How did an Australian Dingo come to be in
Florida…AND in rescue? It’s simple…people! Six pups were sent from a Dingo
Recovery program to the United States. Two ended up with a couple in Florida.
The man had come from Australia and wanted some of his homeland it seems.
Dingoes are the apex predator in Australia while, like the wolf or coyote are
generally treated as a “nuisance” animal they are a separate species.
The pups were allowed to breed which caused problems
with law enforcement because the owners did not following captive wildlife
laws. Dingoes require Class III FWC (Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission) permits and special containment in Florida. Well a
lot happened in their lives in that next year and the short of it is that
another rescuer got a call that six dingoes needed placement. Shy Wolf
Sanctuary had originally planned on taking two but had since filled their
habitats, mostly with coyotes. So a rescuer from North Carolina came down and
picked them up. That’s when she found out one of the girls was pregnant. Six
pups were born but only three survived.
The original home that was lined up for this very
special girl fell through and Deanna (volunteer & Board of Directors member
of Shy Wolf Sanctuary) was called to see if she would personally adopt the pup.
While not actively seeking a pup, and quite happy with her existing pack, she
saw the benefits to having a different canid species as an ambassador to the
sanctuary. It was especially enticing since the pup would be more likely to
WANT to go to events, unlike their other animals.
Lola has made herself at home wherever she goes, as
the picture shows, and is even showing an aptitude for Search and Rescue (SAR)
training. Who knows? Shy Wolf Sanctuary may be the first to have a certified
SAR Dingo ready to respond at the drop of a hat!
In the meantime she loves
playing with Morgan and climbing up onto anything she can possibly climb
onto…including your head if you sit close enough to her.
Morgan
Morgan’s rescue was not one that was planned. Shy Wolf Sanctuary already
had FOUR coyotes in one small habitat. They got the call and email the day
before Easter 2013 that a man had what he thought was a wolf pup. It had been
dropped in the road by its mother in the middle of a move. He spotted it and
waited to see if she would come back and, when she didn’t, he picked up the
tiny pup and took it home to try and save.
At first he was doing okay with the puppy formula but then he realised he had something on his hands that probably needed a license. He could no longer care for the wee guy. Nancy and Deanna agreed to meet him to check out the pup and pick him up on Easter Sunday. His eyes were barely open so we estimate he was three weeks at the time. It’s lucky for Morgan we got him when we did as he was impacted from the formula and anaemic from fleas. Our vet had his work cut out for him the next day and so did we!
When it came time to name him, we decided to name him after a very
special girl, Morgan Lillard, who had suffered an unimaginable loss of her
younger sisters in a fire. We were told the one thing that would get her to
smile was learning about wolves. We can’t wait for the first Morgan to come and
visit her namesake some day!
Since Lola was only a month younger than Morgan, we decided to see if
they could be friends. At first Morgan was a bit of a bully but Lola soon
caught up and caught on…she’d simply sit on Morgan until he would go running
for the safety of the nearest volunteer! Now they are fast friends and he gets
really excited when she comes to spend the day playing.
Produced with permission of Lola’s trainer, Deanna
Deppen and the Shy Wolf Sanctuary, Florida, USA
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