Kibble and Kisses

Sharing a special moment with Jericho.

This was another great Wolf Run visit. The first thing we did when we got there was help feed some of the dogs on the property. There are two dogs, Lucy and Gypsy, who live at the front of the property. After Lucy ate, we let her out to roam the property and help us feed out the rest of the animals! Everyone just got fed meat the previous day, so today was a kibble feeding day. Next we went to feed Sage and Cloud. Sage had to have her coat shaved down because she had so many burs on her, so that's why her coat was so short! She was very cold, so we put her inside to feed her.

Sage with her shaved down coat heading inside to eat.

The entire group of volunteers then went into the deer enclosure! Keeping a watchful eye, we traveled to the back barn. No one told me why we were going or what was in there, but I was delightfully surprised by three baby deer! One of the youngest ones even was brave enough to put his nose up to my hand. It was such an incredible moment, and I felt so special!

A fawn from the deer enclosure.

After we finished feeding the rest of the wolf dogs, we had time to socialize them! This is really just a fancy way of saying cuddle, hug, and play with the animals. In some of the enclosures, the wolf dogs are a little more unsure of the people. These are the situations where you must find a spot by yourself, sit down, and be patient. If you are lucky, one of the animals will feel brave enough to come up to you. This was the case with Jericho. He is one of the babies, and is a higher content wolf dog. This means that he has a lot more wolf-like than dog-like characteristics. While he is not as skittish as some of the animals, he requires a little more patience than the other pups. After sitting alone for about ten minutes, he finally decided that I was not a threat and came over for some chin scratches.

Jericho enjoying his chin scratches.

The opposite type of dog is Nibbles. Nibbles is an enormous boy, weighing in at over 200 pounds!! While you would think it would be intimidating being faced with a huge wolf dog bigger than yourself, my only fear was being kissed to death. Nibbles was so overwhelmed with joy of all of the attention from the volunteers, and he just kept running from group to group for more scratches and love.

Cuddling with Nibbles.

Nibbles giving lots of kisses.

I feel so incredibly blessed that I have the opportunity to volunteer at such an amazing organization. I feel so affected by all of these animals. As corny as it sounds, when they look into your eyes it is like they are looking right at your soul. While I am learning a lot about wolves and wolf dog hybrids through this experience, I feel as though they are teaching me more and more about myself every day.