During the 20 days of GTMD24 Early Giving, leading up to Give To the Max Day on November 21, we will be sharing stories about our Wild Paws residents and what we have been able to accomplish in celebration of our 10th Anniversary this year. Early Giving means you can donate now instead of waiting until Nov 21 (although it will all be tallied on that day.)
Update on Daphne, our special needs coyote
by Elizabeth Gray
As autumn comes to a close, it’s time for an update on Daphne, our special needs coyote. In June we shared that Daphne had sprained her leg. She instinctively knew to rest her leg, and she recovered nicely from her injury. This sprain gave us quite the scare. Thankfully, Daphne recovered quickly and she was back to patrolling her habitat and being her sweet self.
Daphne took full advantage of our nice summer. She spent time napping in the sun, playing with her squeaky toys, sniffing for treats, and enjoying her favorite foods. She put on some weight and is growing a thick winter coat. Daphne looks beautiful and healthy as we head into the cold weather.
We were concerned how the construction of the new Fab 4 Fox Habitat would affect her. Daphne took it all in stride! On the days heavy machinery was clearing trees and pounding support posts, Daphne was unfazed. She has come so far in the past year, and it seems her stress levels have lowered.
What does continue to bother her is conversation. When multiple voices drift into her space, Daphne commences with the spinning. On group volunteer days, she gets an extra dose of her medication to prepare her for the change in normal routine with more people onsite. While this doesn’t completely stop the spinning, it does calm her and she quickly gets back to normal at the end of the day. We must be able to communicate when we are working outside, and we are grateful to see improvement when she gets an extra dose of her medicine.
During these last nice days of fall, Daphne got some special surprises from her keepers. She gets a variety in her daily enrichment, including new toys, peanut butter kongs, different scents and treats, to name a few. Our Animal Care Team works hard to ensure that Daphne’s limitations don’t prevent her from a contented life.
We hope that you enjoy this video of Daphne and special her Halloween enrichment.
One nut we have not been able to crack is Daphne’s stress level when it is windy. When the weather is blustery, Daphne gets disoriented and more anxious. One of our generous donors purchased a special winter dog house for her. This dog house is large with a spacious entry/exit. We hope that this allows Daphne to comfortably enter and get herself positioned inside without bumping her head. There is also an extra layer of insulation to help keep her warm and cozy. Working with Daphne involves some trial and error, and we all have our fingers crossed that she will find comfort in her new shelter this winter.