Volunteer days 9-12

I spend four days volunteering up in the Colorado Rockies at WOLF Sanctuary. Never having been around wolves before, I had no idea what to expect. Or if I would even be allowed to have contact with them. What I found out was that wolves have just as varying personalities as any other animal! Some were playful, others were shy. Then there were the ones who wanted to cuddle or the ones who you were rarely see. None of them, however, were mean. Which would be the assumption by many. They had each categorized from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and more social with humans. The only habitats I was not allowed to enter were the number 5's; but that was not because they were dangerous, but because they were more unpredictable. They were more in tune with their wild side and were not as comfortable around humans. The amount of wolf in them had nothing to do with their personality, though, because I spent a good amount of time with one of the two they believed were full wolf. His name was Jake (yes, after Twilight, they apologized to me for that).

My days spent at wolf consisted of me first meeting Michelle, the sanctuary director, down the mountain to carpool up. This was because the road into the mountain had restrictions on how many cars could enter. I was happy for that considering I am driving a small Kia and the road is extremely bumpy! Anyhow, we would spend the morning doing chores which consisted of poop scooping the catch areas of each enclosure, checking the water and dog chow, and then socializing. Around 1pm would be raw meet feeding. Each wolf gets 2 pounds of raw meet that is donated by local grocery stores. This can get tricky for the more food motivated wolves so at least two people will toss the food over in separate areas, ensuring both wolves get a chance to eat. In the later afternoon, preparing the raw meet into the two pound containers (called loaves) and storing in the freezer is the big job. And, as a vegan, VERY disgusting lol. The meet received is expired and donated from local supermarkets, which is wonderful considering then the food is not put to waste.

I am sure my experience is a little different from normal because the days I was there, there was also a film crew there to document everything for a show similar to National Geographic. It will be filming in China and Korea, but I will be receiving it as well since I am featured in it. Let me know if you want my autograph :)