Whisper

Here is one of the elders of the sanctuary - her name is Whisper.

I have not been able to go in with Whisper yet, as I have not taken my "level" test yet (I'll explain levels in my next journal).

Here is Whisper's story:

"WOLF received a phone call, in February of 1999, from a member of its Board of Directors, Z.G. Standing Bear. There was a wolf-dog in danger of being euthanized in Wyoming. Her name was Whisper, and her story and photo were all over the Internet, placed there by a frantic owner and other concerned wolf rescue groups. It is illegal to own wolf-dogs in Wyoming, and her owner had placed an advertisement in the newspaper offering wolf-dog puppies for sale. The authorities had given Whisper’s owner three weeks to place her, or she would be confiscated and destroyed.

After investigating numerous possibilities with no positive outcome, it was decided Whisper would come to live at the WOLF Sanctuary. She arrived in March, delivered by her owner.

From the beginning, Whisper showed unusual behavior. Most of the residents of WOLF, upon arrival, are very timid and unsure of themselves. Whisper immediately staked her territory, letting all who approached her enclosure know that this area was hers. In addition, she started digging a den and was consuming enough food for several animals.

All of us at Wolf became concerned that Whisper could be pregnant. Our veterinarians were getting ready to spay her, and we did not want to abort puppies if she really was pregnant. This was a true moral dilemma for us. Wolf does not believe in breeding these animals, but we also could not bring ourselves to kill any. To conduct any type of physical exam would require Whisper to be tranquilized, which would not be healthy for pups, if there were any. We contacted Dr. Bernard Rollin, an animal ethics expert, and discussed it with him. We also contacted Dr. Barbara Shore and Lorraine May, two animal communicators, and asked them to “communicate” with Whisper.

Much to our amazement, both Dr. Shore and Ms. May received the same information from Whisper. They both received the number three and the word puppies. They both received concern that the three would be taken away, and they both felt Whisper would be a good mother. Both of these ladies had contacted Whisper on different days and from different places. After much heart rending deliberation, it was decided that we would wait the 63 day gestation period, and allow Whisper to have her pups if, indeed, there were any.

Everyone at Wolf watched Whisper with great interest. Was she gaining weight? Did she look any different? Meanwhile, we all continued to socialize her, so that if she did have pups, she would allow us to approach them. As the time went by and the gestation period was coming to an end, we waited and wondered. A week after the end of the gestation period came and went, with no puppies; arrangements were made to have Whisper spayed. The surgery went off without any problems, and Whisper recovered very quickly.

About a week later, we received a phone call from Candy Kitchen, another rescue we work with. Candy Kitchen is located in New Mexico, and, along with state officials there, had confiscated 14 animals that were in an intolerable situation. Five of the animals were 10 to 12 week old puppies, and did Wolf have room to accommodate any of them? They were very ill and needed special care. The volunteers at Candy Kitchen had their hands full with these animals, could WOLF please take three of them that were ready to be moved?

This was just too much of a coincidence for all of us at WOLF. Of course we would take them - we knew exactly where they belonged! If we were right, here were Whisper's three puppies. Barbara Berge, director of Candy Kitchen, drove the pups nonstop from New Mexico to the WOLF Sanctuary. Initially, they were placed in the holding pen at Wolf. Their shots were brought up to date, and they were checked by our veterinarian to insure that they had no communicable diseases. The three pups were neutered or spayed, and recovered well.

Whisper was introduced to her puppies about a week later. It took all of 20 minutes for total acceptance by Whisper and the pups. As is the way of wolves, Whisper regurgitated food for her new family, insuring their good health. Watching Whisper and her three new puppies was truly amazing; she took over as their mother and taught them everything they needed to know. Whisper is a very good mother, and we have assured her that we will never take her puppies away."

Whisper's puppies became known as the "New Mex Pups" and they are living happily together in their own enclosure now, and Whisper shares an enclosure with another animal named Matoskah.

You can view Whisper's story here: [link]