A big loss

This is Misha. She is someone that some of my friends have been taking great care of for a long time. One of my friends who does some of that great caretaking informed me the other night that Misha had passed away. She was a young elephant. To know that she was sick enough that the only fair option for her was to euthanize her, is devastating to those who cared for her. I do know that while she spent her time at Hogle Zoo, she was cared for very well and she was loved, even more than her size if you could imagine.

This is what my friend had to say:
"Misha was such a great elephant-so smart. When you look an elepahnt in the eyes and they look back at you, you know there is intelligence behind them. I am sure on more than one occassion the elephants have thought of me as "that silly human" I love working with the elephants and we are going to miss misha forever. Please keep the hogle zoo family in your thoughts. The press release was today and we hope that the salt lake community will be kind. Sometimes people believe that the animals in the zoo will live forever and never get sick; so when an animal especially an elephant is euthanized, people don't understand."

To my friends who have taken care of this amazing giant (and those few who I don't know) and who have made animals your life...I'm so sorry for your loss. We are thinking of you, love you, support you and hope to see you on Sunday.