ENGL 106 Student, Fall 2012, Instructor Lisa Curtin Thank You, Zoboo For as long as I can remember,

animals have been a part of my life. Ive grown up around my own pets, taken in my fair share of strays, driven five hours just to visit a zoo and, yes, cried over Lassie. My ever-growing soft spot for four-legged friends is probably larger than can be considered normal. Pinpointing the exact point of no return is difficult, but Id like to think my initial interest started with childhood TV shows like, Jack Hannas Animal Adventures, The Crocodile Hunter, and Zoboomafoo. Of the three, Zoboomafoo was my favorite. What child doesnt like a hyperactive lemur that talks? I still like to watch the opening credits every once in a while; its the perfect remedy for a bad day! As a kid, I remember being transfixed to the TV on Saturday mornings thinking about how cool it was that ordinary people were able to interact with animals I could only hope to see behind glass. Just watching the Kratt brothers behave like kids on Christmas morning each time they brought a new species into Animal Junction was an attention grabber. Enthusiasm goes a long way, especially when your primary audience is young children. Zoboomafoo was, in essence, a televised teaching zoo. Each episode introduced a couple of new animals with Martin and Chris naming a few fun facts about each one. Looking back, I probably saw most of the common zoo species on Zoboomafoo long before I visited any physical parks. In addition to animal shows, I was raised with my own pets. My parents had three cats when I was a baby; one even slept in my crib with me every night. When I was four, we moved into a house big enough to accommodate a dog, and we got our first boxer not long after that.

Moore 2 Because I am the oldest child and because I was the only one who could talk at the time, I had the privilege of naming the new addition. I named this dog Kissy because it fit her perfectly. Anyone who has boxers knows that theyre high energy and love to give kisses. We only had Kissy for three years before she died of congenital kidney failure. Near the end, I wanted to be able to ease her pain and when I couldnt, I felt helpless. In hindsight, she was the catalyst behind my early desire to be a veterinarian. Dogs become a part of the family; they offer solace, companionship, and a warm body to lie on. I wanted to be able to give back to animals what Kissy had given to mecomfort. My mom and I have been picking up abandoned animals off the street for years; weve managed to rescue countless cats and dogs. In some cases, rescuing has turned into keeping the animal for ourselves. The memory of how we ended up with Bo, our faithful companion for eleven years is still firmly etched in my mind. We dont have a fenced in yard, so weve had to train our dogs to stay in their own yard. Before Kissy was fully trained, she used to take off on adventures around the neighborhood. When I was about six or seven, I was hanging out on the front porch with my friends and my sister. For some unknown reason, my sister failed to warn me about the strange dog that accompanied Kissy home that day. My back was turned when I felt a cold wet nose on the back of my leg. I turned around expecting my fawn-colored boxer to be there, and when I saw a mass of black fur instead, I screamed and ran into the house in tears. As I would soon find out, this dog was harmless. At first, we werent sure what to do about the dog. He was severely underweight with open sores on his legs, and he probably had fleas. We set him up with some food and water while my friend and I fought over what to name him; we settled on Brownie. My mom really didnt

Moore 3 want him in the house, so what did my friend and I decide to do? We filled a plastic kiddie pool with grass and set it under the play set in the back yard. I think my moms initial intention was to see if Brownie would go back to wherever he came from, but the next morning, he was still in the yard. My mom decided to call Animal Control and our local shelter because with three young children and four animals, she wasnt going to risk bringing Brownie into the house. Not to mention, my dad would not be happy when he came home from a long week away at work. We could only get a hold of Animal Control. When they said they could take our new friend, they also said that they euthanized animals that werent claimed or adopted after seven days. All week, my mom kept trying to get a hold of Pet Refuge, a no-kill shelter. When they finally called her back, they asked us if we would foster Brownie because they didnt have room. It took some convincing for my dad to agree because the last thing we needed was another animal in the house! Eventually he succumbed, and on the day Brownie would have been put down, we took him from Animal Control. While we were waiting to have Brownie examined by the vet so we could place him for adoption, the whole family formed a connection with him. My dad even wanted to change the dogs name to something more masculine, so eventually Brownie became Bo. When it came time to take Bo to adoption nights, it was my dad who found he couldnt quite part with Bo. On the third adoption night, my dad called my mom to ask if we could adopt Bo because he just couldnt face having to part with him. Needless to say, we adopted Bo, and he quickly became the guardian of the house. As much as we would love to keep all the strays we take in, we have managed to find homes or a no-kill shelter for the animals weve had to give up. Sometimes its hard to let a

Moore 4 particular animal go if youve had him or her for an extended period, but its a rewarding experience to know that you probably gave that animal a second chance at life. My early interest in animals has grown into a passion for their welfare. Ive known I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was ten. At the time, however, my knowledge of what it meant to be a veterinarian was limited. I just thought I could put a bandage on a cat or a dog and theyd be as good as new. In eighth grade, my knowledge was significantly expanded when I chose to do a research project on veterinary medicine. I learned that there are many different types of veterinarians and that there is a lot of time, effort, and money involved! This project opened my mind to the other possibilities a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine has to offer. Fast forward to my sophomore year of high school. We were able to choose our topic for a research paper as long as it was about a person or event that changed the world in some way. Being that my primary interest is animals, I wanted to write about someone who worked with them. Somehow I stumbled upon Jane Goodall. To be honest, I hadnt heard much about her before starting my research, but by the end of the paper, my respect and admiration for her was immense. I admired her relationship with animals, her determination, her perseverance, and her field studies on chimpanzees. Dr. Goodall started her career at a time when women were still fighting to be recognized as valuable assets to the workforce. She had to fight to have her ideas heard, and that wasnt always easy due to her nontraditional approach to studying the animals she worked with. Most scientists treated animals as subjects and addressed them as its. Jane took on a more personal approach, even addressing an animal as, he or she. I saw a lot of myself in Dr. Goodall, which made it easy to connect with her. Needless to say, I finished the report thinking, If she can do that, then I can achieve my goals, too! More than giving me the extra ounce of

Moore 5 encouragement to move forward in my career goals, Dr. Goodall sparked an idea in me that was probably always there, but never fully developed. It doesnt take much for me to get emotional when it comes to animals, especially cats and dogs. When we finally got satellite in the house, I couldnt watch shows on Animal Planet without needing a box of tissues. For this reason, Ive always feared that I wouldnt succeed at being a veterinarian if I couldnt keep my emotions in check. I learned during my eighth grade research project that veterinarians could specialize in zoological medicine. After reading about Jane Goodalls work with the chimpanzees, I decided to do some more research into the field. I obviously had a lot of compassion for animals and I enjoyed visiting zoos. My thought was that zoological medicine would allow me to help animals in need on a less personal level. Besides, lions and tigers are much more interesting than the typical house cat! Beyond the medicine, Ive decided to take my work overseas and participate in conservation research of endangered species. At the top of my list of species to study is the Bengal Tiger. There are some very beautiful, very unique animals on Earth, but unless we can come up with a solution, their time on Earth is limited. My goal is to keep the species that I have become familiar with around for many more generations to come. To reach these aspirations, I have many years of education and experience to gain, but if I can make even the slightest difference in the lives of animals, I will feel accomplished. My initial interest in animals started at a young age from watching television shows. As I grew up and gained an appreciation for my own animals, that interest grew into compassion, and now I want to spend my life improving the well being of species across the globe. We often dont realize it until much later, but what seems like an insignificant experience at the time can shape who we are and impact us for the rest of our lives.

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