Post by Monster on Oct 8, 2008 20:30:06 GMT -5
Just figured I'd share a story with y'all, and perhaps pass on the message wolves are not dogs, and shouldn't be owned as such.
I've recently been told of a local wolf sanctuary near my area, since many of my coworkers(I'm a vet tech, for those of you who didn't know) have volunteered there. This man and his wife rescue wolves, and take them into their lives to care for the rest of their lives. One of the wolves was named Joshua, who was literly living in his own feces, chained between two trees, and was extremal emaciated. They say he was probably a hybrid, one of 90% wolf. His feet were so infected, so painful when he came there- but I've been told they were 75% better than what he was. He also had heartworm.
Over the past couple days he wasn't able to keep anything down, he had been throwing up and lost all the weight he gained from his recovery from being rescued. His original vet did an exploratory to see what he could find, with little luck. So, he was admitted to our hospital, to have an endoscopy done (where a camera is incerted into the mouth, to explore the GI tract. Don't worry, they usually put the animal under anesthesia first). So that was exciting, seeing a wolf come in, and getting to get up close to him, since I helped with the procedure. He was very pretty, but his feet were painful looking and scabbed up, and smelt of yeast. We cleaned his feet while he was out as best as we could while he was being scoped, though the doctor didn't get far until she saw the esophagus was constricted to the point where he couldn't eat his normal diet. If he was going to be taken care of, his food would have to be ground in a blender. Even so, it could close up all the way- and he wouldn't be able to eat. Even if we put a tube in his stomach to give him food, he would probably pull it out- he was a wolf after all.
Well, the owner was going to go for the special diet, so he asked us to clip Josh's nails past the quick, since his nails were so long. Well, the quicks were even infected, his feet were so bad, so they had to put him down. If he had a chance, it would be to clean the feet every day- something that wasn't going to happen with him, since he didn't' like his feet touched- and a wolf could rip your hand off if he didn't like something. It's sad, but it's unbelievable what people could do to animals, to look out the window every day and see a starving chained wolf who was living in his own feces.
Joshua did often go in their house, just because he was domesticated, and they knew how to handle Joshua, and how to read him.
Here's a vid of Joshua when he was rescued: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VertoA5y50
There's more videos of him on the poster's profile, but if you're squeamish or get upset easily, I wouldn't watch the most recent video.
And he's an article, if you're interested in reading about Joshua: www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=106209
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another rescue the sanctuary had was an artic wolf named Grayson. He was kept like a dog, chained like a dog, and when fed he was fed on a dog diet. Obviously, these people had no knowledge how to take care of a wolf, since he was severely malnourished, and later died because of lack of proper nutrition.
---
Seriously you guys, wolves are much different than dogs, from their temperament to their basic needs. They are not to be kept as pets, and they are preditors- where as dogs were developed to be more like scavengers, letting them be able to eat more- well, junk.
I've recently been told of a local wolf sanctuary near my area, since many of my coworkers(I'm a vet tech, for those of you who didn't know) have volunteered there. This man and his wife rescue wolves, and take them into their lives to care for the rest of their lives. One of the wolves was named Joshua, who was literly living in his own feces, chained between two trees, and was extremal emaciated. They say he was probably a hybrid, one of 90% wolf. His feet were so infected, so painful when he came there- but I've been told they were 75% better than what he was. He also had heartworm.
Over the past couple days he wasn't able to keep anything down, he had been throwing up and lost all the weight he gained from his recovery from being rescued. His original vet did an exploratory to see what he could find, with little luck. So, he was admitted to our hospital, to have an endoscopy done (where a camera is incerted into the mouth, to explore the GI tract. Don't worry, they usually put the animal under anesthesia first). So that was exciting, seeing a wolf come in, and getting to get up close to him, since I helped with the procedure. He was very pretty, but his feet were painful looking and scabbed up, and smelt of yeast. We cleaned his feet while he was out as best as we could while he was being scoped, though the doctor didn't get far until she saw the esophagus was constricted to the point where he couldn't eat his normal diet. If he was going to be taken care of, his food would have to be ground in a blender. Even so, it could close up all the way- and he wouldn't be able to eat. Even if we put a tube in his stomach to give him food, he would probably pull it out- he was a wolf after all.
Well, the owner was going to go for the special diet, so he asked us to clip Josh's nails past the quick, since his nails were so long. Well, the quicks were even infected, his feet were so bad, so they had to put him down. If he had a chance, it would be to clean the feet every day- something that wasn't going to happen with him, since he didn't' like his feet touched- and a wolf could rip your hand off if he didn't like something. It's sad, but it's unbelievable what people could do to animals, to look out the window every day and see a starving chained wolf who was living in his own feces.
Joshua did often go in their house, just because he was domesticated, and they knew how to handle Joshua, and how to read him.
Here's a vid of Joshua when he was rescued: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VertoA5y50
There's more videos of him on the poster's profile, but if you're squeamish or get upset easily, I wouldn't watch the most recent video.
And he's an article, if you're interested in reading about Joshua: www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=106209
---
another rescue the sanctuary had was an artic wolf named Grayson. He was kept like a dog, chained like a dog, and when fed he was fed on a dog diet. Obviously, these people had no knowledge how to take care of a wolf, since he was severely malnourished, and later died because of lack of proper nutrition.
---
Seriously you guys, wolves are much different than dogs, from their temperament to their basic needs. They are not to be kept as pets, and they are preditors- where as dogs were developed to be more like scavengers, letting them be able to eat more- well, junk.
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