Artemis’ story began in California. When she was only a few weeks old, she and her siblings were taken to a rest area where they were given away. A trucker, thinking he was doing a good deed, took Artemis, planning to keep her as a traveling companion in his truck. He was not prepared, however, for the wild nature of a wolf dog. Soon Artemis began destroying the inside of his truck, and he realized she couldn’t stay with him.

When W.O.L.F. was contacted, in March of 1997, we couldn’t say no to the cute fluffy puppy, and Artemis came to her new home. Soon after she arrived, Artemis was introduced to a puppy her age, Merlin, and the two of them became best buddies. Although Merlin was nearly twice her size, Artemis had no trouble putting him in his place.

As Artemis got older it became apparent that something was wrong. Though she had gained excessive amounts of weight the vets could find nothing wrong with her. It wasn’t until November of 2002, when Artemis crashed with pancreatitis, that she was diagnosed with diabetes. It was a struggle for the first few months to get the diabetes under control, but Artemis had a fighting spirit and wasn’t going to give in to a little thing like diabetes. For eight years she happily remained with Merlin, on a strictly regimented diet of two meals and two snacks per day and had no problems getting her insulin shots twice a day.

After Merlin passed away, Artemis’ behavior began to change. She had lost her sight years before due to the diabetes, and her senses of smell and hearing were also deteriorating. It was clear that she deeply missed her lifelong companion, and the decision was made to assist her with passing. Artemis was truly amazing — surviving nearly nine years with diabetes, happy and playful, content to spend her days joining Merlin in his mischievous games.