Harrison Gets Wild 

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I used to LOVE the zoo.

Every time I went was like the first time. Truly, I was like a little kid on Christmas… UNTIL just a few years ago. I watched Blackfish and it broke my heart. I did some research, and I quickly discovered that there are so many species of animals that are suffering while in captivity.  Even the animals that are rescued and then held at the best zoos in the world lose years of their lives. Blackfish kinda ruined my childhood but I’m really grateful that it also showed me the truth. Wild animals are meant to be WILD. I swore to myself that I would never, EVER  fund another zoo, or aquarium, or any other facility with similar practices again.

AND THEN my little brother announced that his Biology teacher was offering extra credit to students who went to the zoo over Spring Break. My mother asked me to take him and because she already knows my feelings towards it, she offered to pay for the tickets.

It was bittersweet, really. I was saddened to see those enormous animals in habitats far too small for their sizes. The animals look fatigued, they don’t make a lot of noise, and I swear some of them even look sad. But my son- my wild little boy- was beyond stoked to see the pictures from his books up close in real life, and he growled at every single animal he saw.

Like myself, just a few years ago, I know Harrison will want to go to the zoo again. I still haven’t decided whether or not I will tell him how his mommy feels about it, but seeing his excitement yesterday offered another view on the matter…

I don’t want to take away his innocence.

& momma got herself the biggest shaved ice you have ever seen.

Now look at these magnificent babies.



The giraffes were always my favorite animals to see at the zoo. They literally don’t make any sense to me, but I can’t get enough of them because I think they are so damn cute. It was the first time I didn’t feel happy staring up at them and that was the hardest part of the day. But having Harrison with me gave me a slight sense of peace that, if anything, there was one little boy at that zoo that was having the time of his life in front of that giraffe enclosure, and that was pretty special.

3 Replies to “Harrison Gets Wild ”

  1. I am sure, there were a lot of things my parents had strong opinions about thankfully they never enforced it upon me, and surprisingly I agree with a lot of what they believe and stand for. Your a good mother. Much blessings.

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  2. The only bad thing with that is it’s one reason things don’t change. If ppl don’t get an understanding from, let’s say, school, parents need to fill the gaps. If we dont explain actual issues (famine, disease, child suffering, animal suffering, environmental issues, poverty,etc) there is a chance they won’t. You can still take them to a zoo and explain later what the issues are. My wife wants to take our twins to Africa for safari to see animals and as soon as possible I would take them snorkeling. That could be before we take em to the zoo on our own accord, just as an example. School though may differ in their plans once they are old enough.

    Either way, tough call… The joys and burdens of parenting.

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