I once heard someone said that you can tell what kind of person one is by the qualities in one's favorite animal.  Actually, I think it was my psychology teacher that said that.  While I was in that class, the animal that I had chosen to be my favorite was a rabbit.  I forgot whether the quality in that animal was what people thought of you, or what you thought of yourself.

          As the description goes, a rabbit is a gentle, timid creature who is quite aware of its environment since it doesn't want to be eaten by predators.  I guess that was true at the time for what people thought of me as well as what I thought of myself.  Some people in my class chose huge predators.  They were quite content with that.  I thought about the rabbit again, and thought, why always run?  Why not a predator too?

          I don't know when I changed, but my favorite animal right now would have to be a wolf.  I find the same charming qualities in the wolf as I do in the rabbit, however, with abilities to defend itself.  Despite its bad reputations sometimes, wolves are timid creatures, too.  They prefer to be amongst themselves if amongst anything at all.  They will not provoke if not provoked first, unless they are really hungry.  They hunt in packs to maximize victory, and they are very loyal.  Best of all, they look very cool.  They are extremely cute, but they can be vicious when the time comes.  I guess you can say a wolf is like a killer bunny.

          So, my dream would be someday to own myself a wolf, but that is a bit selfish.  Wolves don't like to be owned.  So, I found a compromise actually.  Some countries (or states, provinces, whatever) allow people to own wolves, but the rules are hard to satisfy.  One must have huge land spaces.  I forgot the exact area, but they need to run free.  They need to have a wolf friend, so double that area.  They are quite demanding, in that if you want them, prepare to spend a lot of time with them, making sure to bond with them and make sure you are the alpha male or alpha female in the pack, because now you belong to the pack.

          My current situation, being a grad student and all, does not allow me to get a wolf, so there are actually two compromises.  One, is to find a wolf farm, which is a place where kind people buy up huge land space to raise wolves and keep them from extinction, and volunteer there, as an intern or something.  That way I get to play with all the wolves and I get my exercise, too.  I found a good wolf farm somewhere in the middle of the United States (darn, why don't I keep my links?).  The other route is to get the grandchild of a wolf-dog hybrid.  Meaning, I would actually have a dog, but with the look of a wolf.  Third generation!.  That way you can have the loving personality of a dog, with the cool look of the wolf.

          So, you can see I actually did a lot of research on wolves to come to this conclusion.  But alas, I will be wolf-less for a long time since there are no wolf farms in Montréal and I don't have my own place to keep a third generation wolf.  I will not be a irresponsible wolf owner or hybrid owner and be selfish.  Wolves need to have their freedom.  As for now, I will admire them for afar and keep them in my heart.

          Now, you can find out why wolves are so cool by following these links and checking out all the cute wolf pictures.

Links coming soon...