WOLVES & WOLFDOGS
MEET OUR SANCTUARY RESIDENTS
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WILDLIFE REHABILITATION
RESCUE REHABILITATE RELEASE
COYOTES & CATS
MEET THE WILDCATS
501(c)3 NONPROFIT
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ALL VOLUNTEER STAFF
USDA & Kentucky Licensed
SAVING LIVES SINCE 1985
Rescue Rehabilitate Release Life Long Sanctuary
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT PROVIDES
FOOD AND NUTRITION
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VETERINARY CARE
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SAFE HABITATS
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DAILY CARE
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ENRICHMENT AND COMFORT
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A SAFE PLACE TO HEAL
SPECIES APPROPRIATE DIETS, SUPPLEMENT AND FRESH MEAT​
EXAMS, MEDICATIONS,VACCINATIONS, TESTING AND SPAYING AND NEUTERING, DENTALS
SECURE FENCING, SHELTERS, DENS, BEDDING AND UPGRADES
DAILY CARE. CLEAN WATER, SANITATION AND ATTENTIVE DAILY CARE
TOYS, PLATFORMS ,POOLS, CLIMBING STRUCTURES AND TREATS
QUITE, SAFE HABITATS. LOTS OF SPACE, A COMPANION TO GIVE THEM SECURITY AND JOY
SHIRTS THAT DO GOOD
SHOP NOW!!
EVERY PURCHASE SUPPORTS THE ANIMALS AT WOLF RUN. EACH SHIRT IS DESIGNED IN HOUSE WITH UNIQUE, FUN DESIGNS.
Saving Lives For Over 40 Years
For more than four decades, Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge has been a place of rescue, healing, and hope. Since 1985, we have dedicated ourselves to helping wildlife in need, from orphaned and injured animals that can return to the wild to those who require lifelong sanctuary.
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Every animal who comes through our gates has a story. Some need medical care and a second chance. Others need a safe place to call home for the rest of their lives. Each one is treated with compassion, dignity, and respect.
For over forty years, our mission has remained the same: Rescue. Rehabilitate. Release. And when release isn’t possible, provide a lifetime of safety and care.
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Wolf Run is an all-volunteer nonprofit, and every life we save is made possible by people who believe, as we do, that every wild life matters.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?
A lady called Wolf Run in distress over an adult skunk that had been shot with a BB gun by neighborhood children. The skunk struggled to pull herself to safety as the children continued shooting her with pellets. Finally, unable to continue, she laid lifeless. Terrified and exhausted, this girl could no long move her back legs.
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The woman quickly got her into a box and we made arrangements to meet. Upon her arrival at Wolf Run she was kept in a quite dark atmosphere and filled full of vitamin's and supplements. As we gained her trust, physical therapy began. It was a long process and we knew if she could not regain use of her back legs and was not releasable, she would have to be euthanized. It is illegal in Kentucky to keep a rabies vector which skunks definitely are.
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Our biggest fear was having to put her to sleep. We had all grown so close to her. Not once did she attempt to bite or spray. It was like she knew we were there for her. It broke our hearts to think of her being destroyed... So what happened to her?
Kroger's Community Rewards Program
To link your Kroger Community Rewards card to an organization, you need to follow these steps:
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Create a digital account on the Kroger website if you don’t have one already. If you already have an account, sign in to it.
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Link your Kroger Plus card to your digital account.
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Select Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge as your organization on your digital account. You can search for the organization by name or NPO number.
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Save your selection.
Once you’ve linked your card to Wolf Run all you have to do is shop at Kroger and swipe your Shopper’s Card. Any transactions using the Shopper’s Card number associated with your digital account will be applied to Wolf Run's Community Rewards program, at no added cost to you!
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Did you know that by registering your Kroger card you can help Wolf Run? It's true! It's simple and fast. Just click the link below. Have your Kroger card handy. You'll need the numbers off of it. When opted, either search or choose Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge. For every purchase you make in Krogers, Wolf Run will receive a donation from your total. It costs you nothing and regardless of where you live, as long as you are shopping in Krogers, a percentage of your purchase is donated to the animals! You can register your card now.
His last day on earth.
Wildlife Rehabilitation
He Deserved So Much Better
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Could this have been the same little fawn who was brought to a licensed Kentucky wildlife rehabilitator after Lexington Humane Society rescued him with a wire injury to his foot?
Because when we found him, his leg was black.
It was dying. It was rotting.
When we asked about his condition, we were told:
“My vet said he could not amputate because the other three legs would bow out, bend, and he would be unable to walk. You can either euthanize him or take him home and let it rot off.”
And so his leg was allowed to rot.
We knew there was no time left to wait. We brought him home.
By then, this little baby had a high fever and was nothing but skin and bones. His foot and part of his leg were black with dead tissue. His tiny body was already fighting an infection that had been given far too much time to take hold.
He was rushed into surgery. The damaged limb was amputated in the hope that removing the source of the infection might give him a chance.
A chance to heal.
A chance to grow.
A chance to someday know a life that didn't hurt.
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His caretaker at Wolf Run, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with more than forty years of experience, never left him. He was too weak to stand by himself, so every four hours, day and night, he was gently helped to his feet.
And for a while, there were little glimmers of hope.
He became slightly stronger. He tried to stand. He ate. He grazed.
We wanted so desperately to believe that love, medicine, surgery and sheer determination could undo what his little body had already endured.
But sometimes the damage is simply too great.
On his last day, he was outside with his caretaker. He had been helped to his feet and was standing in the grass, alert and grazing.
He was doing what a fawn should have been doing all along.
Standing in the sunshine.
Eating grass.
Being a baby deer.
Then, very gently, he fell onto his side.
He paddled his little legs a few times.
And he was gone.
There was no more fighting. No more infection. No more pain.
But the hearts of the people who fought so hard to save him shattered.
We will never know what his life might have been if that injured foot had received the care it needed sooner. We will never get to watch him grow up. We will never see him learn to navigate life on three legs or watch him discover that the world could also be gentle.
We only got a very short time with him.
But in that time, he was cared for. He was held up when he couldn't stand. He was fought for when he could no longer fight alone.
And most importantly, he was loved.
He deserved so much more than the ending he was given.
He deserved a chance from the beginning.
Wildlife Rehabilitation: The Challenges
Wildlife rehabilitation is demanding—physically, emotionally, and financially. Rehabilitators must obtain proper licensing, which often requires completing a costly, multi-day training course. Beyond that, they are responsible for providing appropriate facilities, including a separate building from their home equipped with heat, air conditioning, and running water.
All expenses fall on the rehabilitator. This includes caging, food, medical care, and daily supplies. The financial burden can be significant, as costs quickly add up across every animal taken in. For those who rehabilitate deer, there are additional state requirements. Any loss must be reported, and the animal must be transported to a diagnostic laboratory for necropsy to rule out Chronic Wasting Disease—an expense that can exceed $100 per case.
With so many challenges, it’s fair to ask: why do it at all?
The Rewards
Because it’s the right thing to do.
Because every innocent life matters.
Because, often, they have no one else.
At Wolf Run, our wildlife team is dedicated to animals requiring round-the-clock care. While many of our intakes are adults, we are especially privileged to care for a variety of native, orphaned babies—each one leaving a lasting impression on our hearts. Here are just a few who have meant so much to us.