (to mind and body) and for Mwitu to be large enough to be contained in an enclosure. Sadly, Beau lived only a year before dying of cancer. Mwitu had settled well with my dogs ... and is still here. She lives in the house and sleeps on my bed ... together with our Shiloh Shepherd.

Our new arrivals are doing well. Most of you know about the ‘Pups’ - Tala, Romulus and Remus - the latter are twins. I wrote about them in my last letter? The two new arrivals are full blooded Timber Wolves - Apache and Lakota, eleven years old - and partially socialized. They are from another sanctuary, in which they were well loved and received good care. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond their control, new homes were NEEDED - urgently. “Coincidently” (I do not actually believe in ‘coincidence’, but rather see it as a situation in which God chooses to remain anonymous!) we had room, thanks to the refurbishing - by the Scouts - of one of the enclosures. We moved Luke and Spirit to the new pen and put the arrivals in the corner enclosure. It worked well for all of them. Luke was never very happy to have the corner pen; too many people coming and going.

I continue to be in awe at the ‘miracles’ the wolves help to manifest : abused children; the elderly; disabled; lonely, AND the kind and caring people who enable them to do their job!

With much love, deep gratitude and BLESSINGS from us all - two legged and four