Orion

Orion is a black male wolf who was born in the spring of 2005 in Tennessee.  He comes from a long-time breeder and a line of pure wolves bred in captivity.  Orion was terrified of humans from birth and continued to become more afraid as he aged.  When only a few months old, he was sold to a lady in Vermont and lived with other wolf-dogs in a giant pen in her back yard.  Due to his skittish and wolfy behavior, Orion’s owner realized that she would not be able to socialize him and keep him with her other “pets.”   Friends of Mission:Wolf rescued Orion, paid for his flight across the country and accompanied him from Vermont to Denver.  Our staff drove to Denver, picked him up and brought him to Mission:Wolf.

In the months that followed, Orion continued to be very frightened of humans. He lived in the vet building with another recently rescued wolf puppy named Soleil.  They became fast friends have been inseparable ever since.  As they grew, Orion and Soleil became very independent and kicked their surrogate dog mother, Kona, out of the pack.  The staff tried splitting the two pups up and introducing them to older wolves for guidance and socialization, but Orion and Soleil would have none of it.  They revolted against the older wolves and insisted they be put back together.  Since then, Orion and Soleil have essentially raised themselves – looking to each other for the courage to meet visitors.

At four years old, Orion has grown into a stunning black adult with an intense gaze and a seemingly serious demeanor.  But, when he doesn’t think anyone is watching, Orion will twirl, pounce and tumble with Soleil and reveal his clownish side.  Although he is still nervous around people, he occasionally works up the nerve to sniff someone on the toe.  The fact that he allows people to be around him at all is amazing.