London enjoys his tub
In 1982, the sanctuary that was to eventually become Wolf Haven International was founded in Tenino, Washington. A beacon for wolf advocacy, Wolf Haven International also provides a lifetime home for displaced and captive born wolves and promotes wolf restoration in historical ranges.
Fence growing fur?
As the season changed from spring to summer, so did the wolves’ appearance. Here at Wolf Haven, we are cycling through another lengthy season of shedding, and all the animals’ undercoats are falling off, tuft by tuft.
Wolf Haven mounded prairie
Our premiere summer event, A Midsummer’s Night, offers guests the opportunity to see wolves, hear them howl, learn their stories, eat delicious food, walk through native prairie, camp overnight – and repeat in the morning. Twenty guests have an incredible opportunity to engage in a deeper way with our organization and support our mission.
A Midsummer’s Night reflects the heart of what it means to be a sanctuary. As an accredited sanctuary, our philosophy is that the animals always come first. The resident animals of Wolf Haven are given every opportunity to behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment. By keeping the group small, our guests can have a deeper, more intimate experience with our sanctuary, wolves, animal care staff and prairie – yet this will seem routine to our resident animals.
All dates begin on Saturday night and conclude Sunday morning.
Admission:
Included with admission:
For more information, call 360.264.4695 x220 or email info@wolfhaven.org.
In the last week in February, a remarkable team of reproductive specialists, veterinarians, biologists, local volunteers and Wolf Haven staff gathered at our McCleery Ranch in Bridger, Montana.
Collecting & preserving genes
The original wolves at this sanctuary lived in Kane, Pennsylvania. How did their ancestors end up across the country in Montana?
One of the Montana wolves in the snow
Montana wolf
“It’s just a fascinating story, the history of these animals,” said Diane Gallegos, executive director of Wolf Haven International, a Tenino, Washington-based wolf rescue group.
By Kurtis Rattay, animal care assistant, Wolf Haven
During this year’s holiday season, the animals at Wolf Haven International have been gifted with three large-scale donations. They all came from organizations looking for a waste-free way to dispose of high-quality meat that, despite being in good condition, could not be repurposed for human consumption. These donations not only kept the products from going to the landfill but saved Wolf Haven thousands of dollars on feeding costs and provided ethical nutrition for the sanctuary’s residents.
A small portion of the Crowd-Cow meat donation stored in our freezer.
The first donation came from Crowd Cow, a company that connects consumers with independent ranches. The donated meat was either unsold or did not meet the standards set by the company. According to one Crowd Cow employee, their East Coast counterpart regularly donates unsellable meat to animal sanctuaries, and the Seattle-based company contacted Wolf Haven with the same intention. Animal Care staff happily drove down to Forest Grove, OR, to pick up 1,500 pounds of craft beef and chicken.
Raw Cat Food donation of venison, chicken, beef and lamb.
Only a week later, Animal Care staff drove back to Oregon and picked up a huge donation from an out-of-business pet food company specializing in raw cat food. The company had tried for a while to liquidate its products and had contacted several animal centers. The Wild Cat Sanctuary kindly redirected them to us. We drove back to Wolf Haven with 2,500 pounds of frozen venison, beef, chicken and turkey.
Animal care staff Kurtis, Erik and Pam sorting confiscated elk.
The most recent donation came from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Wendy Lowe, a law enforcement officer with WDFW, generously thought about benefiting the wolves when hundreds of pounds of elk meat needed to be disposed-off, following a now-settled poaching case.
Wolf Haven staff unloading the gift of meat.
Donations are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. Although a precise total amount of savings cannot be calculated, it is safe to put the number in the thousands of dollars. With substantial sanctuary projects on the horizon, these saved costs can then be allocated to improve sanctuary habitat and infrastructure, which in turn increases the quality of life for the animals.
Lakota enjoying his frozen loaf, made from the donated meat.
Wolf Haven is deeply grateful to have been chosen by these organizations—and the wolves and coyotes who call the sanctuary home seem to appreciate the gift as well!
