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The year was 1982 when Steve and Linda
Kuntz with the help of a few volunteers started working on their dream of
providing a home for wolves. But not just wolves, but wolves that had no
other place to go. These animals were former pets, unwanted zoo animals,
etc. In short, wolves that would have been killed if it had it not been for the
Kuntz's dream of Wolf Haven.
For many years the Kuntz struggled. Linda would work outside of Wolf Haven
trying to earn enough money to feed not only her family, but all the volunteer
staff, as well as sometimes the wolves themselves. The Kuntz's shared their
singlewide mobile home with up to six volunteers as well as raising their two
children. As time passed Wolf Haven grew and the Staff started receiving a
little pay for their work. A few small trailers were donated so that
the Kuntz's could now only have to share their home as an office. By this time
they had running water and electricity, but not until new wolf enclosures had
been constructed and Wolf Haven had become recognized as the voice for the wolf,
would the Kuntz's received any of the comforts most of us take for granted.
I can only scratch the service on what Steve and
Linda gave up for Wolf Haven. Wolf Haven hired me in 1989 as the
educational director. I held this title for less then a year as the board
of directors decided that they would be handling all of the educational
programs. If I had been smart I would have moved on then, but for me
things worked out ok for awhile. I was moved into the compound as a
caretaker. This worked out great and gave me the chance to go back to my first
love of studying wolf communication.
Now to understand the events
that are to unfold you must first understand the separation of the board and the
staff of Wolf Haven both paid and volunteer. With the exception of only a
few members of the board none ever spent anytime at the sanctuary and none of
them had any qualifications to make decisions to the behavior, or on the general
health of the animals. This is not to say that the board was bad yet there
were some that were, and this began the destruction of the Wolf Haven that most
of us had come to know and love.
I will not try to
remember dates, what I will reveal here is what happed over a seven- year
period. At the same time that the board decided to run all educational
programs without having any hands on knowledge of wolves. They decided
that Wolf Haven would be better off hiring a new Executive Director.
This person would co- run Wolf Haven along with Steve Kuntz although the person
they hired was a wonderful human being and great for Wolf Haven he was in the
wrong place. As time passed this mistake was realized and Steve was put back in
charge of Wolf Haven and the other person was put to better use doing research
and education. At that time we had our best educational and research program
going and our work for the wolf was at its best. As time passed I became
head of animal care. For a long time I was the only animal caretaker
caring for 42 wolves, two artic foxes, and two coyotes. In fact for over 2
½ years I worked without a day off. It was not until I worked myself into
a hospital bed that I was removed from my positions as head of animal caretaker
since this story is not about me I will not go into detail as to my treatment
after this point. But, I will say I was often referred to as the
N word, or the wiping boy. I was banned from seeing some of the animals,
and I was told by one member of the board that I needed to keep my Native
American friends away. But lets get back to the reason I'm putting this
story here in the first place, and that's the Kuntz's.
Just before I was removed as head of animal care
the board of directors decided that they could run Wolf Haven better without
Steve or Linda. They kept Steve on as a construction worker and kept Linda
on to run the gift shop. After awhile the board hired a new executive
director. The first director which was hired quit after only a
few days. It seemed as if he would not work for such an immoral
place. He could not understand why the board had made the comment
such as, how can we make money from the Alaska wolf kills" for Wolf
Haven, instead thinking of ways that they can help the wolves in Alaska?
But to be fair I was not there I only got this information from him after the
fact. The next director was just what the board was looking for. She
was the perfect puppet for the them.
The free roaming rabbits
were always a part of the wonder of Wolf Haven. It was wonderful for our
guests to watch the animals run free. We also had ducks, and plenty
of wild birds that could be seen daily. Once I counted 78 species of
birds. According to new executive director all the wild animals had to go. They
did not fit into the new sanitary environment of the New Wolf Haven. The
new head of animal care was very afraid that the rabbits with all their digging
were going to cause the wolves to escape.
For many years the Kuntz struggled. Linda would work outside of Wolf Haven trying to earn enough money to feed not only her family, but all the volunteer staff, as well as sometimes the wolves themselves. The Kuntz's shared their singlewide mobile home with up to six volunteers as well as raising their two children. As time passed Wolf Haven grew and the Staff started receiving a little pay for their work. A few small trailers were donated so that the Kuntz's could now only have to share their home as an office. By this time they had running water and electricity, but not until new wolf enclosures had been constructed and Wolf Haven had become recognized as the voice for the wolf, would the Kuntz's received any of the comforts most of us take for granted.
I can only scratch the service on what Steve and Linda gave up for Wolf Haven. Wolf Haven hired me in 1989 as the educational director. I held this title for less then a year as the board of directors decided that they would be handling all of the educational programs. If I had been smart I would have moved on then, but for me things worked out ok for awhile. I was moved into the compound as a caretaker. This worked out great and gave me the chance to go back to my first love of studying wolf communication.
Now to understand the events that are to unfold you must first understand the separation of the board and the staff of Wolf Haven both paid and volunteer. With the exception of only a few members of the board none ever spent anytime at the sanctuary and none of them had any qualifications to make decisions to the behavior, or on the general health of the animals. This is not to say that the board was bad yet there were some that were, and this began the destruction of the Wolf Haven that most of us had come to know and love.
I will not try to remember dates, what I will reveal here is what happed over a seven- year period. At the same time that the board decided to run all educational programs without having any hands on knowledge of wolves. They decided that Wolf Haven would be better off hiring a new Executive Director. This person would co- run Wolf Haven along with Steve Kuntz although the person they hired was a wonderful human being and great for Wolf Haven he was in the wrong place. As time passed this mistake was realized and Steve was put back in charge of Wolf Haven and the other person was put to better use doing research and education. At that time we had our best educational and research program going and our work for the wolf was at its best. As time passed I became head of animal care. For a long time I was the only animal caretaker caring for 42 wolves, two artic foxes, and two coyotes. In fact for over 2 ½ years I worked without a day off. It was not until I worked myself into a hospital bed that I was removed from my positions as head of animal caretaker since this story is not about me I will not go into detail as to my treatment after this point. But, I will say I was often referred to as the N word, or the wiping boy. I was banned from seeing some of the animals, and I was told by one member of the board that I needed to keep my Native American friends away. But lets get back to the reason I'm putting this story here in the first place, and that's the Kuntz's.
Just before I was removed as head of animal care the board of directors decided that they could run Wolf Haven better without Steve or Linda. They kept Steve on as a construction worker and kept Linda on to run the gift shop. After awhile the board hired a new executive director. The first director which was hired quit after only a few days. It seemed as if he would not work for such an immoral place. He could not understand why the board had made the comment such as, how can we make money from the Alaska wolf kills" for Wolf Haven, instead thinking of ways that they can help the wolves in Alaska? But to be fair I was not there I only got this information from him after the fact. The next director was just what the board was looking for. She was the perfect puppet for the them.
The free roaming rabbits were always a part of the wonder of Wolf Haven. It was wonderful for our guests to watch the animals run free. We also had ducks, and plenty of wild birds that could be seen daily. Once I counted 78 species of birds. According to new executive director all the wild animals had to go. They did not fit into the new sanitary environment of the New Wolf Haven. The new head of animal care was very afraid that the rabbits with all their digging were going to cause the wolves to escape. Most of us poked a little fun at that. It seemed to fit the skit of a Monty Python movie the Great Rabbit Conspiracy", of helping the wolves escape by digging them out. Well, I guess it was no laughing matter the order was given to Steve to live trap the rabbits even though ample warning was giving to the new director of Wolf Haven that the rabbits could die of stress if captured. Well, out of around 300+ rabbits one did die and because of that one dead rabbit the new director put Steve on a three-day suspicion without pay. The man who had started it all, the dream he had then, had turned into a nightmare. Steve did the only thing he could do. He quit.
Until recently Linda remained on staff running the gift shop and Steve worked as a night watchman in exchange for remaining in their home at Wolf Haven. Most recently the Kuntz's have been made to give up their home at the Wolf Haven. I cannot help but wonder what impact this must have on one's spirit and well being let alone what impact this cruel treatment has had on the Kuntz's two children.
Has removing the Kuntz's helped Wolf Haven grow? . No, membership has decreased there has been reports of missing funds, and among other wolf organizations Wolf Haven has become somewhat of a joke. At lest one employee has been accused of shooting ravines and crows on the property.
A few years ago I went back to Wolf Haven. I was in disbelief as to how bad it looked. It looked to me as though the wolf enclosures had not been cleaned in months. The animals seemed sick and depressed. Human interaction has been stopped. The last I was told by an inside source back around Charismas 1999 the Volunteers could not any longer call the wolves by names . Anyone who works with animals knows this kind of isolation is never in the best interest of the animal or the caregivers. I know from other caretakers that came after me that in most cases they were never permitted to go in with the wolves to work with them and take care of them.
I'm very sad to see what Wolf Haven has become it once was a wonderful place for man and beast alike to learn from one another. I've put many years of my own life into Wolf Haven and now look at it as a place of shame and a prison for wolves. I truly believe if something isn't done soon to restore Wolf Haven then Wolf Haven will no longer exists. I believe the only way we have a chance to save Wolf Haven is to restore Steve and Linda and elected a new board of directors.
I know a lot of the current board and I know them to be good people. But I believe they have fallen asleep. I do not believe they became part of the board to become a bad person but somewhere along the way they have forgotten their purpose.
Lastly, and certainly not least, you may ask is this just a letter from a disgruntled employee.
Yes and No. When I was pushed to the end and quit back in 1994 a very big part of me died, my career and passion of over 14 years of working with wolves had come to an end. Then one day some years later while at a shopping mall I found a photo of Rouge one of our wolves I had cared for. I felt as though Rough was there with me. Rough died in my arms, and no one at Wolf Haven or anywhere could ever take that away from me. I remembered setting up with Rouge until 3 AM in the pouring rain when he's mate passed away. I have a lifetime of memories. I knew I had been a part of something good and I was an extremely good wolf handler and caregiver.
I'm I trying to get my old job back? No! That was a long time ago I'm much older now and most of the wolves I always called my kids are dead now. My only desire is to see Wolf Haven survives but survives with The Kuntz's.
It is my belief that no man or woman has the right to destroy another's dream. Without Steve and Linda there could not have been a Wolf Haven and without Wolf Haven where would a lot of us be today.
Thank you Steve and Linda.
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