Young wolfdog's howl goes hilariously wrong
Young wolfdog's howl goes hilariously wrong
Transcript
00:00 When he first got here, his mouth was like, "mmmm."
00:02 It was just kind of like, "ohhh."
00:03 (whimpering)
00:05 We have Steven Paula from Apex Protection Project,
00:08 and this is Rama's story for GOP.
00:10 Can you be gentle, please?
00:11 We got an email from someone who knows us really well,
00:13 and said, "Can you help this lady?
00:15 "She was 75 years old.
00:16 "Let her demolish this."
00:18 (whimpering)
00:20 She bought Rama at six months old.
00:22 He's loving and friendly and just a bundle of energy,
00:25 but he's also massive,
00:27 and he was very difficult to contain.
00:29 He kept getting out and running around the neighborhood.
00:32 Causing havoc, not in a bad way,
00:33 just this ruckus.
00:35 And the neighbors, because he was quote unquote able,
00:38 they were very nervous about him,
00:39 even though he's the biggest love on the planet.
00:41 And they threatened to have him taken by animal control.
00:44 Went up there to see him,
00:46 and he just melted our hearts.
00:49 Steve and I looked at him, looked at each other,
00:51 and we knew that he was meant to come to Apex.
00:54 So in three days, we raised the money,
00:57 and we built an enclosure,
00:58 and were able to get him out of there
01:00 before he got into too much trouble.
01:01 Okay, so we just picked up Rama.
01:04 When we brought him back here,
01:08 he settled in very quickly and easily.
01:11 (whimpering)
01:13 Came here, and he was surrounded by other little dogs.
01:16 He's very high energy.
01:17 Tries to test everybody.
01:20 He also likes to grab ponytails from people too.
01:24 You have a ponytail, and it's flipping around.
01:27 He sees it, and he just jumps and wants to grab it.
01:29 He will just test you, and test you, and test you,
01:32 until you are exhausted, which is natural for wolves.
01:35 - Some moves going on here.
01:36 - 'Cause it keeps the pack strong,
01:38 and able to take care of themselves in the wild.
01:40 Even when they're snuggling,
01:41 they use their teeth because they don't have hands.
01:43 So they can be mouthy.
01:44 And I have to ground myself in this mama energy,
01:48 and he respects that, and he'll calm down with me.
01:50 But he tests all of the volunteers,
01:52 especially if he sees them as more of an equal,
01:54 rather than like a caretaker.
01:56 He is 75% wolf, and 25% Samoyed,
02:00 which we'd never heard of before.
02:02 Rama is just a giant puppy, and he's very eager to learn.
02:06 - Rama!
02:07 - He didn't even look at you when you called his name out.
02:11 - Rama, go!
02:13 - And then after a couple of months,
02:14 he started getting a little bit of focus.
02:16 - Oh yes, good come, yes!
02:20 - I've started hiking him recently with a 30-foot leash,
02:23 and he's been really great.
02:24 He gets to go on adventures,
02:25 and then he goes where he wants to go,
02:27 and gets to sniff around.
02:28 - And now they've been holding his leash right now.
02:30 - And the other day, I let go of his leash.
02:32 - You're amazing.
02:33 - Once they're bonded to us,
02:34 and to the other members of the pack,
02:36 we can trust that we can give them that freedom,
02:38 and they'll stick with us.
02:39 He's not quite two yet, and in their first year,
02:41 they don't really develop a winter coat.
02:43 - Once his winter coat comes in,
02:44 he's really gonna look like the creature from Yellowstone.
02:47 (Rama howling)
02:51 - They help for different reasons.
02:52 In the morning, they'll wake up and stretch,
02:54 and they'll check in with each other,
02:55 and welcome the day with this beautiful, melodic howl.
02:59 When different volunteers show up on the property,
03:01 they recognize the sound of their different vehicles,
03:04 and everyone gets their own unique howl,
03:06 as a hello when they show up.
03:07 At night, when we're going to prayer,
03:10 we get a goodnight howl.
03:11 - He's a character, and he's really funny.
03:16 He has these innocent eyes
03:17 that have got a little bit of devil in them.
03:19 - He's my baby, and it might sound crazy,
03:23 but they are, you know?
03:24 And we're so similar, and I do see these guys as my kids.
03:27 - Oh my God.
03:29 - I always tell him that he's safe, and that I love him,
03:32 and now he's found a path.
03:33 (Rama laughing)
03:36 (upbeat music)
03:39 [MUSIC]