February 1, 2007

Animal magnetism

Squanto, the wolf of New Almaden

When New Almaden resident Ed Della Monica was a young boy growing up in New Jersey, he always wanted a wolf that he would call Squanto. His dream came true six and a half years ago.

Squanto is a husky shepherd wolf mix but his likeness has everyone calling him “the wolf of New Almaden.” Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

“I call him my wolf, but he’s also a husky-shepherd-wolf mix,” said Della Monica stroking the white canine that does in fact look like a wolf. “When I was picking a puppy out of the litter, I was looking for one that wasn’t aggressive or a sissy. Squanto came over and laid his head on my lap. You could say he picked me.”

And from that day on the man and the dog that was part wolf were inseparable. Della Monica took Squanto to dog training school where he learned that he must be the “alpha dog” or leader of the pack for his dogs. Della Monica was the only one to feed Squanto and give him water. The canine learned to sit, stay and come and was in the top three in his class.

“I brought Squanto to the office every day for 40 days straight so we would have a strong bond,” said Della Monica. “Now most people around here know him as the “wolf of New Almaden.”

All the early attention Della Monica paid to Squanto has rewarded him with a strong bond to the canine. Once when Della Monica was called to help a friend in need three miles away, the wolf of New Almaden jumped the fence and found his “alpha dog” within a few minutes. The wolf of New Almaden has inherited the species’ keen ability to track and follow a scent.

And there’s another good reason why the handsome Squanto is deserving of the title. When the school kids tour the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum and walk the historic district where Della Monica lives, Squanto does his part by howling behind the enclosed yard to create a lasting memory for the group. And the rest of the tight-knit community of New Almaden hears the howls as well and are known to simply comment, “It’s just the wolf of New Almaden.”

If Della Monica is present he is often asked what the name Squanto signifies.

“Squanto was one of the first Native American Indians that helped the pilgrims in the New World,” said Della Monica. “He was there for the first dinner and was the original Indian slave on record.”

Squanto’s wolf genetics share a common ancestry with the domestic canine. Many refer to the noble animal as the “first dog.” The wolf was once abundant over much of North America, Eurasia and the Middle East. Due to widespread habitat destruction and excessive hunting, wolves inhabit a very limited portion of their former range. Though the species is not high on the extinction list worldwide, some regions in the continental United States list the wolf as endangered or threatened.

But everything is good for Squanto, the wolf of New Almaden. His needs are taken care of and he has a chow dog companion named Smokey. Other canine friends in the neighborhood visit and play with the two pals. And of course, he has the love of the top “alpha dog” Della Monica who fulfilled his wish of owning a wolf named Squanto.

—By Jeanne Carbone Lewis