Cleaning Up Wolfrun

Volunteering at Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge has been an incredible experience! The amount of team work, time, dedication, care, and love that is involved in this organization is overwhelming. There is not a single person that works with the facility who is not completely dedicated to the care of the animals. Everyone pitches in to get the animals fed, watered, and well cared for. The animals, especially the wolf dogs, are always excited to see their human friends. They are welcoming of people into their enclosures and are always excited for some interaction even if it takes them some time to decide if they want to interact. The past couple of times I have assisted with pulling weeds and cleaning a meat freezer. It's very rewarding to see the pile of weeds that have been removed from in and around the enclosures; it makes me want to do more and try harder. Even though these animals are obviously not able to give anything back other than the occasional affection, its extremely satisfying and motivating to take a step back and notice the large difference of the removal of the weeds. The animals look at us in a funny way; its almost comical. Sometimes we make up things of what they would say or think about us and it makes for a good time, especially when the weather is less than desirable. The wolf dogs are pretty entertaining in their interactions; last week Char and I went into an enclosure with two wolf dogs and a coyote. The coyote and the male wolf dog never interact but the female wolf dog will come pretty close and likes to watch us. So when we went in the female ran up to Char and wanted to play with her until she looked at her face and realized Char wasn't the person she thought! She just ran away but it was like one of those awkward moments when you see someone you thought was your best friend and you go to give them a high five or hug and then its actually some random person. This same wolf dog also enjoys watching us from the top of her shelter. She lays there with her paws crossed as if she is looking over her kingdom and we are her slaves yet she will not lower herself to us and actually interact but we are acceptable from a distance. Watching the wolf dogs interact with us and each other reveals a lot about how society works in the real world. It has been a great learning experience so far.

Wolf Run Day 4 Blog

Visit Wolf Run's website to meet all the members of the Wolf Run family!

Every Animal Has a Story-Day 1

Two of the wolf dog puppies

My Orientation for Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge was a day like no other. On October 18th, I arrived at Wolf Run with three other volunteers, not expecting what I would find. Animal Care Staff Manager, Savannah Massey, initially greeted us, and told us our day would be spent learning about the animals living at Wolf Run Animal Refuge. We heard every animal's story, but one stood out over all.

 A wolf, named Bandit, once lived on a golf course, and all the golfers who came loved to interact with the wolf dog. One day, a new golfer came with his girlfriend, and thought the wolf dog was going to attack him, when all the dog wanted was attention. The man beat the wolf dog, almost to the point of death, and left him to die. This is when Wolf Run stepped in. After multiple surgeries to repair the broken bones, Bandit now lives happily at Wolf Run. The only difference about him is his limp and his fear of people. Many animals at Wolf Run share a similar story, many of which include neglect or abuse.

After hearing every animal's story, Savannah invited us into an enclosure with all of the puppies. The puppies were all taken at 2 weeks old from a breeder in Ohio, who simply could not take care of them. Now, at a year old, the puppies have their own distinct characteristics, many of which include a love for people. I was very nervous to interact with such wild animals, but the senior staff members assured us the dogs were very gentle animals. The puppies were so glad to see new volunteers. They showered us with licks and, in return, expected us to pet them.

Two wolf dog puppies interacting with me

Me petting a wolf dog puppy

The volunteers at Wolf Run express so much joy for what they do. This can be seen in Savannah by the way she talks about the animals and to the animals. She truly shows a passion for what she does.  I am very excited to continue working with these animals and the other volunteers!

Days 2 and 3- Weeding

     Day 2  

 Day 2 was rather dreary. It was cold, and raining. And I'm not one for playing in the mud or the rain. But Brigid and I drove to Wolf Run with the intention of making what we expected was going to be a bad experience, into one in which we made a positive impact. When we got there, Savannah assigned us to our first official project: cleaning up the enclosures. In other words, weed and pick up bones left over from breakfast. I hadn't expected this, but I was relieved to hear that we would be working in one of the hybrid enclosures and therefore would be able to interact with and observe more wolf dogs.

    When I first entered the enclosure, I had to leap over a puddle of mud. Upon reaching the other side, I was immediately greeted by a rather large wolf dog, nudging at my hand. I was thrilled to have received this kind of warm and affectionate greeting, but was only that lucky until Kalysi--the hybrid that had greeted me--realized  her mistake. She had mistaken me for one of the senior volunteers and was extremely taken aback when she did not recognize the face which she was peering into. She comically, and in a very spastic manner ran away into her hutch in the center of her enclosure. It took her a while to summon the courage to come back out, but the longer that we worked in her area the more confident she became. Though she was never up close and personal with us--aside from my initial interaction with her--she was exceptionally curious and would often hover over us as we worked beside her enclosure.

Kalysi-watching us work. Day 2

      The job took about an hour and a half. We did the best that we could, but with no tools and only our hands to pull up weeds, sticker bushes and trees, our ability was limited. I feel that this lack of resources is extremely indicative of the lack of funding that Wolf Run has. Without funding, they cannot provide the proper tools for volunteers to adequately care for the animals or maintain their enclosures. It's sad to think about, especially because the animals are ultimately the ones who suffer, and they have no control over their situation.


  Day 3
        Day 3 was significantly better than Day 2. There were four of us volunteers going to work together on a beautiful day. Savannah again had us weeding, but this time we were not assigned an are in the enclosures. However, one of the areas that Savannah had asked us to work on was an area very near an enclosure, different from the one I had been in previously.  The hybrid in that enclosure did not like the work that Paige and I were doing. She would be startled by the sudden movements or loud noises that we made and would being howling and barking at us, almost as if she was asking us to stop and get out. But when I finally stopped, and I took a moment to try to interact with her, the howling stopped. She approached the fence that I was resting my hand on allowed me to pet her nose and face. It was a very intimate moment that showed the vulnerability that these animals face. She was torn between her wolf instinct, telling her not to trust me, and her dog instinct, telling her to love me. It was a good experience and the work that we accomplished that day was great, however, to repeat this point, it would have been much better if we were able to utilize proper tools. But maybe that will have to be a project for the future.

The piles of work that we accomplished: Day 3

 

Volunteer Day 2 - Feeding the Animals

Yesterday morning, the 20^th of October, I climbed into my car, this time without other members of my group, and made the trek to Wolf Run. Upon arrival, I discovered that I was the first person on the property, so had to wait until a staff member arrived to unlock the gate and begin the days chores. The day before, the staff and volunteers had apparently fed the animals quite generously due to a new shipment of meat that had arrived over the weekend, so most of the animals were quiet and sunbathing, still filling full from their meals the day before. I initially began by pulling more weeds because the main animal caregiver, Cara, had not yet arrived for the day.

Once Cara arrived, she recruited me to help her feed the animals. Because of the large dinner the day before, many of the animals did not need additional food, so the morning routine was slightly altered for the day. For each enclosure, we checked if there was remaining food, the condition of that food, the water levels in the buckets, and the general health of the animals. While most of the animals were content with their already-full bellies, a few were still jumping (or ramming) the gate for food. These select individuals paced the perimeters of the enclosures anxiously awaiting their breakfasts. To the left, the picture shows one of the wolves picking at the remains of the food from the day before. Most of the wolves and wild cats were still full from the day before. Interestingly, the domesticated dogs, wolf-dogs, and cats were the ones that were still hungry for a breakfast. 

It was very interesting to me to watch how the animals interacted with the different people caring for them. All of the animals were very friendly toward Cara, quickly approaching her, snuggling up to her, and enjoying the attention she gave them. However, for staff and volunteers that had not been around the animals for as long or who were new (such as myself), the animals were far more wary and if they approached at all, approached much slower and with more caution.

This dog was very people friendly, but its companion, a wolf, was far more hesitant to approach the fence.

The blind deer and baby deer eating their food.

The animals I worked most closely with were the deer, because they had not been fed a large amount on Monday like most of the other animals. The deer, especially one buck named Elsen, were very excited to receive their breakfast. Elsen, who is in the middle of a three-month period called rut that occurs during mating season before he loses his antlers, was especially rambunctious and charged at the fence, as well as a few of the other deer, while we sorted the food into buckets. We had to take extra precautions while we were around the deer because of the season Elsen was in. For instance, before we were able to enter the enclosure to feed the baby deer, we had to ensure that Elsen was fed and distracted so he would not charge at us. Also, the baby deer and a blind deer had to be separated from the rest of the herd so that Elsen would not injure them. While I was there, two of the staff members set a date to remove Elsen’s antlers in order to prevent injury to other deer or volunteers.

While I was not able to do as much hands on work because of the nature of the volunteering that was needed, I enjoyed shadowing Cara and learning more about the individual animals, their personalities, and their needs. It was fascinating to watch how the animals interacted with various people, as well as see the unique personalities of each wolf, dog, cat, or deer. I may not have worked as hard physically, but I still left with a sense of accomplishment for learning more about the program and gaining a deeper appreciation for the animals.

Volunteer Day 1 - Weed Removal

On Friday morning, I drove to Nicholasville with my car packed with other volunteers from the University of Kentucky. The crisp fall air welcomed us when we arrived at Wolf Run, which was already humming with activity. The animals seemed to sense the change in seasons as well, because they were running and playing, coming up to the fences to welcome new visitors, and creating their own melodies with their barks, meows, and other noises. 

One of the enclosures covered by trees, shrubs, and weeds.

Upon arrival, the volunteer coordinator, Savannah, greeted us and gave us our tasks for the day. Because wolf run is a fairly large property, it can be hard to manage the grass and weeds that constantly climb the enclosure fences and walkways. When the enclosures become overgrown, not only does it become more challenging to get in and out to access the animals, feed them, and care for them, but it also become harder to see into the enclosures for guests, volunteers, and staff alike. My job, along with my other group members, was to pull the weeds from outside these enclosures. Right away, each of us set to work, focusing on one enclosure area. 

While the air was cold on the top of the hill, our work made us warm and I enjoyed being able to focus on the task at hand. Volunteering and doing something as simple but necessary as pulling weeds was a nice way to take a break from all of the more complex, abstract assignments I have to complete each day for classes. It was relaxing and fulfilling to be outside and focused on a common goal, and at the end of the day I had a sense of accomplishment for making the enclosure's fence more presentable, as seen in the picture below. 

The finished section of fencing, clear of the large trees and obstructive bushes.

The remains of the tree and shrubs. 

The first weeds to go were the more grass-like plants, and were fairly easy to pull up. Next came the tougher plants, such as burrs and wildflowers. At one point, Bridgid got over a dozen burrs stuck in her hair. Needless to say progress on the enclosures had to take a momentary pause while we helped extricate the pods from her hair. At first, the task of weed pulling did not look to be a strenuous one, because the majority of the plants were grass-like and easy to remove. Once we had stripped the chain link fences of the majority of the plants, though, several larger, stronger plants remained that had gone unnoticed initially. Unfortunately, Wolf Run does not own any sharpened pruning tools, so we were forced to struggle with dull cutting scissors against a small, but surprisingly strong tree. The tree was woven through the chain link fence, so it was nearly impossible to get a good angle for trimming it back, but it was also far too strong to just pull out of the ground. Finally, I was able to cut the tree into more manageable sections and pull the pieces through the fence. The more laborious task of removing the tree definitely warmed me up, but it also left me feeling accomplished and helpful. 

After finishing most of the area we had each been assigned, we packed up and headed back to campus, refreshed and energized for the remainder of our classes that day. I enjoyed the work we did at Wolf Run pulling weeds and cleaning up the facility. It left me with a sense of accomplishment and feeling that I had contributed to a cause that was needed and appreciated. 

Day 1

           I went to Wolf Run for the first time in the beginning of October. Paige, Brigid and I were able to go together for our orientation. It was a beautifully warm day, perfect to walk around the property and be introduced to twenty or so wolf dog hybrids, deer, dogs, bobcats, chickens, raccoons and goats that Wolf Run is able to care for. Savannah Massey, the volunteer coordinator, explained that though the Refuge's primary focus is rehabilitation for the animals, many are unable to be released back into the wild nor be adopted. They have several purely domestic animals which have illnesses or behavioral issues which inhibit them from being adopted, such as the young female Rottweiler that was given up to Wolf Run because of a bladder control disease. Additionally, they also house wild animals which have become too accustomed to human contact and are not suited to live in the wild. These animals are permanent members of the Wolf Run Family. Many of the animals that are there have tragic backgrounds in which they have suffered abuse and neglect. It was heartbreaking to see that many animals who could have potentially made excellent pets or companions now enclosed behind fences with just a few hours of human contact daily. 

Rottweiler puppy, mentioned above. Adopted by Wolf Run

              Savannah was emphatic about all of the information that she was giving us. Her passion for her job and for Wolf Run and for animals in general was evident from the moment that we met her. She is very knowledgeable about wolf dog hybrids and makes it her mission to educate others so that dangerous or unlawful situations can be avoided. She lectured to us about the wolf hybrid species, about the duties that we would be fulfilling when we volunteered and what Wolf Run represents.

            And while all of the information that was flooding our brains was certainly thought provoking and riveting, I'm sure that I can speak for both Paige and Brigid when I say that the best part of our Orientation was when we got to meet the three hybrid puppies. At about a year and a half old, these dogs were energetic and crazy. But as soon as I entered the enclosure, I fell in love. They were affectionate and beautiful animals. They act as representatives for the Wildlife Refuge so they are better socialized than many of the other hybrids, which definitely shows. Savannah calls them her "babies" and her "children." She feel most attached to them and by their excited reaction when Savannah first entered their pen, the feeling is mutual. They bond that Savannah and these puppies share is something special. I hope that one day, I  too can share that type of bond with a hybrid of my own. But for now, interacting with the hybrids at Wolf Run every Friday will have to do instead!

Kiya, one the the hybrid puppies, seconds after we entered the enclosure