Phoebe turned four about two weeks ago and her dream is to be a zookeeper, so her parents have been taking her to multiple zoos across the country. With the help of Make A Wish Foundation, they made the trip from Florida to Columbus so Phoebe could visit the best zoo in the country, right here in Central Ohio. We arrived via limo, where Columbus Zoo staff gave Phoebe and her family the royal treatment, taking them around the zoo on a golf cart, using back roads and team member entrances to give Phoebe and mom and dad an up-close and personal encounter with a number of interesting animals, including feeding apples to a black rhino. The trip also included an open jeep ride across the savannah, usually viewable only from far away and behind fences, where we were surrounded by a variety of freely roaming animals. Accompanied by the savannah’s curator and other staff, who were armed with a bucketful of lettuce and baby bottles, Phoebe was allowed to feed the giraffes and a deer-like creature I’m hard pressed to remember the name of (although I’m sure Phoebe could tell me!).
After lunch, they were treated to a personal showing of animals in the Promotions Office, which handles all the animals’ television and promotional appearances around the country. There we saw a cheetah, a penguin, a big bearcat and a 37-day-old bearcat, a joey, and an armadillo (the least furry and cute of them all!).
It was a beautiful day, perfect sunshiney weather for a trip to the zoo, and Phoebe was delightful and without question the smartest four year old I’ve ever met. She knew everything about the animals and loved to share her knowledge and love for the animals. We had a fabulous time, and I can’t say enough about how amazingly wonderful the zoo people were in making sure Phoebe and mom and dad had the time of their lives.
