We were told that her name means “Little Wind” and that she ran like the wind when she was younger.  Saia was purchased as a pup by someone that was looking for a house pet and was told she was much lower content wolf.  As she grew, this person realized that the breeder had been lying to her about the parents.  Due to the fact she lived in a historical neighborhood, it wasn’t possible to put in a higher fence, so Saia was sent to live with a friend.  Saia was loved and raised with the kids, even having visits in the house, but she could not be trusted unsupervised as a house dog so she had an outside enclosure.  After several escapes from that enclosure, Saia was hit by a car and ran for three days with her hip dislocated.  By the time she was recaptured, Saia’s hip could not be reduced and she faced a major surgery to fix the problem. It was at that point that Saia came to one of our volunteers’ homes to live in a secure enclosure.  She was treated for heartworm, had the head of the femur removed (allowing the leg to return to a more normal position) and started gaining weight.  Saia was introduced to a fantastic male her age and lived for a few years very happily. 

Ahanu (her companion) was diagnosed with cancer at just 6 years old.  After losing him, she went to the sanctuary while her “new mom” went to visit family for Christmas.  Saia was introduced to Cree and it was decided that she deserved the additional attention and companionship  that the sanctuary volunteers could offer.    She was later paired with Coosa, a male closer to her age, and took on the responsibility of teaching Maraya and Namid their manners.