Rist Canyon – With a 150-pound arctic wolf literally breathing down her neck, wildlife biologist Kiley McGowen scrunched her tiny body into a low crouch and slowly offered her outstretched hand for a sniff.
Shaman, who has lived for almost seven years at a wolf sanctuary buried deep in Larimer County’s Rist Canyon, rubbed his bushy, white muzzle over McGowen’s head and planted a massive paw around her neck.
“Aw,” said Pat Wendland, a co-founder of Wolves Offered Life and Friendship. “He’s offering you some loves.”
Frank and Pat Wendland, along with WOLF staffers and a steady flow of volunteers, care for 30 of the animals on 5 acres in fenced enclosures that measure 8 to 12 feet high. The Wendlands are asking Larimer County to let them increase the size of the sanctuary to 30 acres and to double the number of wolves and wolf-dogs.
They say the expansion is needed to handle the crush of requests from rescue groups from all over the world wanting a safe place for injured and captive wolves to mend.
“We are turning down dozens of animals a month,” said Frank Wendland. “Each of them is a valuable individual, and if we can take care of more of them, we’d be blessed.”
Shaman gently tussled with a cooing McGowen. Nearby, a young boisterous female wolf-dog hybrid named Isabeau jumped and played with a sanctuary volunteer.
Some of the wolves and wolf- hybrids that at one time had been starved, abused and otherwise abandoned by owners silently padded down the hillside to inspect the visitors.
But once a visiting human paid them the slightest attention, the animals retreated quickly up the hill and peeked around trees and bushes.
Several of the sanctuary’s 10 or so neighbors are opposed to an expansion, saying the howling and vehicle traffic along the narrow dirt road leading to the compound already stir up too much noise, congestion and dirt.
“This is not the wild, wild West anymore,” said Patti Rosenfelder, who lives less than a mile from the sanctuary. “This is a rural subdivision, and these animals don’t belong here behind cages. They belong somewhere much more remote.”
Some residents are also worried that one of the animals might get out.
“These animals are vicious, and they are dangerous,” said neighbor Glenn Johnson.
“It’s only a matter of time before something bad happens.”
The county commissioners in 2001 told the Wendlands to pare the number of animals under their care from 42 to 30 and prohibit tours.
Since then, there have been no complaints lodged against the sanctuary, said Casey Stewart, a county planner overseeing the request.
But road access and noise issues will certainly be weighed by the county over the next several months, Stewart said.
At least four government agencies oversee the nonprofit facility, including the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
A field officer inspects it frequently, said Kathy Konishi, DOW special-permits officer.
“I haven’t heard of any problems out there,” Konishi said.
Neighbor Cindy Johnson said the Wendlands have been accommodating.
When she reported seeing a wolf near her property, the couple dutifully investigated but found nothing.
Still, she doesn’t want their enterprise to get any larger.
“There is simply no need for that,” Johnson said. “I just don’t understand why they want to do this.”
Unfortunately, said Frank Wendland, most people still harbor a deep prejudice toward wolves.
“When you say ‘wolf,’ a lot of illogical things come to mind,” Wendland said.
“Any excuse not to allow them a safe place will be voiced.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
