In June, 2005 Alyeska passed away from cancer. He will not be forgotten. I met him in May during a seminar at Wolf Park. He was known to all as Uncle Al. He was a wolf in case any one who reads this haven't already guessed. There were about 12 of us humans visiting with him and he was like a kind uncle allowing the crowd to see him. Since he had the jaw cancer, we did not interact with him as we would have done with other wolves. We sat down on the grasses or logs and just talked to each other about anything that came to mind.
Al laid down in the grass facing us, listening to every word. He was so interested in us. When a bird flew overhead, he would look up at it to regard it, enjoy it. When it was time to leave, we all stood up and walked to his gate. He got up too and walked us to the gate as if to say "Come back, please. See you soon." He whined in protest I like to think.
When I think of him, I get teary eyed. He was so gentle and sweet, its hard not to cry. Sorry if my page gets wet but I regard him as one of my own family. I will forever miss him.
In July, we buried him. It was a touching occassion, if I may call it that. We said our last good byes to a beloved friend. Again, I want to say thank you Alyeska for letting me get to know you in such a short time. You let me see how wolves really are when you are accepted by them.

Another friend just passed away in September 2005. Her name was Deneb. She was 17 1/2 years old, their oldest wolf. She passed in her sleep peacefully. I visit Echo alot and when Echo does not want to visit any more, I get to see Deneb. Deneb reminded me of my grandmother, kind and always ready for visitors. I am sorry if I am running on here but I need to write this in honor of my wolf friends. She loved visitors and to the end she was strong and brave. Good bye my darling Deneb. See you on the other side when it's my turn to go.