The wolf (Canis lupus) is a wild canine found throughout almost every part of the world.  In Canada it is the timber wolf; in North America the same species is also referred to as the gray wolf.  In Mexico and parts of the southern United States there is the nearly extinct and critically endangered red wolf.  I still remember from my college science days Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.  The wolves’ correlations are as follows:  Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canis, and C. lupus.  The gray wolf is the second most specialized member of the genus Canis after the Ethiopian wolf, and is closely related to smaller Canis species such as the coyote and the jackal.  I am continually amazed that wolves have been vilified though the centuries while dogs have been revered.  Of course the very name “Canis” takes its name from the Latin word for “dog”.  More than half a century ago, well before the advent of comparative genomics, it has been observed through various cited examples that wolves and coyotes have lived in close proximity — as well as friendship — with people whom they had grown to trust.  On the other hand there have been examples of domesticated dogs who have turned “wild” and vicious.  To my knowledge there has never been one recorded instance of a wolf attacking a human unless they were quite ill; i.e. rabid.  And I will say with certainty no wolf has ever eaten a man, woman, or child.  Take the famous Wolf of Gubbio:  it has been claimed that there was a wolf who lived around the year 1220 who terrorized the Umbrian city eating children (insert incredulous eye-rolling here) until it was tamed by Saint Francis of Assisi, acting on behalf of God.  The wolf was reported to have been lingering outside the city gates, and eventually the mere sight of him caused the entire town to become alarmed.  They refused to venture outside the walls for any reason.  St. Francis decided he was going to meet the wolf despite being strongly advised against it.  It has been witnessed and recorded that when St. Francis of Assisi confronted the wolf, he trotted up to him docilely and lay at the monk’s feet, putting its head in his hands.  It has also been recorded that the feared wolf submitted to St. Francis, placing one of his forepaws in Francis’ outstretched hand, and an oath was made.  St. Francis then commanded the wolf to return with him to Gubbio.  People were said to have been utterly astonished at the sight and soon the whole city knew.  It is said the townsfolk gathered in the marketplace and were shocked to see the “ferocious” wolf behaving as his pet.  With the crowd gathered, St. Francis is quoted as having said, “How much we ought to dread the jaws of Hell, if the jaws of so small an animal as a wolf can make a whole city tremble through fear?”  St. Francis then renewed his pact with the wolf publicly, assuring it that the people of Gubbio would feed it from their own doors.  It is said the wolf lived for another two years at Gubbio, going from home to home for sustenance and honoring the provisions of St. Francis not to attack the city’s livestock.  The Italian city was saddened by the wolf’s eventual death and, according to tradition, Gubbio gave the wolf an honorable burial.  Later the Church of Saint Francis of the Peace was built at the site.  As someone who has spent over half of their life with high blood wolf hybrids, I can attest to the truth of wolves’ domestication.  They also have this habit about lifting their paw to “shake” while ducking their head.  I can completely see this behavior happening with St. Francis, as has been recorded.  If one thinks on it, a wolf has no need to raid livestock while it is being fed daily.  Wolves are not vicious creatures.  On the contrary:  they are highly sensitive, highly inquisitive, highly intelligent, and highly loyal beings.  St. Francis was a Roman Catholic friar and is widely known as the patron saint of animals.  Although I am not Roman Catholic, I absolutely believe this story.  I took this picture of my boy Dakota who was laying on top of me in bed.  He was in the middle of yawning.  Does he seem vicious to you?  After I took it he tenderly licked my seven-year-old little girl on the nose and she giggled.  Do not believe everything you hear.  Question what is being reported as “fact.”  This is a take-a-way for all of us — the believers and the doubters alike.  Think for yourself; discover the truth for yourself.  As for me, I am dedicated to the protection, the preservation, and the proliferation of wolves.  I definitely have lupus love.