Animals everywhere during my visit to California

A friend of mine who has a love of wildlife (from Mother Nature) has had with his late wife, Jan, many pets including dogs, cats, guinea pigs and ponies (and a visiting donkey), plus in their younger days they raised chickens, rabbits and pigs.

He therefore emphasized many years ago that he agrees wholeheartedly with a comment by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw: “I really don’t think I could consent to go to Heaven if I thought there were no animals there.”

This friend of mine recently returned from a trip that included a visit to the San Diego Zoo. He (OK, it’s me) recalls the names of every house dog he and Jan loved in California and Oregon: Yankee, Sheba, Bingo, Nameless, Rocky I, Rocky II, Daisy, Max, Spot, TJ and Ramona. The family felines through the years were Maui, Fred, Scrappy, Runnerbean, Bubba, Flint, Charlie, Rocky, Buddy and Baby. And I still have JelliBunny and Miss Kitty.

Therefore, the recent SoCal adventure, besides the zoo, had to include the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Birch Aquarium. It’s doubtful that I saw all 380 different species of marine life there, including numerous fish species, but we tried. The strongest memory from that visit is observing Giant Sea Bass weighing some 300 pounds. They looked quite content and didn’t seem to mind humans staring at them. In fact, they stared back, as though something fishy was occurring.

Besides the creatures on display, so to speak, I became friends with the family pets at my former son-in-law’s home, where I stayed. A brave little guy there is granddaughter Cole’s Finley, a tuxedo cat afflicted with Feline Cerebellar Hypoplasia, or “wobbly kitten syndrome.” It is a non-painful, non-contagious neurological condition where the cerebellum (brain part for balance/coordination) doesn’t fully develop. Despite the condition, Finley gets around well, although he might appear to have consumed too much catnip.

Cole also has an Arizona Blonde Tarantula named Sweet Pea; and (are you ready?) three Australian Tree Frogs. Their names are Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest, and their croaking is truly interesting. Oh yes, she also has a Whip Spider, Tobie, with long feelers. Interesting family, eh?

The other house cat is granddaughter Noa’s Loki. He is an exotic shorthair with big, round, wide-set eyes. Loki is lovely having a white coat tinged with dark brown highlights. Noa also has a truly cute brown-and-white bunny, Tiny, with the nickname, Silly Wabbit.

As for the wonderful collection of untamed critters, now under the auspices of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, I’m sure (despite my sore feet) that I didn’t view the more than 12,000 animals from some 680 different species and subspecies. But the most memorable for me were the polar bears, Galapagos giant tortoises, giraffes, okapis, red pandas, rhinoceros, elephants, lions, tigers, sloths, hippos and koalas.

And, of course, the zoo is always a treat because of its extensive botanical collection of more than 700,000 plants. They represent thousands of species, making it a vast wildlife park and accredited botanical garden. Besides, quite a few species of plant life are grown to help feed appropriate wildlife.

In closing, I’ll quote Daphne Sheldrick, founder of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, who said, “It’s not enough to love animals; we must actively protect and preserve them. It’s our duty and responsibility as custodians of this planet.”

And we must not forget what renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall noted, “You cannot share your life in a meaningful way with any animals such as a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, rat, pig, horse and so many more and not know that we are not the only sentient and sapient beings on the planet.”