She knows them as friends ae ee DEBRA COE, animal t animals, she has an empathy for wolves. Georee F, Laidler Ltd. — Invites you to our FLOOR STOCK FURNITURE SALE 20% to 50% OFF ALL FLOOR STOCK ITEMS February 13th to February 25th Mon. to Fn 9. 30-7:00; Sat 10.00-5.00 Your opporacuty to pfrarchase the finest: furniture available at ex epruonal savings 1416 WEST 8TH AVE., VANCOUVER We're on the comer af Hemlock OF Bth Avenuc it’s tim - ‘ February 19, 1984 to cry for wol AS A YOUNGSTER, Debra Coe developed an en- thusiastic interest in animals. Her mother thought she’d outgrow it, but a teacher encouraged her to pursue it and recommended she read Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. Today, at 26, Coe has *‘read the book at least six times’’, and has been thrust into fame and controversy through her work with wolves for the book’s film version. “This movie is a_ real feather in my cap,’’ Coe says as she gazes at the hazy view of Vancouver from her high- rise apartment in North Vancouver. At the movie’s on-location am 4 Frames 40% off HANNO'S OPTICAL 964 SOUTH PARK ROYAL WEST VANCOUVER 6C v/T 1At 926-6051 By CARYL McBRIDE site in Atlin, B.C., Cole kept a firm but loving hand on seven wolves, animals which she had raised from pups at Washington’s Olympic Game Farm where her career in handling exotic animals began seven years ago. **Il once wanted to be a vet, caring for the big animals. But I was talked out of that,”’ photo submitted rainer from the movie Never Cry Wolf, looks on with one of the wolves she worked with. As a lover of the slim, ash blonde laughs. She realized that farmers wouldn’t feel very confident about calling a petite woman in to wrestle with a sick steer. . So Coe found: her: niche at the game farm where she started as a part time tour. guide, then began working with raccoons, Bobcats, skunks, foxes and other small creatures. She graduated to film work as part of the farm’s crew, working on the Grizzly Adams _ television series and various advertising projects. Ready to establish her own company, Coe was turned off by the tough competition and hectic lifestyle of Los Angeles where most animal trainers reside. B.C.’s flourishing film in-. dustry and ‘‘healthy climate”’ have lured Coe to immigrate here from the U.S. ‘“*There’s no competition here, and the film industry in Canada is really supporting me,’”’ Coe says. She just finished working on.Glitterdome, a Home Box Office attraction filmed in Victoria. It stars James Garner and StarCat, Coe’s fluffy, strawberry blonde feline. But except for Coe’s red and black Glitterdome T- shirt, and the furry star himself reclining in the mid- dle of the table, the movie of the moment in Coe’s life is still Never Cry Wolf. Photos on a kitchen bulletin board show Coe at work. with Never Cry Wolf’s lupine stars. Next to them is a recent ‘news photo of Farley Mowat, one of many clipp- ings scattered about the apartment which recount her new homeland’s Battle of the Peace River Wolf. ‘*Wolves are an en- dangered species in the United States. There are no wolves wild in Washington any more,’’ Coe states, ex- plaining why there is such a strong. protest movement south of the border against the B.C. government’s plan to kill 80 per cent of the wolf population in the Peace River area. ‘*I’ve been told that outfit- ters in the area make $40 to $50,000 a year from hunters, and I realize they don’t want to give that up,”’ Coe says. But she’s far from sympathetic. in her years of training animals, Coe has gained a great respect for the wolf. *“Dogs can be claimed as friends,”’ she says. ‘‘They’ll do anything for you. **But wolves have to be regarded as equals. You have to sense their moods all the CONTINUED ON PAGE C2 YOU SAVE MORE IN °84 OVER 68,000 PROFESSIONAL HAIRCUTS THE UNDER CUTTERS RETAIL HAIRCARE CENTRES HOME OF ma 6° CuT open 6 days a week MON. - WED. 8am - 6 pm THURS. & FRI. NIGHTS TILL 9 p SAT. 8am - Spm 1564 MARINE DR., WEST VAN. WE CAN REALLY CUT IT! “FABULOUS FOR FEBRUAR OL THE UNDERCUTTERS- PERM $ a“COLD WAVE” (FEB. 20 — MAR. 3) 99 ONLY ~B.C.'s LARGEST SELECTION OF IN-SALON PRODUCTS AT VERY AFFORDABLE PRICES REDKEN NUCLEIC ‘A’ DON SULLIVAN 1.M.S. CLAIROL SCHWARTZKOPF JOICO APPLE PECTIN HELENE CURTIS