My Power Animal

I waited in the sub-enclosure as Jason unhooked the latch. Luna growled angrily from the other side of the fence, jealous of her neighbours. Gia retaliated with equal amounts of snarling, and forced open the gate. Oscar, the largest wolf-dog on site, bounded towards me before diverting to Jason. I dashed toward Gia and opened the metal choke collar. It slid easily over her ears and neck. I put my hand through the loop of the leash and held on tight. Angel radioed out, letting the others know me and Jason were going on a walk, and let us out of the pen. Gia tugged me along the path. She knew exactly where she was going. The other wolves barked and pushed against their fences, desperately wishing they could come too. Angel opened the perimeter gate and we walked into the outside world. We dashed across open fields of long grass, letting the wolf-dogs sniff and scent roll at will. This was their chance to embrace the wild animal within. It was important to be aware of our environment, just in case a camper or tour guest wanted to come over and say high, without realising the dangers of interacting with our wolves. Oscar and Gia soon became tired so we took them back home. Once back in their enclosure, they lapped up their water, worn out after exercise.

This was my first walk with the wolves. I've since had my second walk, and am now fully trained to take them out, as long as I go with Jason or a staff member. It was an amazing experience. I felt a sense of freedom as I walked across the plains with a powerful animal at my side. It didn't last long, but I'm hoping to go out again in my spare time, and soon it will become a part of morning chores. My second walk was with Oscar, and he's a big animal, probably 170lbs. I was definitely the one being walked! My time with the other animals has been fantastic. Romeo was comfortable enough to lie down and snooze whilst I was in the enclosure, and Juno has been sniffing and licking my hand lots. My tours have been good too. Today, I was called to show a lady around the compound so she could decide on an animal to sponsor. I recognised her immediately from my tour! I was happy to see someone else devoted to the wolves. I also got 5 dollars as a tip for my help. My other tours this week have seen me get about 10 dollars a time too. I never realised I'd have a chance to earn whilst out here! It's coming in handy for such things as pizza and soda.

My other projects have been going very well. Leyton's had a look at my first version of the title sequence for his new show, Reservation Dogs. As I suspected, he was very critical, wanting it longer and different music etc. But I did receive a compliment. He likes what I'm doing and looks forward to seeing the finished result. Good enough for me!! I've saved a copy and will be able to put the different version into my portfolio. Finally, I've made something post University!

Life in the high desert has never been better. The sanctuary's closed tomorrow and a bunch of us our going to a near by cafe, which is apparently quite popular with the Candy Kitchen gay community, then we shall return to take photos of our animals and play some board games! After this, a new week will commence...