Living with wolves has provided Tracy with countless experiences that have changed her life in unimaginable ways. As a cofounder of Mission: Wolf, a wolf sanctuary in Colorado, Tracy has spent half her life studying wolf behavior and body language. Tracy has learned to leash train and walk wolves, often with painful consequences. Join Tracy as she develops a special bond with an intense British Columbian gray wolf named Shaman. Shaman becomes a great wolf teacher, and eventually the shy wolf grows to trust her. Tracy relies on her instinct and intuition as she moves to calm sensitive wolves like Shaman. She does well but believes in her heart that she can do better.
A horse named Ikus comes into Tracy’s life and dramatically changes her understanding of horse-to-person communication. Driven to find her own way to connect with horses, Ikus becomes a professor in nature’s university as Tracy embarks on a journey of learning to speak horse language. Something profound happens when Ikus, a horse with an attitude and a dislike of being haltered, gives Tracy an unexpected lesson in resolving feral behavior. Not only does Ikus teach Tracy how to stop his run-away glitch but Tracy discovers a missing link in her previous wolf-handling life that will forever change her approach to resolving feral behavioral problems in both species. This experience ultimately provides Tracy with a foundation for clear communication, and it awakens in her an effective and natural way to connect with animals.
Tracy’s world of wolves and horses is forever inspired as she moves to a new level of connection beyond anything she believed possible, and she strives to share what she has learned. Sally, a young woman from the UK, comes to volunteer at the sanctuary and learns to calm a very frightened eighteen-year-old horse who is going blind and in danger of injuring himself.
International Book Awards Finalist 2016.
Reader’s Favorite Book Awards Finalist 2016.
Winner Best Book Awards Animals/Pets General Category 2016.
Tracy has walked wolves into schools, universities, and museums like the Smithsonian Institute. She's brought them through challenging studio sets like those of The Today Show and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and she has presented wolves to countless audiences across the US for over twenty years. Tracy has been instrumental in building Mission: Wolf, a captive wolf sanctuary in Colorado. Her main focus is ensuring the wellbeing and contentment of the wolves. Tracy is one of those unique people who possess a deep understanding of instinctual connection to animals. After spending ten challenging years working hands-on with wolves, a horse came into her life. Tracy embarked on a study of horse training, desiring to discover for herself the magic behind horse whispering. What she learned was to listen to the horse and mirror its natural behavior. Tracy wondered if she could use what she learned from horses on wolves. After all, predators and prey all have the same foundation of behavior: flight, fight, or freeze. Tracy learned to mirror a horse named Ikus and resolved his run-away behavior in a simple, natural, non-evasive way. Ikus reminded her that these abilities to work with animals were within her all along. What followed was an intensive study of mimicry or mirroring wolves and horses. Many years of groundwork paid off when Tracy had an opportunity to mirror Illiamna, a feral wolf that she presented to over four hundred people at Colorado University in Boulder after only fourteen hours of moving with him. The icing on the mirroring cake was the opportunity to work with a troubled, wild-caught mustang. A Walk in Connection is based on Tracy's life of learning to connect with animals. Her personal stories are intended to inspire, empower, and contribute to the greater global understanding of communication with other species.
