Interview 14294 – Caption Index: 35
So the Cincinnati Zoo approached you to be the part-time vet?… Read More
So the Cincinnati Zoo approached you to be the part-time vet?… Read More
And you were part-time veterinarian because the- The guy- They got full-time or they didn’t?… Read More
And I had to be there at 10 o’clock, and it was now quarter to 10. Fortunately the hospital was not far away, but I was a mess. And of course everybody was got a big charge out of me getting covered. All the board members and everybody. But anyway,… Read More
But there was a rule at the hospital, that I had to go up to the floor to get her (chuckles). So I did, and I remember the shock look on her face and she says, “What’s the matter?” And I said, don’t say anything (chuckles). Let’s just get outta… Read More
Something that we used to give enemas to dogs, but it was just too small for this big cat. So I looked around and I noticed that they used high pressure nozzles to clean out the cages, which had small (indistinct) on them. And I thought, okay, I’ll just use… Read More
I went into the public walkway and the snow leopard was sitting near the back of the cage. And he was paralyzed in his back quarters, but could move his front quarters and lift his head and snarl. So I went around the back at service road there, and reached… Read More
No, I was working for somebody else. Yeah, I remember one of my first escapades out in the zoo. We got a call one morning at I think… Well I went into work at nine o’clock in the morning, started treating the dogs and cats. And we got a call… Read More
I didn’t know a whole lot about zoo work, and the snow leopard was the most expensive animal in the zoo. At that time, it cost $3,500. More than an elephant. Three times as much as an elephant, as a matter of fact. So I packed up a little kit… Read More
Now was this your own practice or you were working for someone?… Read More
Well, it lasted a couple years until I graduated and then went down to Cincinnati to work in a small animal practice, doing the zoo work part-time. Read More
And then how long did this part-time job last?… Read More
Warren Thomas was the veterinarian?… Read More
No. He was a student. He was in my class, and he had worked there as a part-time keeper. So you’re both there as part-time keepers. Yeah. Okay. Read More
I also did little work in the reptile house, and some of the other parts of the zoo, but mainly the birdhouse. So you had a relationship with (indistinct). Read More
There was nobody there. So I walked all through the building and there was nobody in the building (chuckles). And I came back and I noticed there was an African gray parrot sitting on a perch right by the back door. And he apparently was the one that said that. Read More
And what did you do as a part-time keeper?… Read More
Well, (chuckles) the first day I came in, I was told to report at six o’clock in the morning and it was pitch dark. It was March, 1960. Let’s see, no 1957. And the head keep there, gave me the keys to the birdhouse and he said go over to… Read More
I think mainly through Warren Thomas, who was working there. Had worked there for several years. And I can’t recall exactly, I know I went out and applied for it. Talked to Earl Davis, the director of the zoo. And Earl was an interesting guy too. A politician, he was… Read More
And I rode around to different zoos and they all said, no (indistinct). The second year, well, I went off into practicing in smaller practice in Cincinnati, but I worked for the fellow who was the part-time veterinarian for the Cincinnati Zoo. And he was an alcoholic, and didn’t show… Read More
And so on the weekends, how’d you get this job as a part-time keeper at the Columbus Zoo?… Read More