Following Sausha Seus into her rustic home on a sunny summer morning, I was greeted by a chorus of friendly dogs, all wagging their tails to welcome a stranger. As the excitement settled and Sausha joined me on the couch, her colleagues, Norma Smiley and Pam Young, arrived. Together, they make up the team behind Wolves of Wasatch, a business that offers the public unforgettable wolf experiences. Their warmth and easy camaraderie immediately put me at ease. And before I ever crossed paths with a wolf, I already felt welcomed into its world.
Sausha has raised and trained 29 wolves in her lifetime, continuing a legacy that began with her parents, Doug and Lynne Seus. One of the most famous animals trained by her parents—on the property directly next to Sausha’s current home—was Bart the Bear, a 1,500-pound, 9.5-foot-tall Kodiak bear who starred in notable films including Legends of the Fall, The Bear, and The Edge. Sausha was “literally raised with bear cubs in the kitchen.”
Her first taste of wolf training started when she was fourteen years old. “My dad was on a movie set in the Uintas, and it was waist-deep snow. One of his assistants got sick […] so he didn’t have enough manpower to do the job. He handed me two wolves and said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t let go.’ And that was literally my training.” Sausha smiled as she continued, “He came back ten minutes later, and I was face down in the snow. But I didn’t let go! He said, ‘Good job!’ So that was my initiation.” By her 20s and 30s, she had helped her parents raise two packs of 12 wolves that were also involved in the film industry.
Norma and Pam may not have grown up with wolves, but their life journeys led them both to Sausha and the Wolves of Wasatch. Drawing on a background in leadership development, Norma spent years helping corporate teams discover their strengths and work more effectively together. Along the way, she discovered the value and power of guided experiences that gently push people beyond their comfort zones, creating new neural pathways that expand learning, resilience, and creative thinking.
For Pam, those new pathways became deeply personal. After overcoming a heroin addiction 14 years ago through Native American medicine, sweat lodges, prayer, and a renewed connection to the earth, she later found herself battling Lyme disease and slipping back into a place of exhaustion and despair. Nothing seemed to help until Sausha invited her to meet the wolves. Pam described the heaviness in her body that plagued her daily existence. But as she walked with the wolves, they would curl around her legs, walk away, and shake off. She was emotional and had chills as she explained how the wolves looked into her eyes, and it felt as though they had recognized her pain, took it, and literally shook it off of her. “Every time I made eye contact, every time I was able to touch this animal, healing traveled through my hands and into my heart,” she said. “It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life because it gave me hope.” Her Lyme disease didn’t disappear, but the encounter gave her something equally powerful: hope and a memory of healing she continues to draw strength from.
Like humans, wolves are deeply social animals that draw strength from the structure of a pack. For the two timber wolves in Sausha’s care, Apollo and Wizard, that pack includes Sausha, her dogs, and Norma and Pam. Their familiar presence helps the wolves feel secure during encounters, while their calm guidance also puts first-time visitors at ease, creating an environment where meaningful connections can unfold.
For some visitors, arriving at Sausha’s property can be an intimidating experience—and understandably so. Wolves are wild animals and predators, but as Sausha pointed out, they are the opposite of how we have portrayed them in our myths and legends like the big, bad wolf in The Three Little Pigs or Little Red Riding Hood. Wolves are naturally shy, sensitive creatures. Still, safety remains Sausha’s top priority. Decades of experience working with wolves have given her a rare ability to recognize the smallest changes in their behavior and understand each animal’s unique personality.
Sausha reads people as naturally as she reads wolves. From the moment she welcomed me, I felt her rare ability to put others at ease and form genuine connections. That gift is strengthened by her training as a chaplain, allowing her to connect with people from all spiritual backgrounds. Deeply rooted in her own spirituality, Sausha believes one of the greatest challenges of modern life is our disconnection from our divine nature, the land, and the natural world. Helping people rediscover those connections is at the heart of her work with Wolves of Wasatch.
Her passion and emotion were palpable when she shared, “I don’t want to be perceived like I’m this ‘wolf guru girl.’ I’m not, you know, I’m a human being that has been trained by my life experiences to combine these passions. I don’t consider myself a guru in any respect, but this world is so in need of it today, to come back to who we are, and our spirits, and our connection with the Divine Source–whatever your philosophy or your heart deems that to be. That’s the big thing. If we can find the Divine in each other, we have some ability to get past what’s happening in the world today.”
Touched by her words, I took a deep breath, laughed a little, and then it was time for me to meet the wolf. While Sausha retrieved Wizard, I sat next to a fire pit, where they host drum circles with the wolves, the foothills of Heber sweeping up behind me. Apollo, getting up in age, has hip issues and wasn’t doing well that day, so he stayed in the compound, accompanied by one of Sausha’s dogs so he wouldn’t get lonely. I watched as Sausha and Wizard emerged from the barn, noticing Wizard’s excitement to see some of his pack. Keeping in mind the instructions Sausha gave me, I let go of thinking about my article or to-do list, and let myself be fully present in the moment. As she and Wizard entered our little space of the yard, Wizard came around to everyone in my group to say hello, licking our hands enthusiastically. The first thing that struck me about him was his size and strength.
Wizard’s next order of business was to roll around in a pile of some unfortunate bird’s feathers under a large tree, comically twisting his body around like some goofy Disney animal sidekick. He played with Sausha as she lay on the ground; it’s an awe-inspiring sight to see an animal with jaws that can snap bones playing with a human like he’s a puppy.
As we walked around the property, he splashed into the pond, bounded through the tall grass, leaned up against Sausha’s teenage daughters, and frequently said hello to all of us. We laughed at his antics, while Sausha pointed out the subtle cues in his body language and alertness, signs that he was noticing things long before we were even aware of them.
Bringing out a treat, Sausha then encouraged Wizard to look up into my face. While some of his behaviors reminded me of an enthusiastic dog, his eyes weren’t dog-like at all. Large and fiercely yellow, there’s something spine-tingling there–what Sausha’s mother calls fire.
As we made our way out to the large field where many Wolves of Wasatch events take place, Sausha asked me if I would like to sit down. Suddenly feeling vulnerable, I sat cross-legged on the grass with Sausha and her daughters as Wizard wove between us, and I felt his large presence in a new way, getting a closer look at his great paws. My nervousness soon gave way to delight at being on his level beside him. He playfully but gently played with Sausha’s arm in his mouth, but never tried it with me, opting instead to lean on or lick me.
I felt a longing to stay in that feeling of delight for hours, and was disappointed when it came time to walk back to the house. While my own troubles coming into this experience weren’t as great as Pam’s when she first met the wolves, spending a couple of hours with these remarkable women and Wizard truly lifted a burden from me. It brought out a sense of childlike wonder, and my first thought was–I want to do this again. And again. And again.
Exciting things are on the horizon—watch for details about their first-ever overnight retreat coming in October 2026.
