'Such A Good Boy'

I knew he was one of my own,
So my wolf pack grew by one.

Spoken by Zach Galifianakis, followed through upon by Dustin Wolf.

The Flames goaltender is used to stopping pucks and hearing howls from the C of Red, but over the past few months, Wolf has gotten used to puppy sounds at home, too.

That’s because he’s the proud owner of Moose, a nine month-old chocolate lab. A union that came together through Parachutes for Pets, a charity dedicated to honouring the importance of the human-animal bond.

Wolf and Moose met for the first time this past spring, when Wolf paid a visit to Parachutes for Pets’ Calgary facility, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I've always wanted a dog,” Wolf explained. “My parents have a dog at home and (Parachutes for Pets) just had this little eight week old chocolate lab, and they're like, ‘you could take him home if you want!’

“I’m like, 'well, maybe I'll take him home for a day and see how it is.’ And I ended up keeping him. But, like, he's been the cutest thing ever. He's such a good boy.

“He's good at listening. Maybe not on the recall so much, but he's incredible off-leash. Like, he never strays far away. If he starts to get ahead of you, he turns back and basically looks to where you are.”

Since then, Wolf and Moose have developed quite the partnership. Now nine months old - and typical of chocolate labs - the pup is always up for adventure, and always up to mischief.

“He steals all my socks,” Wolf chuckled. “He just kind of chews on them. But as soon as he has something he shouldn't, he like locks down and he gets the zooms.

“So I chase him around the house and you have to entice him with some treats to get the socks back.”

Growing up in California, Wolf had a dog as a kid, but given the busy travel schedule as he was coming up the ranks, his family switched to more low-maintenance pets, like cats.

But his parents have since returned to dog ownership and one day soon, Wolf hopes Moose will have another new friend to run around with.

“They've got a white husky,” Wolf explained. “So they got her and then now I've got Moose.

“They haven't met yet, but I'm sure they will here at some point.”

For Wolf, who stuck around Calgary once again this summer, the off-season provided plenty of opportunity for he and Moose to bond. Trips to the park - and specifically the river - because as any lab owner can attest, they’re kind of allergic to staying dry.

“He was shy at first, like, he always had to have his feet touching on the ground, but now he's expanding into being able to swim,” Wolf smiled. “If there's a pool or a body of water, he's in it, and he's drinking it, of course, but he's just a garbage can if you're on a walk.

“He's eaten everything under the sun, and you're trying to not let him, but he's a dog, you can't help it.”

He protects the net in NHL arenas across the continent and in turn, he and Moose offer comfort to each other.

Man's Best Friend.

And for Wolf - and Moose - this is only the beginning.

“He's my best friend, you know, there's nothing better when you come home and he comes flying at you,” said Wolf. “Just so happy to see you, he just kind of puts things into perspective.

“You go about your business here at the rink, but no matter what happens, you know he’s going to be so happy to see you when you come home.”