Update on Daphne, our special needs coyote
by Elizabeth Gray
This upcoming Fall, we will celebrate the two-year anniversary of Daphne joining our Wild Paws family! We shared in prior updates that there have been instances of concern for her future, relief at her resilience, and many smiles as we watch her toss her plushy toys.
Daphne is much calmer since coming to Wild Paws. We continue to try different forms of enrichment to provide her with novelty and distraction from her spinning. One thing we do intermittently is play music over the Zoom cameras, or while doing animal care. She nearly always takes a pause and stops to listen. She responds positively to any type of soothing orchestral music or native American flute music. Whether this has any therapeutic value is hard to say. It does offer her a change of pace, and it helps her caretakers feel like they are contributing to her well-being.
This video had music playing via the cameras, so you can only hear the music very softly. But you can definitely see that Daphne is hearing it!
The video below was taken during animal care, while the music was played inside the habitat. Daphne seems curious, but most importantly, not fearful of the music.
Daphne has a daily pill regimen to manage her neurological symptoms. Her keepers are always trying different methods to administer her medications: wrapped in peanut butter or cheese, pill pockets, inserted into her daily prey. Despite our efforts to ensure she gets her medications daily, when the snow melted, we still found several pills that she spit out next to her dog house. She now gets special compounded medications that are meat flavored. So far so good, but we continue to keep an eye on her to ensure she actually swallows her pills!
Daphne has strained her leg twice since her initial scare in June 2024. We were fortunately able to follow the same protocol of pain medication and her instinctual knowledge to rest. In both instances, she stopped limping in 3-4 days and a trip to Homey Gnome Veterinary Clinic was not required.
Dr. Noemi Plantz DVM and animal care team member Shelby conduct Daphne’s exam
Though Daphne did not require additional veterinary visits for her leg, she did have to make the trip to the clinic when blood was observed in the snow of her habitat last March. We first thought that she was in heat. After watching for two weeks, it was decided to take her to Homey Gnome Veterinary Clinic for a formal exam. As a sign of her continued mental and neurological improvement, she was feistier this time when we crated her for transport via car. Extensive testing did not reveal a cause for the blood that we observed in her habitat. After an overnight stay, she was returned to Wild Paws and has been fine since.
Residents at Wild Paws will never be allowed to breed, and our policy is to spay/neuter all residents. When Daphne arrived at Wild Paws almost two years ago, we decided not to immediately spay her. Upon arrival, her neurological status was much worse than was communicated to us, and her future was uncertain. She also had just recovered from surgery on her broken leg, and was being introduced into a larger habitat at Wild Paws. We needed time to see how she acclimated to her new surroundings and how she responded to her medications. It was trial and error building a consistent routine to care for Daphne. How she now deals with her neurological limitations has improved greatly. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Daphne will be spayed this Fall. We need the weather to be just right for her spay incision to heal: not too hot and not too cold.
Daphne napping after a meal (screengrab from security camera)
Daphne is enjoying these nice sunny days. She is sometimes observed napping on her back in the sun after a large meal.
Daphne continues to tug at our heart strings with her determination and sweet nature. If you would like to contribute to Daphne’s specialized care, you can learn more about our Sponsor a Wild Paws Resident Program