COLUMBIANA COUNTY Wolf sanctuary seeks fencing so public will be able to visit

The organization also is seeking volunteers.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Months after a wolf sanctuary saved itself from a sheriff's sale, the organization is trying to make the preserve more accessible to the public.
The Richard E. Flauto Wolf Sanctuary is seeking donations of fencing that would be used near enclosures housing nearly 25 wolves and wolf-dog hybrids, explained Tiffany Poulton of Boardman, the organization's executive director.
Although the animals already are surrounded by a fence, a second line of fencing is needed before the sanctuary can be opened to visitors, Poulton said.
The second fence is a precaution to prevent guests from getting too close to the wolves and hybrids' enclosure, she explained.
"We want to be able to open to the public," Poulton said of the request for old chain-link fencing of any size.
She noted that businesses and schools sometimes replace fencing. The old fencing would be ideal for the sanctuary, she said.
The wolves and hybrids are fenced in on about 16 acres of the nearly 80-acre sanctuary, located west of Lisbon.
Other improvements
Aside from seeking fence donations, the group also has been busy adding to the animals' enclosure. Nearly two more acres have been encircled by fencing to give the animals more room, Poulton said.
Volunteers also have been building more shelters for the animals.
Progress on the sanctuary is being made now. But last year at this time organizers were struggling for the preserve's survival.
The land on which it sits was on the auction block at a sheriff's sale because thousands of dollars were owed on the original mortgage.
Flauto, of Boardman, who founded the sanctuary in 1997, died in 1999 of a heart ailment before he could pay off the debt.
Donations, fund-raisers
After months of frantic fund-raising, the sanctuary succeeded in October in securing a $143,000 bank loan to purchase the property and keep the sanctuary operating.
The group is relying on donations and fund-raisers to pay on the loan and to keep the sanctuary afloat.
The organization needs more than money and materials, Poulton said. It needs volunteers.
People are wanted to handle construction, administrative and groundwork projects, as well as to assist in fund-raising.
Volunteers won't be working directly with the wolves or hybrids, Poulton emphasized.
"They're wild animals," she noted and must be handled by people with experience.
The creatures have been sent to the sanctuary over the years by people who purchase them as pets and then decide they don't want them.
Sanctuary's mission
A major part of the sanctuary's mission is convincing people these animals' wild nature makes them unsuitable as pets.
To volunteer, make a donation or invite sanctuary representatives to speak to your group, call (330) 757-8457. The sanctuary also has a Web site at www.wolfcountry.net.