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| The rescue
of the Takini Pack (This is a part of the story, more on the website of www.nawa.org) I will begin with the truth, as ugly as it is. April means puppies, and this one was no different in that respect. Except, we aren't talking about puppies born in the wild where they're supposed to be. We're talking about small, one pound bundles of fur born into slavery - created by the selfishness of humans. One pound bundles of fur, still innocent. Unaware they've been born prisoners ... for life. But there is some good news in this story - as you will see. The Grandfather had a plan, and we were smack in the middle of it - whether we liked it or not. This all came about because we were handed a rare opportunity to put a very prominent breeder out of business - and you gotta know we jumped at it. Anxious and champing at the bit at this unusual prospect, we rode pell-mell off the edge of the cliff. We never saw what was coming... we only saw this "golden opportunity" to help end the suffering. We were clueless to the price tag. For all the horrors that have greeted us in this arena - for all the miserable, heart-wrenching, awful things we've seen... nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to face....... I remember thinking... if there is such a thing as a "wolf hell", it greeted me as I stepped down and away from the safety of the RV. I was struck, as I walked toward the wolves, with the chilling sensation of entering a concentration camp. The wolves were in small, hot wired pens. Some had barbed wire laced through it. Old boards with jagged edges and rusted nails lay everywhere. Broken bricks, dilapidated particle board and other debris littered the ground.  Vacant eyes with empty souls stared back at me as I moved. It felt like there were lead weights glued to the soles of my boots. The flooring was made up of fecal material - there was no dirt. I don't think the pens had ever been cleaned. I couldn't imagine forcing any living being to live in their own waste... The wolves were ankle deep in it. Cochina, the breeding male, peered at us from behind what was left of his shelter. Watching... wondering. Frightened. He was magnificent in stature and presence. I tried to imagine him somewhere in the wild, living free. It wasn't hard. He looked out of place in this mess. His yellow eyes told me he'd seen more than his share. Then he slowly turned his head and locked eyes with me. I lowered my camera and just stared back at him. I tried to tell him with my heart that we hadn't come to harm him, his mate or his babies - that we'd come to get him and his family out of here. But I don't think he cared... I think he was beyond caring. I think he'd lived like this for so long that it was just inconceivable for him to think of living any other way. He seemed resigned to whatever would befall him. Not ten feet away, was the den. Leyton got down on his belly and peered into the darkness, trying to gage the female and determine (if possible) how many pups she had down there. Honey had dug her den underneath an old door and we didn't want to lift the lid until we knew what we were dealing with. We didn't want to take a chance on her bolting out and/or anybody getting hurt. Leyton looked up at me and said, "She's right by the entrance. There's one pup up by her head and another behind her back. I can't be sure, but I think there may be more deeper in." I walked a few feet away and sat down. Leyton spent a few more minutes looking into the den, then came over and joined me. He leaned back up against a sheet of particle board and we began to assess the situation. We needed to devise a plan that would be the least traumatic for Honey and her babies I felt we could tranquilize her without a lot of trouble. I didn't think she'd leave the pups on any count and if she stayed put when we lifted the lid, everything would go fine. If she didn't, we'd have to move to plan "B." I was willing to listen to any idea - as long as it didn't include the pole. I didn't want her pole-snatched. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I didn't want a noose around her neck - I was adamant about that. Leyton had a huge net with him and we decided the net would be plan "B." If she bolted from the den, she'd run into the net and we could tranquilize her from there. If she stayed put, we could inject her where she lay. I walked to the mouth of the den and waited as Leyton gave the orders. The boys got into position with the net and Leyton glanced around one last time with that "everybody ready?" look. Then, he lifted the lid. I wasn't prepared. I half expected this bedraggled, terrified face - teeth bared, ready to attack anyone who reached toward her or her pups. But that's not what greeted me.  The sight that greeted me when Leyton lifted that lid I'll remember till the day I die. I was awestruck by her beauty and grace. The fragile little creature next to her was nuzzling as close as possible, looking for reassurance. She turned periodically and licked his tiny face. Her eyes said everything... Please don't hurt us. What have we done? Haven't we paid enough? I thought I would fall to my knees right there and cry a river - for her, for her babies and for the tens of thousands of mothers like her, imprisoned for the greed and selfishness of my kind. The tens of thousands of mothers whose babies have been ripped away from them, litter after litter, year after year... Looking into her eyes, in that moment, I was more sorry to be human than I have ever been. I felt the shame wash over me like a wave. I wanted to tell her what was in my heart. I wanted to tell her that we aren't all like this... not all of us exploit her kind or any other living souls. Some of us care - really care. I wanted to tell her I was one of those. I wanted to tell her that I valued her life as I do my own or my neighbor's or my mother's. Continued on the website of nawa >>> |
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