Our wolf hybrids love to play.  They especially love their squeaky toys.  The sad part for me is in seeing them destroyed … cute little bunnies, foxes, and raccoons.  Typically the toys have two squeakers each … one in the head and one in the tail.  Cheyenne and Dakota love to play tug-of-war with them and then they take turns chasing each other snatching the toys back and forth.  Recently my little one discovered the squeakers are no longer plain white disks; now they are making them into red hearts.  I find this cool and a little sad at the same time.  Their toys typically don’t last long but it is better than the alternative of them eating all our furniture.  A friend of mine actually patented some dog toys years ago and made a killing.  I have stated before wolf hybrids should not be pets.  They are high strung and require lots of attention.  But I have devoted over half of my life to them and I understand them.  Australian filmmaker Tim Cope said:

“Perhaps most important for nomads was the belief in the symbiosis that existed between wolf and humans on the steppe.  Wolves were an integral part of keeping the balance of nature, ensuring that plagues of rabbits and rodents didn’t break out, which in turn protected the all-important pasture for the nomads’ herds.”

Wolves have been vilified for centuries and thankfully man is finally starting to understand again their gentle nature and the critical role they play in our environment as both apex predators and a keystone species.  There is still so much to be learned from them.  They must be protected and preserved … and allowed to play.