Have You Performed a Miracle Lately?

http://www.trifter.com/USA-&-Canada/Hawaii/The-Zoo-Built-by-Love.69270

Brooke has generously sent me some wonderful pictures of the animals and staff at the Boo Boo Zoo, so we can take a tour from our computer chair. Personally I would like to hop on a plane and visit Hawaii. It is cold in Michigan this time of year and I would welcome the beautiful weather and loving nature of this refuge.

A Short Tour of the Over 400 Rescued Animals

EMAR has a “soft” spot for deers.

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Would you like to play with me today? I think you are kind of cute! Animals here get along well with each other, much better than some of people I know.

Where else but at EMAR could a dog and a porpoise get acquainted?

Boots, pictured above with Sylvan and his four legged friends, was hit by a car. His hip was broken and his owners did not have the money for medical expenses. He has been cared for ever since by EMAR and is now fully recovered and part of the big family here.

Have you ever wanted to pet a barn owl? Athena is blind, but loves affection. She will gladly sit still for your petting.

Most of the animals here are neutered to both keep the population down and because sexually mature animals can be more aggressive. Perhaps it is because of the good nature and love shown here but almost all of the animals roam the 2 acres freely and coexist beautifully. A few are caged or kept in the aviary for their own well being.

Sunshine would love it if you would pet her and share an almond or two. She alerted the staff here when some wild dogs got into the refuge chasing animals, so now they have taken extra steps to protect the inhabitants here from unwanted guests.

From Dying to Living and Loving

The love story here is just too much for words, so I am hoping that perhaps some of the pictures will help illustrate it. Sylvan and Suzie love one another and the animals they have unselfishly taken in for over 25 years. Their love is growing stronger, not waning as some do. Here is part of his story as told to the Maui Magazine in “Love Among the Ruminants” by Rita Goldman.

“Suzie was living on the Mainland, and was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She didn’t want her family to know, so she opened an atlas, closed her eyes and pointed. Her finger landed on Maui. I lived in the condo next door. The first time I said, `I love you,’ she ran out the door, crying. When I caught up with her and asked what was wrong, she said, `I’m dying.’”

A Terrible Tasting Diet, but the Cure She Needed

He then took her to Jon Young, a doctor of Chinese medicine in Honolulu, where she was prescribed Chinese herbs, megavitamins and a diet for a year and half; geared towards fighting off the cancer. Sylvan states that it tasted terrible, but she was cured of the cancer.

Suzie Fights Back

Dr. Young recommended to Sylvan that he find something to help her strengthen her will to survive. Sylvan recollected how she would visit a pet store weekly to care for sick animals. He then apprenticed under the Department of Land and Natural Resources in a class to learn how to care for sick and wounded animals and started asking people to bring their needy animals to them. The Boo Boo Zoo was created. Suzie still has medical problems, but thankfully the cancer is gone.

A Gift of Love

I’m an animal lover, so their stories deeply touch me. How can we find a more fitting gift at Christmas time, than to purchase a t-shirt, jacket, mug or other memorabilia from the zoo with the proceeds going towards the care and upkeep for animals that would not have made it if they had not been brought here?

Log in at http://www.booboozoo.org/ read inspiring stories, subscribe to the newsletter, and purchase something or make a pledge. If you are wondering what to buy this year for Christmas, why not buy something full of love, a gift that continues to give, just as our fur or feathered friends do?

-We have a store with “I love the Boo Zoo” products!

Here are a few examples of the new items, available to help support and spread the word about EMAR!

Shop now –(A portion of sales goes to EMAR!)

Taken from the EMAR site.

The unconditional love given by an animal is nothing short of a miracle, as is EMAR!