negative experiences with people in the past. It
could be a haircut, a body type or a smell that
will remind that animal of an abuser, and they
will never trust that human.
For Pat that one animal is a female
wolf named Namid.
When she and Pat started
working together she
would always growl
when Pat came close,
but eventually
seemed to soften toward
her. That is,
until one time when
a volunteer who
was in the enclosure
with Namid told Pat
to try to come in.
“I walked up, went
through the first gate
and went to open the
second gate,” Pat said,
“and I put one foot in the
enclosure. That was when the
growl went up. I stepped out
and never tried that again. If they
don’t like us, we don’t invade their space. We
have to listen to them and what they say with
their mouths and with their bodies.”
Luna is a very shy wolf hybrid whose owner
was arrested and jailed after being found with
multiple exotic animals. Many of the animals got
loose, and it took a long time to catch Luna. The
thing that finally did the trick was $100 worth of
Kentucky Fried Chicken, placed strategically and
leading up to a crate. Unfortunately, she also
ate the town mascot – a turkey named Jeff –
before she was apprehended.
Now Nancy and her husband,
Kent, are looking for a new
piece of land where they can
expand. Anywhere in Lee
or Collier County would
work, as long as it is
zoned agricultural.
Aside from the
land search, there
are several ways
you can help Shy
Wolf animals. It
costs about $780 a
day to keep the
sanctuary running,
with an annual cost
of $286,000. That includes
$5,300 in
monthly preventive
medications and $50,492
in medical costs per year.
For little more than $500 you
can feed a wolf for a year, a unique
pledge you can make in someone else’s
name for a gift idea. Apparel and other gift
ideas can be found on their website, shywolfsanctuary.
org.
In all, 70 percent of all donations go to the
care and feeding of the animals that live there
and 30 percent goes to the operation of the
site.
“Eventually almost every single person who
owns an exotic animal will get rid of them,”
Donna said. “Something needs to be done.
There needs to be a place like ours in every
county in every state – but there isn’t. We are
very lucky to have the volunteers that we do.
We are all connected, like one big pack family. I
truly believe, in fact, that we are all connected
to the earth and to each other. What happens
to the earth and the animals happens to us.
Awareness is desperately needed by all.”
Above, Yuki is a wolfdog made famous through social media after this picture went viral.
The diagram just above is what a dream come true would look like for the board of directors
of Shy Wolf, as they are seeking land to build a new compound.
For details go to shywolfsanctuary.org.
48 GASPARILLA ISLAND July/August 2019
MG
/shywolfsanctuary.org