Credit given where credit is due. The love and expertise

that Mace Loftus put into rearing Atalla is very evident in her wonderful demeanor and temperament. He has taught Atalla well to the delight of thousands of school kids.But looking into those deeply perceptive and intelligent eyes, one does not see Mace. One sees 100% Atalla! Be prepared, however, because Atalla also sees you and she is absolutely ruthless in pursuit of your heart!
  By the end of the summer, I was spending my lunch hours with Atalla and greatly enjoying the pleasure of her company. She rested with her head near me as we reveled in the relative quiet of the school tours finished for the day. Most often she would stick her feet out of the enclosure for me to rub and sigh with contentment if I did a good job. In reflecting upon my progress and education with this almost magically perceptive creature, I had to consider which of us was truly the more “intelligent being”. Was I, the superior human, more intelligently gifted than my furry companion? Or…had the wolf gotten the better of me? After all, Atalla had not spent the summer tracking down the game she’d been snacking on all summer and who was getting her feet massaged? Somehow the superiority issue lost something in translation!
  It’s been a few years since I last saw Atalla but she
is etched indelibly in my mind. She is a presence with ethereal eyes that attack ignorance and superstition with a vengeance. She changed me- for the betterand I am indebted to her. I am also elated to learn that I will be working with my old friend again in the spring!

Linda Schwarz- Atalla - Terie Loftus- Kristy Lide