Noel, a Mexican gray wolf, walks up to the front of her enclosure in this 2013 file photo taken at Wolf Haven International in Tenino.
Wolf Haven International’s annual fundraiser, “Wolves & Wine,” is going into its eighth year this September. The evening includes silent and live auctions, wine tastings, appetizers and videos of wolves in the sanctuary.
“We have some fantastic sponsorship locally,” said Diane Schmid, who is a co-chair of the event. “Fish Brewing and Dick’s (Brewing Company) have donated and then we choose different, usually local, Washington wines that we pour at the event. We have great food, which gives everyone a moment to mingle. Then we show a video of the wolves that are currently in our sanctuary.”
Kim Young, who is the director of communications of Wolf Haven International, explained that most of the wolves at the sanctuary aren’t seen by staff that don’t directly care for them. Wolf Haven International shows new videos and photos of the wolves, as well as a tribute to wolves who died the previous year.
A couple of the auction items this year include paintings done by wolves in the sanctuary. Animal care staff place paint on a canvas and the wolves walk across to make a painting. One of the pieces was completed by three different wolves.
“I’m not exactly sure how (the animal care director) achieved it, but they’re not in the enclosures with the wolves,” Schmid said. “They’re quite interesting. Some have pawprints and some have grass stuck in the paint … They’ve used different wolves that they can recover the canvases from … They’re quite colorful and it’s pretty amazing. They have kind of nose smears.”
The money from this event goes to wolves in the sanctuary and helps support advocacy work for wolves in the wild, as well as educational programs. Last year the event brought in $79,000. This year, Young said the organization aims to bring in $85,000.
“Between the two sanctuaries we operate, we have over 90 wolves,” Young said. “The money will go toward the care and feeding of the wolves and the maintenance and upgrade of the enclosures and area where they live. We have 60 wolves here and then 30 plus at the sanctuary we just acquired this year in Bridger, Montana. That’s a lot of mouths to feed — that’s the most mouths to feed that we have ever had.”
Wolf Haven International, which is a sanctuary located in Tenino, runs on donations and is not government funded. It has rescued and provided a home for 250 displaced, captive-born animals since 1982.
In June, Wolf Haven International also acquired and absorbed the McCleery Buffalo Wolf Foundation, which is located in Bridger, Montana. In addition, it acquired McCleery’s more than two-dozen wolves and 378 acres of land.
Wolf Haven International offers guided, 50-minute walking tours at its wolf sanctuary, as well as various educational programs. The sanctuary also advocates for wolves in the wild and participates in multi-agency Species Survival Plan programs for wolves that are critically endangered.
“Wolf Haven is all about education and conservation,” Schmid said. “They’re there to promote conservation and raise awareness that the situation of wolves in the wild is getting increasingly dire.”
This event takes place from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Saint Martin's University/Norman Worthington Conference Center, which is located at 5300 Pacific Ave SE in Lacey. Tickets are $75 per person and can be reserved online at wolfhaven.org or by calling 360-264-4695 x210.
