A new pet and another trip to Montana

Finally I say to myself. I am going back to Montana and I am beyond excited. This time though Shannon is not coming and I am spending the month at the cabin alone. While I am excited I am also nervous because there are many dangers and because the cabin is miles away from the hospital I am going to depend on my now three horses(the third is a roan colt with a star on his head) Yet the air port is worrying me.

My mom drives me and the horses to the air port guess who’s there? Shannon AND the cranky check in lady. I tell my mother good bye and she tells me to be safe on my flight. I was rushing to avoid Shannon’s view but she saw me and said,

“Alana, you didn’t invite me this time”?
“No Shannon me and the horses are going alone”
“Well guess what Alana, I am going to Montana to”.
“What”!?
“Yes me and both my horses are going”.
“What, now you also have two”
“Yeah and my new foal is way awsomer than that thing”
“Well I am not inviting you to MY cabin”
“Y-y-you bought it”
“Yes”
“Goodbye then”

Just when I think this can’t get any worse the cranky check-in woman saw me and screamed

“Leave now”!
“I need to catch my plant now please check my bags”!
“Make me”

I press the manager button on her tie and the head check-in person comes running.

“Yes”
“This lady refuses to check my bags and she told me to leave”
“Let me check your bag and you can continue on”
“Ok here”
“Thank you”

So then I continue to the special boarding gate and load Duchess, Jimmy, and Roany into their boxes and then I fall asleep in Duchess’s stall. Then I feel the light bump of landing and I start to untie the horses and wait for the ramp to come down. I hear the thud of it hitting the ground and I am driven by my aunt to my cabin this time I am staying there for the whole summer and I will be all alone.

As we pull up Roany starts to get jumpy and I know that he was getting very impatient. One by one I lead them out into the new barn and I unload my luggage and supplies. Then I go into the house and sleep for a bit.

It was about 5 hours later when I woke up. I went out to the horses and gave them all a quick grooming and exercised all of them. I take a trail ride on Duchess along the paths. Then Jimmy, I lunged him and worked on his rack(a speed where a horse lifts it’s feet very high and goes very fast). And finally Roany. I lunged him on his lead line and continued his breaking(a period of time where you teach a horse to carry a rider and use tack).

After this all the horses were exhausted and went to bed down. And I did the same. As it grew dark I sat out on the porch and listened for wolves, oddly I did not hear any. Puzzled I walked into the woods and found a clearing where two adult male wolves were attacking a wolf pup. Quickly I threw a rock at them and chased them away as soon as I knew it was safe I rushed to the wolf’s side and carried it back to the cabin to help stop the bleeding. Yes I knew it was illegal but if I didn’t help it, it would die. So I cleaned its wounds and bandaged it’s side. All I could do now was hope that she made it through the night. I woke up to a barking sound and saw that the wolf was wagging it’s adorable bush of a tail back and forth. I said,

“Do you want some food”?
He barked.
“Ok let’s go get you some food”

I went to the fridge and took out a trout and a rabbit that Roany killed by hitting it with his head. The whole time he was sitting right at my side watching as I cut up the food. I put the pieces in a bowl and set it on the ground and then got her some water. Withing minutes both the food and water were gone. I decided to phone the MWS(Montana Wildlife Society) to ask for a permit to keep him. I told them,

“Hello I found an orphaned, injured, hungry, and dehydrated wolf pup and was wondering if I could keep him”
“How old is he”
“I would say about a month and a half old”
“Well because he can’t fend for himself I guess you can keep him”
“Oh thank you so much”
“You’re welcome”

I wanted to name my new pet but what. She was tall for a pup, had amber eyes, and a solid black coat with a white stripe on it. I decided to name her Delta and keep her as a companion.

Later that day I brought her out to the barn and showed her the horses. Roany and Delta got along great. Duchess and Jimmy though were uneasy about her. I placed Delta on the ground to rest with Roany, and rode Duchess around for a while. As I approach the door to the barn Jimmy comes racing out, I have no idea why but he did. Knowing wolves have a keen sense of smell I call Delta to help me find him in the woods. After hours of searching Jimmy was in my sight but just as I was about to catch his halter he sped up. Now I was getting mad and I yelled,

“C’mon Jimmy, whoa”
After a while Duchess tires and I am forced to lead Delta and Duchess back to the barn. I tell both of them they did a good job and that we will look for Jimmy some more tomorrow.

That night I feel a tug on my wrist and wake up. It is Delta and her eyes show she has found something. I look at my clock and see it is 1:06am. Even at this hour I quickly pull on a fresh shirt, jods(thick riding pants)and long boots. Plus my coat and Delta’s collar light. Soon we are outside and Delta starts to sprint, I chase after her and I see that she led me right to Jimmy. He was exhausted and dehydrated. To add to that he was panting, a clear sign that he was overheating.

“Jimmy”
I see him weakly lift his head to look and then he laid back down.
“No I’m only 4 days into my vacation and now I have a dying pet”.
I tell Delta to go get Duchess and have her come quick. A few minutes later both arrive and we somehow manage to get Jimmy to his feet. Then we walk back to the barn where I call the E-Vet. Delta is sitting right next to Jimmy and I and soon we hear sirens. I see a man come out of the red horse ambulance and he asks me,

“What happened”
“My horse bolted and escaped, then my pet wolf found him but only after he was exhausted, dehydrated, and overheated”
“Thank you do you know anything else”?
“No”
“All right we’ll get Jimmy right to the nearest equine hospital to be treated.”
“Are you going to help him at all in the ambulance”?
“Yes, we’ll put him on some IVs and lay rags soaked in ice over him”.
“Thank you so much sir”
“you’re welcome young lady”
“Bye”
“Bye”

As I see the sirens fade I look at Delta and give her a big hug for finding Jimmy. The I remember she still needs to be trained to be a kind act-like-a-dog wolf not a chase-and-attempt-to-kill-other-dogs-wolf. I soon fall back to sleep.


The next day I was woken up at Delta scratching off her bandages and licking at some of the medicine I put on the cuts on her head. At that moment I yell,

“Delta NO”

Her black ears pricked up and she let out a little yelp and trots away. I think honestly Delta. How could she do this. Ok well she is only a few months old and she is still being broken of her wolf ways. Any way she has already saved Jimmy and befriended Roany. If only Duchess, my best friend as of a month ago, would accept her. I keep thinking to just give her time. I believe she is nervous around him because of the accident two summers ago.

At the end of the summer I phone my parents and say,

“Hi mom I have to tell you something”.
“What would that be dear”
“Well, um I kind of rescued a wolf pup and now she is now very attached to me and I really want to keep her”
“You adopted a wolf””No Alana, No”
“Why not”?
“Because she is a wolf”
“Yeah but I trained her and she saved Jimmy’s life”
“What happened to Jimmy”?
“He ran away and then got lost but Delta found him”
“You named the wolf””Errrr, Alana your nuts””Talk to your father”
“Dad”
“yes”
“I rescued a wolf pup can I keep her”?
“You found and trained a wolf”
“Yeah”
“Cool”
“Does that mean I can keep her”
“Yes”
“Oh thank you dad”
“You’re welcome”
“Bye”
“Bye”


Through the whole conversation Delta was waiting and wagging her tail. I tell her that she can be my pet and somehow her bushy tail wagged even faster. Duchess is now fine with Delta and Jimmy had a quick recovery. Right now I am breaking Roany and I am proud to announce Shannon apologized and said that Roany was amazing and very sweet. For now though I am heading back to Maine to go back to my life as a sweet girl with amazing pets that everyone likes. Well almost everyone.

Back to Montana

“Wahoo” I scream Shannon.
“Duchess and I are going back to Montana and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me again”?
“Wow, really”?!
“Yup, so are you coming with us or not”?
“sure, How is Duchess going to get there”?
“I am flying her up in a horse suite”.
“isn’t that like 12,000”
“yeah”
“And are we flying with her”?
“Yes”
“So we are riding in a plane, with you horse, in a big box”?
“That pretty much sums it up”
“sweet”

I was so happy that she could come. We immediately started to pack our things we needed and we once again we met at the airport. I am leading Duchess in, and my little brother is bringing my suitcase and wishing me a happy birthday. I walk over to Shannon and guess what, she was standing there with a chestnut(brownish red) quarter horse!

“Shannon you got a horse”?!
“Yes actually, yesterday”.
“Oh”

When I reach out to give it a treat he bit me and pined his ears flat against his neck. Soon Duchess bites him on the neck and flares her nostrils. I tell Shannon that this trip might have to be postpone if her idiot horse doesn’t calm down. Soon she calms him and we can proceed. Then guess what? We once again meet the rude cranky check in lady.

“Oh Great, you two idiots again”
“Hi” I say and Duchess whinnies at her
“Uhg, what is that filthy beast”?
“She is a horse, lady”.
"That thing is uggly and stupid, get it out of my sight"
“How could you say that”
“Because I can”
“Ok whatever”
“Give me the ugly red bag to check and go”


“What was that about” asked Shannon?
“I guess she never forgets”

We board the plane with our horses and relax. Shannon’s stallion(a male horse) is pacing back and forth, while my mare(a female horse) lays down beside me and I rest my head on her soft black coat. Before we know it we have landed in Montana and I slowly lead out Duchess from her box. Shannon on the other hand was dragged out by her horse now named Jet. We are planning to stay at the same cabin that we stayed at before and are extremely excited for this birthday.

“Wahoo we are going the cabin, we are going to the cabin”
“Shannon” I ask her
“Oh sorry I’m just so happy I can get to test Jet out now”.
“not to offend you Shannon but I think Duchess is a bit better behaved, relaxed, and powerful along with fitness and intelligence”.
“No Alana Jet is better than Duchess”
“What”! I yell
“Well he is”!
“Fine tomorrow we will have a race going through the whole property, all 120 acres of it and see who’s horse is better”

While Shannon stays up late to train Jet more, Duchess and I rest up for the day long race. And in the morning we get up fix some breakfast and get ready. I head out to the stable and tell Duchess that we won’t let Jet win. Soon Shannon stumbles in and I can tell that she stayed up really late last night. I put on the multi saddle(a saddle that can be used for long trail rides, races, and jumping courses). And then comes the bridle made of red leather. Finally I pack our food, blankets, and a horse and person first aid kit. Then I hear,

“Oh crap”!
“What is it now Shannon”?
“ I left my trail saddle at home now all I have is my bare-back pad(a thick padded blanket with a handle and rope stirrups)
“Oh sorry about that”
“Can I use one of Duchess’s saddles”?
“No, her girth size is 43 while Jet’s is 40”!
“So”?
“It won’t fit him”
“oh”

So she tacks up him in her bare-back pad and his halter because she forgot the bridel at home. As soon we mount and Jet snaps at Duchess. Then we start. Jet and Shannon go at an all out gallop not being cautious for the logs, mud, and other dangers. Foolish mistake. Duchess and I are galloping too but at a more controlled pace, her superior agility and sure footing are very useful in this race. We are behind Shannon but then as we start to close on them Jet slips on some loose gravel and falls to his knees. Shannon is fine and mounts Jet again but by then Duchess and I are long gone. Just when things couldn’t get any worse I notice a storm forming. Quickly I turn Duchess in the opposite direction and race back to where we last saw Shannon. We find her just in the nick of time. Jet is hurt, Shannon is trying to help him, and now it starts to hail. We finally get Jet to his feet and find shelter by building a fort just big enough to fit us in. In there were safe from the wolves as I bandaged Jet’s wounds. Luckily it cleared up withing about an hour and we cantered back through the woods.

“Thank you Alana”
“You’re welcome”
“I’m sorry I never should have doubted Duchess”
“Thank you”
“So tomorrow we celebrate your birthday”
“Yes we do Shannon”
“You know my Birthday is July 23”
“Really well we are here for until the end of the month”
“Cool”


“Alana, wake up, it is your birthday”
“What, Oh yeah”
“Do you want to eat the cake now or eat breakfast now”
“uhhhhhhh”

I call Duchess and ask her to whinny when she liked the idea.
“ok girl cake”
nothing
“no ok”
“presents”
She stomped twice a signal that it was a yes.
“Ok Shannon, lets open my presents”

We sprinted out to the barn to see what my gifts were and to our shock there was only one HUGE present. Shannon, Duchess, Jet, and I all looked at it for a while and then I pulled back the paper and ripped off the card board and was stunned to see what it was. Another horse. This time it was an elegant stallion with a light grey coat(light grey is actually white but is the official name of the color).

I want to ride it but the end of July is tomorrow. Maybe later but for now I have to go back to Maine and enjoy life there.