Girl Meets Wolf

You read that headline right. Over spring break, my family and I had the most incredible experience. We drove to Columbus, Ohio, to do a photoshoot with wolves from Ironwood Wolves. My husband and daughter and been to a meet-and-greet with one of the wolves (Luther who is the dark wolf in these pictures) earlier in the year at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, and when I looked them up to read more about Ironwood Wolves, I saw that you could do photoshoots with the wolves. I booked immediately.

We were so lucky to have beautiful Cana, 10, the light colored wolf, and Luther, just over a year, the dark wolf who is still a puppy.

Our family has always loved wolves. My younger daughter, Ryan, is obsessed with them. We visited the PA Wolf Sanctuary and found it to be a wonderful experience. And while those wolves are still wild and living in packs on a huge sanctuary, the Ironwood Wolves are ambassadors bread to interact with humans so we can learn from them.

“Throughout human history; the wolf has been feared, hated and misunderstood. People have used them to instill fear and teach lessons by wrapping myths and fairy tales around them. Our mission is to dispel the myths and reveal the facts on these fascinating creatures. Wolves are not only are intelligent, affectionate and family-oriented but as an apex predator they are also essential to our ecosystem!” – from the Ironwood Wolves Mission Statement .

It’s always daunting to take pictures with animals of any kind – dogs, cats, birds – even if they are domesticated. So when faced with the idea of taking pictures with wolves, I was excited but nervous. The wolves could not have been sweeter. They were playful. Loving. Curious. Silly. They were on leashes the whole time and the girls were just out of their minds to be so close to them.

The funny thing was that for me, while I was excited about the pictures I was taking, my girls, my husband and my niece, were just enjoying their time with the wolves. My family’s experience was different than mine because I was “working” and they were getting licked and covered in fur from playing with the wolves. I was so happy that I stopped shooting when I had my fill and we still had time to relax and enjoy our time with Kana and Luther.

I encourage you to read more about these amazing animals and their role in teaching about nature and conservation. Thank you Rachael, Jackie and Matt for all you do for these amazing animals and for sharing them with us!

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