Story of `Tien` wolf

credit picture and text SHY WOLF SANCTUARY
Tien loving his role as ambassador
This is the story with the help of Deanna Deppen on the pups. The story of one of them is Tien which means "heaven" in chinese...do you see it in his eyes? Tien loving his role as ambassador. He is one of three pups that was seized by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They had been called about a dead wolf left in an enclosure. On the first visit they did, indeed, find an adult wolf's body left to deteriorate in the enclosure containing the other wolves. The owner was instructed to clean up the enclosures and given 30 days to make things better. Upon his return inspection the FWC officer found it slightly improved but he also found three pups in a den in not-so-good conditions. He arranged to take custody of the pups and contacted Nancy Smith of Shy Wolf Sanctuary, Education & Experience Center, Inc in Naples, Florida, USA. Nancy agreed to take the 3 week old pups (one black, one gray, one white) and made plans to bottle feed them. Upon arrival the pups were much sicker than anticipated. They almost died several times, made several emergency trips to the vet, and needed a lot more care than Nancy could give while running the sanctuary. Fortunately, we had a volunteer named Sue Stefanelli that had a "puppy room" set up at home for fostering. The three pups required feedings every couple of hours, needed to be stimulated to use the restroom, had to be bathed daily for ringworm & staph infection, and treated for coccidia (a very contagious disease). All three pups survived their rocky beginning and are thriving at Shy Wolf Sanctuary. They spend their days playing and educating the guests when not napping. Posing for photos and being admired is really hard work and demands a daily siesta. While Tien, Indy, and Chocowa will never know the freedoms and joys of their wild cousins, they are quite content and are working hard to let people know there really is no such thing as "the big bad wolf" and that it was all a fib made up by Red Riding Hood...one that has resulted in the near devastation of North America's greatest predator and really impacted the ecosystem in a negative manner. It's not too late for the "two-leggeds" to learn and to make things right. Stopping aerial hunting of wolves would be the first step. I`m proud to be volunteer as a handler and photographer at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary, Naples, Florida to have Tien and other wolves as a friend. Thanks to Nancy and Ken owner at the Shy Wolf Sanctuary and also to Deanna and Kathy... CLAUDE DESROCHERS