10/02/2012

This is our first update on Keeley as she goes through the grieving process after Nira'a death. Since we are unable to talk to Keeley, we have to observe her actions and reactions and compare those to what behaviors we observed in the last 15 1/2 years. A disclaimer, these observations are partially subjective, not necessarily objective. However, others have written about a change in behavior observed in wolves which was not present before the loss of another pack member.

I have tried to remove all human emotions from our interpretations of Keeley's behavior focusing on what behaviors were present before and now occur after Nira's death.

Today, I took Keeley on a long leash walk around the grounds of Wolf Timbers. She is easy to walk and responds pretty well to cues given by the handler. At times, she will sit down and not move in the direction you wish her to. Keeley will take her own sweet time on walks, thoroughly investigating any and all areas she wishes to smell. Wolves use their nose as a newspaper or other news medium - they live in a world of senses and odor detection and the meaning of that odor is most paramount to them.

I spent about 2 to 3 hours with her today. Others also were present throughout the day. We did feed her some food Nicolette brought out for Nira. We also gave her fresh water and a soup bone LeeAnne bought them a while ago.

I noticed Keeley resting in spots that she has not rested in before that Nira usually rested in - not unusual and not really, in my opinion, a grieving process but could be.

Keeley does seem to exhibit some anxious behavior but this was present before Nira's passing. What I have not witnessed is the calm, face-greeting behavior that was present before Nira passed away. She does not seem to be relaxed or in a relaxed mood. Since Nira's passing, she is always looking around which is unusual, as if waiting to see him here or there. Today, I witnessed her scent rubbing on the fence where Nira spent his last hours. She only scent rubbed on that that small portion of fence where he laid against. The other sections of fencing she ignored.

We also witnessed her scratching on the ground in various different places for no obvious reason. Again, this is a new behavior for her. She had scratched on the ground before, but this was always after she urinated. Today, she did this without urinating.

She seems preoccupied and will not sit next to you as she has in the past. In my opinion, she is behaving in a manner, for the most part, that I have not seen before. I am trying to remove all my emotionally driven reasons for her actions.

The three most obvious changes in her behavior have been her scratching on the ground, a new behavior. She also scent rolled on the fence where Nira spent his last hours and no other part of the fence was scent rolled on. She also will not sit with you in a relaxed mood as before. These three behaviors have never been observed here prior to Nira's death.

She seems to be fine physically. She will let you touch her but only for a few seconds. To me, she is behaving differently, more anxious. From being with her for almost 16 years, she is exhibiting a new set of behaviors. We are going to try environmental enrichment with her.

10/03/2012

Came home from work - found out that Keeley had rested some today and at other times, she was pacing and scratching the ground. Took her on another leash walk, about 30 minutes. She sniffed a lot at various places. Keeley is pretty easy to walk and does not pull at all.

When we had her out for the walk, Sammy (dog) was barking up a storm and Keeley paid him no attention. Taula did not bark but lowered her ears and lowered her body to the ground. Her ears were plastered to her forehead in an overly obvious and exaggerated submission behavior. She did not bark at all.

Right now, she is lying next to the fence looking into the house.

10/04/2012

I will probably do another update on Keeley later but for now, she seems to be ever so slightly more relaxed. She was sleeping when I went in earlier. She seemed slightly more perky. I decided to do a little experiment.

I brought up Taula (black dog that always howls during howl programs) to the holding pen. After I went into the perimeter area of the compound, Keeley spotted Taula and with a slight sneaking behavior, approached us. Obviously, there was chainlink between her and Taula.

At first, Keeley raised some hackles but did not "puff up." Soon, her hackles were almost gone. I walked Taula over to the holding pen and put her in. I stayed in the corridor. Keeley whimpered slightly and Taula never barked at her but she did whimper back. Keeley seemed interested in Taula but did not exhibit any obvious guarding behavior, neither did Taula. Taula did not submit in front of Keeley.

After about 10 minuets, I took Taula away. I then went back to Keeley and let her in the holding pen. She immediately began sniffing where Taula had been and eventually urinated and scratched the ground. An interesting day.

I have heard (and witnessed) of some situation where a wolf can coexist with a dog but those instances are few. Dogs have lost most of the "wolf talk" through selective breeding and therefore, do not have the capability, usually, to coexist with wolves. Basically, a wolf would be exhibiting one thing and be mistaken for another by the dog and then, POW! Dog gone.

I do not have any intentions of introducing them in the same enclosure but wanted to enrich Keeley's life.

PM Update

Went in with Keeley and fed her. She did ate and drank well. Again, earlier today and after the first update today, I spotted her lying in a favorite spot of Nira's. She behaves more relaxed today. We again took up Taula. Keeley raised her hackles a little and Taula whimpered at her. We put Taula in the holding pen and watched. Keeley stayed near the holding pen gate for the most part, keeping an eye on the visitor (Taula). I seem to gather a little bit of enjoyment in Keeley of Taula's visit but would not introduce them to one another. What seems interesting is that Taula did not bark at Keeley. Keeley did not pace and did not exhibit the constant looking around behavior while Taula was in the holding pen.

We hid an apple in a tree as a small environmental enrichment tool.

10/05/2012

Visited with "the lady" three times so far today. Been trying to mix up her life a bit with leash walks, bringing up Taula (Tooty). Have not done either yet today as I do not want her to "expect" it.

Found her sleeping in one of Nira's favorite holes this afternoon. I actually sneaked up on her. She behaves slightly more relaxed and confident. Today, she actually had a slight wag in her tail - have not seen that since Nira passed. Right now, she is currently lying outside my office window looking toward Taula - maybe she is thinking of a snack?

10/06/2012

Keeley seems more relaxed today, less looking around constantly. We hid some treats in the enclosure for her and she spent a good time "hunting" for them. Last night she received about a quarter of a 10 ounce steak as a treat.

Today, she acted a little, just a little, excited when we entered the enclosure. She did watch me as I worked around the house today. She did stop next to me and allowed me to pet her for a mimute or so.

10/07/2012

Had volunteers out today. We had public visitors today as well. Nicolette walked Keeley on the chain leash for awhile and administered the yearly shots to Keeley. Keeley kind of stayed her distance from most of the volunteers but did not act that stressed. Keeley has more treats today and fresh water.

Update

Went back in with Keeley around 7 PM. Trying to remain objective. Her behavior has obviously changed since Nira's passing. When Ingo passed, Keeley did not exhibit the same behaviors. Basically when Ingo passed, she whimpered a few times and went on.

In this situation, she lost Nira. Nira never got on her case as Ingo did. Nira and Keeley were basically together their entire lives. Keeley lost a companion, as Karen Davis puts it "her security blanket." This evening, Keeley was doing a lot of trotting from one end of the enclosure to the other, then back and forth. She would stop and see us for maybe 1 minute then go to the other end of the enclosure She would come back, look towards the hut/upper area of the enclosure and scratch the ground with her front legs all the while looking up towards the hut/briar portion of the enclosure.

I am not sure why she is doing this. She has never felt threatened from that area nor had she ever experienced a negative experience from that area before. She did eat a steak and a few treats left over from earlier today.

I mentioned earlier that Nicolette had taken her for a leash walk. Well, Keeley was in the air lock wanting another this evening.

Keeley seems "lost," possibly searching for something.

10/08/2012

Had a photoshoot today with Keeley. A photographer from Cleveland wanted to take some photos of Keeley and in the end, ending up taking roughly 2,000 pictures today. Keeley was not stressed around her and even licked her hand a few times.

Keeley is still pacing, less with just myself in the enclosure. The old face greets are long gone. She basically just will, if you are lucky, come up to you and lick once then off she goes. She doesn't stay around you anymore and is seemingly all the time looking around for something.

10/10/2012

Let Keeley rest yesterday without disturbing her other that to observe her from the house. Today, fed her and provided fresh water. Visited her four times today in total. She behaves less stressed and more relaxed although still looking around.

Was visited today by the USDA APHIS. No concerns were voiced. We discussed Keeley and her actions and behavior since Nira's passing. We went up to the enclosure and she was not pacing or acting stressed. We also discussed Nira and the treatment he received. Mr. Coleman looked over the records.

Later, we took Keeley on a 35 minutes leash walk. She does not pull while in the chain leash. She behaves quite well and seemed to enjoy her break from the enclosure. It is amazing to watch her work her nose as she sniffs out various areas where some animal, long gone, had recently visited.

Keeley actually seemed excited to see us today although she did not wag her tail. She did face greet more and allowed us to pet her more than usual as of late. Keeley did receive her annual shots on Sunday.

Her behavior as of today is encouraging. I have been discussing Keeley's behavior with a number of individuals. Pat from Wolf Park (www.wolfpark.org), Keeley's puppy mother, Karen Davis, Ph. D and Elli H. Radinger. I have included some information on her below, from my friend Janet in Connecticut.

Elli H. Radinger (born 1951) gave up her law profession in 1983 to combine her love of animals and writing. Since then she worked as a free lance journalist and authored numerous animal, nature and travel articles and writes books about dogs and wolves.

She grew up with dogs but always had a passion for wolves. An internship in Wolf Park in 1991 presented the opportunity to get to know wolves up close and personal and was struck with the "wolf virus." Together with Günther Bloch, renowned wolf researcher and author, as well as other individuals she established the "The Society for the Protection of Wolves" in Germany and was it's president for ten years.

She publishes and is chief editor of "Wolf Magazine' the only professional German magazine about wolves and other wild canids and which is now published biannually in book form. Since 1995 she has spent part of each year in Yellowstone National Park where she is active as a volunteer with the Wolf Project.

Elli's website is; http://www.elli-radinger.de/

10/11/2012

Keeley is looking around less, although still much more than usual. No scratching on the ground noted in a few days. She still is more aloof and distant however she does not seem to mind us being around her.

To me, I get the impression that she does miss that wolf to wolf interaction. Time shall tell. No leash walks today.

10/12/2012

Had a program for home schooled children today. Keeley exhibited her normal stress level as the 11 children and 5 adults plus two volunteers came walking down the trail.. After having everyone sit down, she relaxed. Eventually, I was able to bring her out on a leash as the visitors were instructed to remain on the bleachers. She ate a few apples.

Later, she had a treat in the form of pizza crust. She still exhibits an avoidance of volunteers and does not seem "happy." Her constant looking around has ceased although she is still observed looking more than usual.

Keeley also seems to possibly have a change in hearing ability as well as up close vision change.

10/13/2012

Ughhhhhh!!!!! All I can say...my heart goes out to her. She is still not acting her normal self - very little emotion, no spirit, no drive - complete and total depression. I went in with her today - fed her and she carried the food around for around 15 minutes - looking for a place to hide it. Eventuality, she ate most of it.

Being objective, she seems to have lost the will to live based upon her uncaring attitude and absent emotional interactions with humans she once had. Although I am unable to qualify these statements, I can compare her to before when Ingo and Nira were alive to now.

She does seem to enjoy leash walks, however, I am unable to offer these to her every day. She still will not allow us to pet her for more than a second. If I ever had any doubts in my mind that animals do not feel "loss", those doubts have been replaced by a realization that, in certain circumstances, they do. In Keeley's situation, she does.

There is no wind beneath her wings right now.

10/14/2012

Keeley handled the work day relatively well. She did some pacing, which was usual. She still seems lost and alone - not really paying us humans much more than a face greet and then she is off.

We hid treats this evening, hoping to have her find them during her travels in the enclosure. She did let me pet her for a longer time this evening as she appeared to be waiting to go on a leash walk. I am careful to not do leash walks with her every day because she will begin to expect them. But I have and will continue to leash walk her more than before.

I am really hoping that we can find a companion for her this spring.

10/16/2012

I had a good talk with Pat from Wolf Park. Pat gave us a number of new interventions that we could use to assist Keeley in adjusting to life without Nira. In the following days and weeks, we shall utilize these on a daily basis. We shall report on the progress these interventions have on Keeley.

This evening, we took Keeley on a leash walk. She investigated many items in the garage and even walked into the volunteer room. We then walked her down into the woods for a short distance as it was dark, and I am not sure how she would react to having a deer bolt out in front of her. As always, she responds real well on the leash and does not pull.

We gave her a number of different treats and she did eat those. She also gave one "kiss" but otherwise ignored us.

10/17/2012

One of the interventions we are using is not new to Keeley but the degree of the intervention is. This evening, we took her on a 35 to 40 minute leash walk through the woods. Her nose was active the whole time and she even scent marked a number of times.

She seemed to enjoy this walk and she was exposed to some different sights, being able to look across a large field which she never before had this option. I walked her by Taula and although Taula did whine and use her "take me with you" bark once, she did not bark excessively as did Sammy. Keeley only looked over once at Taula and this was after we have passed her. It was neat, watching Taula. She seemed to get unusually still as we approached with Keeley. Taula slightly lowered herself to the ground as we approached. I might investigate this slightly further.

We then led Keeley back and gave her some treats. She did give me a face greet after the walk which was much longer than any other face greet given since Nira's passing. She even allowed me to pet her between her eyes and to rub her muzzle and scratch her more.

We hid treats in the enclosure and gave her fresh water. I am pleased with this evenings intervention.

10/19/2012

No leash walks today. Fed her half a deer. When I was getting the deer out of the freezer, she used her front legs to pull leaves, dirt under her as if saying "I want it...I want it..." First time she had done this in a while.

Took the deer in and she began to eat. Performed a perimeter check and interior check on the grounds of her enclosure. All the treats hidden the evening before were gone, I presume eaten by her but we do have a large number of chipmunks roaming pretty freely in the enclosure now.

She also gave much longer face greets and allowed me to pet her more than usual as of late. She also exhibited a slight degree of emotion and stayed by us more. She put her head between my hands and I was able to scratch her forehead and rub down her muzzle and around her eyes. Much improvement. She also allowed me to rub her belly and stand beside her as I petted her.

Karen Davis, Ph.D., puppy mother to Nira and Keeley thinks that Keeley is developing some vision loss. I agree also. Do not know the extent. No, bifocals are not in the works.

10/22/2012

Keeley is doing slightly better - she face greets more and is more involved with us. We put in a deer and she has started to eat off of it. Went in this evening with her and she laid down not too far from us. She again allowed me to pet her as I stood by her. She licked our hair and sniffed us and interacted more than she has since Nira's death.

She seems slightly more relaxed than before.

10/23/2012

Played apple toss with Keeley this evening. Only had one apple and I let the "ball" drop too soon - only had about three tosses. She is eating off the deer we put in a few days ago. Keeley is interacting with us more and seems to be getting better if only ever so slightly. At least we have noted an improvement.

10/25/2012

Jean and I took Keeley on a walk today. We walked her around Taula's pen - interesting behaviors - Taula flattened her ears and lowered herself to the ground. I did catch Keeley taking a peek at Taula but when Taula lowered herself, Keeley looked away. Later, as we came back around Taula's pen, Keeley stopped about 6 feet from the pen and laid down. Keeley did emit a low growl directed towards Taula as Taula became excited and was whining. We also took Keeley into the volunteer room so Don could see her.

Went in with Keeley later in the evening, real warm, 80's. Keeley was in probably one of the better moods she had been in since Nira's passing. She face greeted heavily and seemed to have a little more spring in her step.

10/28/2012

Keeley face greeted everyone but me. She has almost consumed the quarter deer we put in a few days ago. On the 25th of this month, I forgot to say that Keeley did lay down next to us for a few minutes. She seems to enjoy the company but at the same time, keeps her distance.

Today, we had a private, low key memorial video tribute to Nira and Ingo. Even though it was raining, we still had 16 volunteers out. We took Keeley for a walk and brought her into the garage and into the volunteer room. We also hid treats in the enclosure which she promptly found.

We all wish Keeley would use the ht like Nira and Ingo has but....I have never seen her use it. She is currently all muddy and wet but nothing really new during the past 15 years.

11/01/2012

Beth and Nicolette came out last night to see Keeley. She is doing the same, not much improvement to mention. We fed her and interacted with her to the point she wished. No fanfare with her. She will approach you, greet then be off on her way. She still seems "lost" and insecure. It has been raining off and on lately, due to "Sandy" and we are hoping for some dry weather so she can dry out. Her fur does protect her from the elements. The guard hairs drain the moisture down and away so that her underfur does not get soaked.

She seems fine physically. Her emotional state however is still in question. I thought I did see a tail wag when Keeley face greeted Beth. Hopefully we are able to add pups in 2013.

11/2/2012

Made two pumpkins for Keeley - well, Tracy did. Filled the pumpkins full of apples, peanut butter, dog treats, whipped cream and took those in to her last night. She enjoyed the treats and watching the pumpkins roll down the hill with her following them was comical. As we entered the enclosure, many turkeys flew off their roost. I have always wondered what the wolves, now wolf, would do if a turkey did land in the enclosure. Not this time though.

Keeley did face greet but that is about all the human interaction she wanted.

11/05/2012

Fed her last night - she carried around food chunks trying to find a location to cache the food. Even though she is the only wolf we currently have, she still behaves as a wolf, as you would expect. Therefore, my assumption is that caching of food has one, maybe two purposes and as many stimuli. One is that by burying the food, theoretically, she is hiding the food from other animals. The other reason, we believe, is that burying the food protects it from flies.

Not a whole lot of interaction with her this evening. No face greets, no greets at all.

11/09/2012

Went in with Keeley this evening. Gave her some treats and received a few face greets. She seems to be a little sore in her hips but still walks okay. Will start her on metacam, a pain reliever.

11/11/2012

Went in with Keeley today - she came up to us and face greeted. We brought in treats for her consisting of a sliced apple and "dog" treats. By her actions, she could tell we had the better treats in reserve (not giving those to her right away) - she took the apples but did not eat them. Instead, she put the apples on the ground and looked up at us as if saying "give me the good stuff!."

We gave into her and the apples are still on the ground. We also noticed that her left hip is ever-so-slightly lagging behind although she still trots fine when she wants to. Having said that, we did administer some metacam to her today. I sense another episode of Nira with her. She did not like the medication as she had in the past.

We then took her for a leash walk, through the garage and into the parking area. We only stayed there for a short spell and then, used a pizza box, we got her back into the holding pen and into the enclose.

A good day with her. She seemed more relaxed and at ease.

11/14/2012

Took Keeley on a walk today, 30 minutes outside her main enclosure. She really enjoys these walks and allows her to smell new odors and see new sights. She also likes "marking" her territory. When the dogs happen to go by the spots she urinated on, they also stop and overmark her. Then, when Keeley goes back to the spot days later, she overmarks their mark.

Fed her some boiled pork and gave her Dasuquin and metacam. Keeley is adjusting to life by herself as much as she can.We do spend more time with her and try to be upbeat and positive when around her.

She looks good and has no obvious health concerns.

11/17/2012

On Saturday, I visited Keeley and she was excited to see me. This is probably the first time she has displayed some excitement at seeing a human since Nira's death. I had ordered some gelatin capsules to put the metacam in so that we can easier hide that in food.

I hid the capsules in an apple. However, I let that medication sit too long in the capsule which made the capsule spongy - Keeley noticed this right away and when biting into the apple, she discovered the medication and my plan failed somewhat.

She seems to be doing OK right now.

11/18/2012

Visited her on Sunday - this time, I fixed the metacam in the capsules and hid that in burger and took it up to her immediately - Success! She did not notice the medication. I have to thank Karen Davis for giving me the idea to use the capsules. She suggested that during Nira's illness but I was not able to find a supplier at that time - now I found one.

We also fed her a 5 gallon bucket of boiled pork and interacted with her. She still looks around but I am beginning to think she may be doing this more as a means of surveying her surroundings because her hearing has diminished. She is moving well with only a slight lag in her left rear leg.

11/20/2012

Keeley was visited by my mom and I today. Keeley enjoyed the visit and we both noted that she has put on some weight. She still seems a little lost and not happy but those are all subjective - but, having known Keeley for a number of years, I am confident in my analysis of her.

11/23/2012

Gave Keeley her "thanksgiving" dinner yesterday consisting of a small amount of turkey, potatoes, ham, a stuffing ball, small piece of pumpkin pie and about a half pound of ground burger with metacam hidden inside. She ate the meat with no problem but the pie and other food she normally doesn't eat was a bit amusing to watch as she delicately took a small bite, and rolled her tongue around and looked at the food. Eventually, she ate it all.

Keeley's coat looks real good, is thick and clean (in contrast to what the boys - Nira and Ingo - looked like). The two things we have noticed with her are that her hearing has diminished and her eyesight is questionable. She also is becoming less approachable. She will allow you to pet her but only on her terms. Gone are the days of entering the enclosure and having Keeley run up to you with smile on her face and her tail wagging. She will run up to you but no smile, no tail wagging, no coming over to you and sitting and allowing you to pet her as in the older days.

11/25/2012

Visited with Keeley and fed her. She seems to be physically "ok" but still does not appear to be "happy." Hopefully, we are able to see her demeanor change in 2013 with the addition of a pup or puppies if all goes well.

11/28/2012

Rachel, Matt and myself went in with Keeley this evening. Fed her and hidden in the food was metacam - she took it with no problem. Sure is nice being able to hide the medication in the capsules, the only problem is that I bought the smaller size and takes about 7 capsules to make up a dose.

Keeley is more distant than before Nira's death and less approachable, as I have written about before. The only thing that I think would help her is the addition of pups.

11/29/2012

Went in with Keeley this evening. Gave her more food and a Dasuquin tablet. She did face greet us, twice and allowed me to pet her and examine her - much better than last night. She looks good physically, put on a few pounds.

12/01/2012

Took Keeley on a nice, long leash walk. She wanted to visit Taula so we let Keeley get closer to the pen. As we neared the fence, Keeley's hackles went up although she did not growl. We were about 6 feet from Taula's fence. Taula did nothing other than lower herself and wag her tail. We decided that this was not an interaction we wished to have continued so we diverted Keeley away from Taula's fence. After a thorough inspection of many piles of deer and rabbit scat and scent rolling on something we have no idea what it is (was), we walked her back to her enclosure.

Better today. Hand fed her some burger and a few apples - ate real good and stayed with us for a longer time. We then tried an unscientific experiment - we got up and began walking throughout the enclosure acting as if we were a pack and on the move. She got up and spaced herself out and followed, when she stopped, we did and when we stopped, she did. This was neat. I am not sure what she thought of it but I sense she gained some enjoyment out of this.

Her coat continues to look real good, no obvious injuries.

12/05/2012

Keeley enjoyed our visit today, receiving apples, food and medication. She was excited, for a change, to see us. She seems to be doing a little better.

12/09/2012

We had a "Keeley Day" today. My mother, Nicolette, Ray, Jim, Haley and myself visited with Keeley for about 2 hours. Nic took Keeley for a nice walk with the rest of the crew following. I am sure Keeley enjoyed this walk because she rolled in some pretty stinky and gooey "stuff" - not sure what it was. Keeley greeted Nic and was comfortable around her and did well around my mom, Ray, Jim and Haley.

Jim attached the electric water bowl to the fence so that Keeley can have fresh water if and when winter arrives. I think there have been only 3 days to where the water in her pail has formed a thin film of ice and this is December!

All of us agree that Keeley has put on weight but overall, looks real good. She has not displayed any worsening, and if anything, her hip discomfort has seemed to decrease. She is getting Dasuquin almost every day.

The other day, we went in and sat down with her and after a few minutes, she did the same. Pacing about an even distance between me and the others and herself. She seemed to enjoy this and we all just sat there, looking around. We did not attempt to face greet her but allowed her to come to us when she wanted.

12/16/2012

Keeley is doing well, physically. I am still trying to adjust to her new "mood." Her eyesight and hearing is still suspect. She has put on a few pounds and rests more often near the fence closets to the house. She seems to still be somewhat lost and I believe that the reason she is constantly looking around is her hearing - she now must use her eyesight to survey her surroundings, not just her ears. Her eyesight seems to be fine at a distance but up close is where she seems to have some changes.

She is not lacking in the food department. She gets fed almost every day, at least "treats" but mostly she gets a pound of meat a day now. Her hips seem to be doing fine with no obvious signs of discomfort right now.

12/22/2012

Not much to report on Keeley - when we go in with her, she is beginning to rest closer to us and lay down not too far away, giving me the impression that she is enjoying us just being in with her. Pat, from Wolf Park, suggested we go in with her and do not expect face greets or a whole lot of interactions.

12/30/2012

Keeley is doing fine physically, putting on weight, coat is good. With the addition of the heated water, she now has water whenever she wants it. Before, we had to bring up water twice a day in the winter.

I have accepted the fact that until she gets a companion, she will be in the "zombie mode" - her actions are mechanical, showing none of the expressive behavior that she used to show. Although, I guess to be accurate, absence of expressive behavior might actually be expressive behavior - what has been lost is the "emotion" - she acts like a human would act with depression.

I hope that this does not turn into chronic depression.

01/05/2013

Over the past few days, Keeley has enjoyed long leash walks throughout the property. I am trying to find out how to upload video of some of the walks - if anyone has ideas, please let me know. She received a delicious New Year's Day meal.

With the colder temperatures, we have began giving her metacam on a regular basis now. Although she does not exhibit severe discomfort, she does exhibit some. She has also began to eat off a deer we put in a few days ago. Last evening, she offered up numerous face greets and kisses.

On one of her long walks, she went right into Taula's pen (Taula not being in there, of course), going right into her dog house and sniffed all around.

I do not notice any concerns with her other than her hips, which, again, do not seem to be that bad. She is roughly 4 months shy of being 16.

01/08/2013

Karen Davis visited this evening. She is Nira and Keeley's puppy mother, raising them while they were at Wolf Park in 1997. Karen went on the receive her Ph. D in animal behavior from University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Karen is also a board member at Wolf Timbers.

Karen and I fixed up Keeley's medication and gave it to her. Keeley did not show any increase in excitedness on seeing Karen as she does me. Prior to Nira's passing, Keeley would wag her tail and express excitement at seeing Karen. Not now.

We did get a number of face greets and Keeley allowed us to pet her some. Keeley still looks around, expectantly, as if to finally see Nira...or, perhaps, her hearing has decreased to the point that she must now use her vision to detect "danger." I am not sure which holds the most weight here, possibly both hold equal value. The only way that we will ever know is if we do acquire pups, seeing the diminishing of her looking around after the pups have arrived might tell the story.

All in all this was a nice visit.

1/19/2013

Keeley is maintaining herself well over the past few weeks. Eating well, drinking and receiving her daily dose of metacam. Today, she was taken on a long leash walk, around an hour and half. We went down to the creek and back and sniffed many objects, including deer feces. At one point, we had to cross a small creek running pretty full of water. Not being around running water that often, she decided to sit and watch it and would not cross it at that point. It was useless for me to even try to coax her across. I moved up creek a little to where there was sort of a land bridge made by some small logs - I crosses there and Keeley watched, looked and followed.

As we made our way, we came across some skunk cabbage starting to show its' tips through the foliage. She sniffed and bit off a few small parts, not really seeming to dislike it like I thought. We went on and each deer "poop" pile she came across, she sniffed. Thankfully, unlike Sammy, our dog, she did not eat any of it.

She did come across a pile of leaves and spent a large amount of time sniffing and eventually, scent rolled on the pile. As we began our walk, she walked over closer to Taula getting the closets to her ever. Keeley did raise her hackles a little but other than that there were no other signs of tension between the two. Taula was smiling and was wagging her tail with her ears flattened back.

After the walk, Keeley received a "busy bone" treat and drank water. She is now resting.

01/29/2013

Keeley is doing well, physically. She is enjoying leash walks about 3 times a week, on average. Her coat is dense and thick. She is still receiving metacam. On the the 20th of this month, we had a volunteer meeting and she had many visitors that day.

2/9/2013

Keeley is still the same. She has yet to show any signs of going into estrus. I am not sure if she will, being almost 16 years old. Nothing to really report other than she looks good, is getting her medication and is eating well.

9/22/2013

Keeley was euthanized this evening. She was born 4/21/1997 at Wolf Park, Battleground, Indiana.

9/29/2013

The last hours of Keeley

The sequence of events that led to her passing, are, in my opinion, heartbreaking. First, we go back to August 18, 2011. Our Alpha, Ingo, passed away. Although we knew he was sick, we never understood until a necropsy was completed, just how sick he was. He passed away from lung cancer which had invaded every millimeter of lung tissue he had.

All of us at Wolf Timbers noted a change in her after Ingo passed away. However, she was still active and seemed to "enjoy" life as we knew it. A little more than 14 months later, not only would Wolf Timbers be faced with another loss but more important, Keeley would suffer, in my opinion, a devastating loss of her lifelong friend, companion and "rock" - Nira. Keeley and Nira were just two weeks apart in age. Nira was born first, then Keeley's litter followed. Give or take a month or so after both litters were born, Keeley and Nira first met.

Hence, the beginning of an extremely and mutually rewarding relationship commenced at Wolf Park between Nira and Keeley and continued at Wolf Timbers. The obvious affection shown towards one another was at times, comical. Both would been seen "food begging" towards each other all the while the deer remained uneaten. It appeared that Nira was saying to Keeley "go ahead and take the first bite" while Keeley was saying to Nira "no, you take the first bite." Then, Nira would appear to say "no! you take the first bite." Of course, Keeley's response would be "your the alpha, act like one and take the first bite!! Geeze!!!" That is not to say that there was never an issue of food guarding, read on.

Anyhow, thats my story and I am sticking to it!! Seriously, if you ask any individual that knew these two wolves, I am sure they would back me up on this. Except for some obvious food guarding which did appear at times, I cannot recall any incident in which Nira and Keeley elevated their confrontations beyond an occasional reprimand from Nira to Keeley about a favorite morsel of food. These two wolves were as close to being "peas in a pod" as you can get.

October 1, 2012. Roughly 14 months since August 18, 2011. Boom!!! Nira is taken away. Liver cancer. If you scroll upwards, you can read Keeley's progress, or lack of, after Nira's passing.

September 22, 2013. I get home from work. Keeley had been seen by two different individuals that day, the last being around 3:30. Approximately 7:10 PM, Tracy and I go up to the enclosure to give her the Tramadol. We find her near the sassafras log. She is panting, unable to stand although she did try once. She is in obvious discomfort. I noted that she was not using her rear legs. I could actually see a "crawl path" she had made along side the log, about 6 feet long. My heart sank so deep, it fell through my feet, into the ground and has not stopped falling since.

I called Dr. Duerr getting his voicemail. He called me back in a matter of minutes. I provided him with a recap of what was happening. He said he would be out soon. As previously mentioned elsewhere on this web site, Dr. Duerr and the physician's, veterinarian staff and support personnel at Town and Country Veterinarian Clinic are the most compassionate, kind, understanding, loving, knowledgeable animal care providers I have ever known. My hat goes off to them.

While waiting on DR Duerr to arrive, I called Karen Davis, Ph.D., puppy mother to Nira and Keeley. I explained to her what was happening and she said "do not let her suffer Marty." I also called Monty Sloan and he suggested that Keeley might have had a spinal cord stroke. He also said do not let her suffer.

What is rather ironic, possibly??? Is that Keeley passed away no more than 5 feet from where Ingo passed away. Possibly there was more to that relationship than I give credit to??

Just before Dr. Duerr arrived, Tracy turned on the enclosure lights. We gave Keeley water and treats and petted her. She enjoyed the petting, especially around her ears and neck and between her eyes. We could tell that the tramadol was taking its effect - she was more relaxed. Also, Keeley's hind quarters were twisted out of alignment with her front. I decided that no more damage could be done by me aligning her, so, I gently lifted her hips and aligned them with her front. After that, she seemed more comfortable. More relaxed. She settled down.

Dr. Duerr arrived, performed a 30 to 40 minute exam. Basically, Keeley had no feeling from her lower mid back below. Paralyzed. Dr. Duerr confirmed what Monty had told me what he thought had happened - Spinal Cord Stroke.

As Dr. Duerr administered the final medication, in the final chapter of this wonderful book called "Keeley", I held her tightly. Tracy petted her head. I hugged Keeley - calling her "sweets" as I affectionately called her in earlier years. As the medication entered her, she lifted her head, I hugged tightly. Not wanting to let go but knowing I needed to. So hard. Unfair. But the right decision. I never wanted these wolves to suffer. I felt her relax. No more suffering. Now she can run with Nira and Ingo and all the other wolves that have departed us for the WOLF SPIRIT WORLD. "Forgive them for they know not what they do." The "fierce green light." "Only the mountain has lived long enough to listened objectively to the howl of the wolf." Together at last.

I gently laid her head down. We petted and cried, cried and more. But we sensed a sigh of relief. No more suffering. No more.

Yes, loneliness and sense of this all being a dream has evaded into me. But, Wolf Timbers will live on. Will survive.

Wolf Spirits. Believe.