Friends and Animals
I took a friend to a fundraising event at a local college. The nearby town of Moorpark (which has no moors) is home to a unique curriculum that it and only one other college in the country has. Moorpark College houses a small teaching zoo and is well known for it's Exotic Animal Training & Management program.
My friend, Nancy, who is very young at heart, loves this program and the animals within. She especially loves one of the tigers, Karma.
I pick Nancy up around 4:30. She's spunky and doesn't need a lot of help. She's dressed comfortable yet chic, with her gorgeous shock of white hair topping every outfit. She's giddy about the coming evening.
As we arrive at the zoo, she is greeted by many people that know her well. It's dark (the event got pushed back two weeks because of the last round of Southern California fires) and hard to see the animals but she insists on going back to see her Karma. We return to the program area and they've reserved a table for her, front row. Nancy is about 5 foot so sitting behind her is no problem. The presentation starts and the students from the college show us what they have learned. One by one, they bring out an array of animals and tell us how they are cared for. The bulk of these animals are actually rescues and even the tiger Neil was confiscated from a person who was trying to raise him in their home.
When the presentation is over, the students bring the animals to us, one by one. At one point, Nancy is talking to the young trainer that is holding the owl. She is animated and excited. Suddenly, she turns to me with the brightest smile, no words, just absolute joy. It was the highlight of my evening to see her face light up.
A great night of life!
My friend, Nancy, who is very young at heart, loves this program and the animals within. She especially loves one of the tigers, Karma.
I pick Nancy up around 4:30. She's spunky and doesn't need a lot of help. She's dressed comfortable yet chic, with her gorgeous shock of white hair topping every outfit. She's giddy about the coming evening.
As we arrive at the zoo, she is greeted by many people that know her well. It's dark (the event got pushed back two weeks because of the last round of Southern California fires) and hard to see the animals but she insists on going back to see her Karma. We return to the program area and they've reserved a table for her, front row. Nancy is about 5 foot so sitting behind her is no problem. The presentation starts and the students from the college show us what they have learned. One by one, they bring out an array of animals and tell us how they are cared for. The bulk of these animals are actually rescues and even the tiger Neil was confiscated from a person who was trying to raise him in their home.
When the presentation is over, the students bring the animals to us, one by one. At one point, Nancy is talking to the young trainer that is holding the owl. She is animated and excited. Suddenly, she turns to me with the brightest smile, no words, just absolute joy. It was the highlight of my evening to see her face light up.
Such delight in animals is good for the body, mind and spirit. Love this post, Linda.
ReplyDeleteI love this post and the video. Nothing like pure joy to make your day.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see the animals up close and personal! I'm glad you and Nancy enjoyed the event.
ReplyDeleteanimals are better than people. I wanna be like nancy at age 95.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what Nancy says....she prefers animals over people. And Anne Marie, so do I want to be like Nancy at 95.
DeleteWhat a wonderful post, Linda. It's great seeing someone's love for animals on display. It was great that you got to take her to the event. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day!
This sounds really lovely and loads of fun. Is that Nancy in the last photo? It's my favorite -- you can tell she's completely captured!
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post. Looks like oodles of fun!
ReplyDeleteI watched the video and I wonder how do people manage to get hold of a tiger. I don't want one, it just seems like a strange thing to acquire.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Nancy had a lovely time. I love animals as well, more than most people. Animals don't lie. They are what they are.
Isn't it wonderful the happiness that animals bring into our lives? Many of us have pets so we get our daily fix of happiness, but a real treat for all of us is when we're out in nature and we see animals in their natural habitat. I think that's the best. I'd love to go to Africa. I love to do nature walks and do them slowly so I can soak up the surroundings...if you do them too quickly you miss too much. You have to have a keen eye and ear.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this post. How kind and wonderful of you to bring your friend to the zoo. I watched the video... WOW! Those tigers are so beautiful and have found a great home. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDelete