Signs of the end

I was enjoying my day off, writing my latest story and enjoying the hot desert sun. Little did I know, Gaia was in trouble. I heard something on Alex's radio when he came in to find his missing cup. Angie had noticed that Gaia was lying down and not responding to her name when called. She also had a lot of gunge leaking from her eyes. I grew tired of writing so went to use the outhouse. I bumped into Katie on the way and she confirmed what I had heard. Gaia wasn't doing very well. It could be her last day. I bumped into Leyton who was just driving off in his truck. He called me over and asked if I could meet him in five minutes to film a special video on Gaia, as she might not be alive much longer. We reenacted the conversation between Leyton and Angie on the radio, then walked up to Gaia's enclosure. Angie was inside when we got there. Gaia came down to meet us at the gate, curious about the extra company. She had a lot of gunge leaking from her eyes and walked very slowly as if she had a limp. I caught it all on camera. Gaia's boyfriend, a wolf dog by the name of Oscar, was really upset about Gaia's condition, and let out a short, low mourning howl. It was really sad to see, but fascinating to see an animals reaction to the loss of a loved one. Gaia is still with us, but we don't know for how much longer.

Junior on his first day at Wild Spirit

As wolves in captivity live well beyond their years, around 17 to 19 yrs old, it's expected that they're going to have seizures and other conditions that lead to their eventual death. But as one animal leaves, another arrives. Our new wolf at the sanctuary, Junior, is 11 years old, so already past the expected life span in the wild and has hearing difficulties. He scared me the other day when doing guard duty. I called his name from outside his enclosure but he wouldn't move. He was curled up at the back of the pen and looked motionless. George came up and had to go inside and Junior didn't respond until he was about a foot away from him. We thought the worst may of happened, but thankfully he's ok.

I've had a lot of fun with the animals this week. I had my first walk with Cheyenne, and how different she is to walking Oscar and Gaia! Cheyenne pulls so hard on the leash that you have to dig your heels in to stop her pulling you along. She also has a feud with Contessa and tries as hard as possible to get up to her fence to get her. I also had a magical experience with Romeo. I was in cleaning him and knelt down to pick something up. He came over and seemed to be unafraid so I got on all fours. He jumped towards me so I jumped towards him and he started playing with me like a proper fox! We rough and tumbled. He bit my arm. But it was all playful and when I stood up he just trotted off as normal. It felt good to be interacting with a wild animal in this way. It's not just me he does it to. Foxes are known to be really friendly around humans, but it was a great experience.

It's been a busy week and I've mostly been recovering from Vegas! Mostly I've been moving furniture in and out of the office as it's being renovated. It looks lovely now and only took them a few days to replace the floor, paint the walls and put in nice wood features around the walls and window frames. I also had a massive tour of about 20 people. I was intimidated at first, but as we got going and I got into the swing of it, I found I was able to talk about the enclosures and then allow questions and talking amongst the group. I also got a 19 dollar tip, excellent news after I spent all my money in Vegas! Me and Jason were also on Leyton's podcast. He has a recording studio set up in his office and we gathered round the mic and answered questions on why we came out to the sanctuary. It was like being on a radio show! The site isn't finished yet, but as soon as it is, I shall post the link on this page.

Two weeks tomorrow and I shall be going home. It's sad to think it's coming to the end, but with the cycle of the wolf, with the old dying and the new coming, I can see the end of one stage, and the beginning of the next.