But in addition to that, as time went on and I needed specialized help, the veterinarians in the Chicago area were basically what I was, small animal practitioners, dogs, and cats, and assorted sorted little critters. And if we needed someone that was, say an ophthalmologist to work on the eye of an animal, if we needed a neurologist, if we needed a specialty surgeon, veterinarians at that time, didn’t have specialization, but the medical people did. And so thanks to Dr. Hardy’s early intervention, we contacted various people primarily on the staff at Northwestern Medical School because physically they were the closest to the zoo, and were enough people that were interested in animal comparative medicine, and were not sort of upset or dismayed by the fact that they’d be asked to look at a monkey, or a lion, or a black bear. And we put together about 15 to 20 such specialists, they came when needed in their area of specialization. And I think since then throughout the country, and I assume other zoos around the world, they have made great use of the human specialty doctor who’s willing to assist on animal projects. And so our little medical resource was a boon, and a nice thing, and it worked. And I think to this day is still ongoing, not only at our zoo, but many places around the world now. You had mentioned that the medical committee was helpful.
