A Wolf, a Puppy, and a Moment I’ll Never Forget in the Mountains of New Mexico
Some experiences stick with you forever, not because they were planned, but because they remind you how unpredictable and wild life can be.
Recently, my wife and I were deep in the mountains of northern New Mexico, camped beside a quiet lake miles from the nearest town. No distractions. No noise. Just us and nature.
We use Starlink at home and on the road. As business-owners, we work a lot. But, we try not to let that slow us down. With my business being mostly virtual, we have the luxury of getting out of town in the summer when Phoenix is 115 degrees.
The morning after we arrived, we found a tiny puppy, maybe two weeks old, whimpering under our camper. Someone had abandoned him during the night. It had rained and gotten cold, and he was shivering and barely hanging on. We cleaned him up, made a little bed out of a box and a towel, and did our best to feed him and keep him warm.
The next day, we were sitting under a canopy facing the lake, laptops open, puppy asleep between us. I was on the phone when I saw movement reflected in my sunglasses. I turned around and locked eyes with a massive wolf standing under the canopy just a few feet away.
It was one of those moments where time stops. The wolf was beautiful tall, calm, and silent. We were eye-to-eye. He wasn’t growling or showing aggression, but it was clear what he was after. That puppy was about to become a snack.
I jumped up and yelled. The wolf stepped back but didn’t run. My wife jumped up too. The puppy could barely walk and was stuck in the box. He was the furthest thing from my mind in the moment.
I was confused at this point because I know there are Mexican Gray Wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, but the population is small, they are very rare to see, the lake was low and there was nothing but grass around so I was surprised he would come so close in the middle of the day, this thing was taller than I would have expected, and was all white in the face and lower half.
About fifty yards away, a man was pulling his boat out of the lake. I called out, asking if it was his dog. “No,” he said, walking over. He turned out to be a local rancher with 600 acres nearby. He told me he often sees that same wolf on his trail cameras, but had never seen it in person.
For a few surreal moments, we just stood there watching the wolf and the wolf watched us. Then, slowly and silently, he backed away and disappeared.
We were all lucky that day. The puppy was lucky to survive the night, and luckier still that a glint in my sunglasses warned me in time. The wolf was lucky I didn’t have my firearm on me. And my wife and I were lucky the encounter stayed peaceful.
It was a breathtaking reminder that nature doesn’t play by our rules. It’s raw, brutal, and beautiful at the same time. It was humbling to be reminded of that up close. I still can’t believe he got so close to me without us hearing him.
And that’s the truth about life, too: you never really know what’s coming, and sometimes it sneaks up on you. You can’t predict every storm, every twist, or every unexpected encounter, but you can prepare. That’s why we plan. Not because we know exactly what’s ahead, but because having a plan gives us the strength and flexibility to face the unknown when it arrives. It’s better to be ready. With planning and aging, being unprepared can leave you unable to recover.
I’m grateful for the story. It was so cool, but I never want to be that close to a wild wolf again. And I’m glad our kids weren’t there for that one.
