Living Treasures: My Life-Changing Pilgrimage!

Oh WAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOW!

Friends, you know all about my love for the Little Giraffes of the Wild Steppes of the Bing and of Wexford.  You know I'd do anything for those guys, because they're great!  And it's always been my dream, my Impossible Dream, to meet some Big Giraffes!  Last summer, I got to see some Big Giraffes at the Pittsburgh Zoo, but I didn't get to meet 'em, actually.

Well, recently, I got to take a trip that changed my life.  I got to meet a coupla Big Giraffes.  I really did!  I was a wonderful place called Living Treasures.

They had all kindsa animals there.  There were flamingos and zebras and antelope and camels and goats- lots'n'lots of goats!  and ALPACAS!  And a pair of ostriches.  Oh!  And monkeys and bats and bison...

I wanna take you guys home to my house, but Mommy says no.

I think you catch my drift.  There were all these kinds of animals and MORE!  There was so much to see that I just didn't know where to look!

I really liked all the animals I met that day, Friends.  You could go right up to their habitat and say "hiya!" and they could come right over and say "hiya!" right back.  It was great!  I mean, I loved the Zoo, but at Living Treasures, I could get right up to the animals!  I could talk to 'em, feed 'em, pet 'em.  That means a lot to a little kid, because in the Land of the Big People, we're told to keep our hands off stuff a lot.  A lot, a lot, a lot!

Awwww, wow!  It is SUCH an honor to meet you Big Giraffes!

I do think it was smart not to have people petting the Lions, Tigers, and Cheetahs.  They're not petting-type folks, the Big Cats.  The lions were all the way behind glass, and there were people tapping on their windows (it wasn't me by a longshot!), and it made the lions grouchy.  The tigers were beautiful, but they're not like my tiger-friend Sabretooth, that likes to be near people.  They were happy to be admired from afar, and I was happy to admire from afar.  All the Big Cats have Big Teeth to match. 

I got to ride a horse made from a tire!

The experience that was really life- changing for me was that I got to meet a pair of Big Giraffes.  They were so gracious and graceful.  They came right over to the visiting area and greeted me warmly.  They were so friendly!  I felt so welcomed!

It was a tremendous honor to get to deliver snacks to the Big Giraffes.  They enjoyed carrots right from my hand.  Imagine that!  I love carrots, too, and so do the Big Giraffes! 

Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, I got to ride on a horse made out of a recycled tire!  Boy, was that ever crazy, but in a good way!  That horse was pretty radial!  I mean radical!  See what I did there? 

No, seriously, I'm pretty sure it was made out of an old radial tire.  ... Um, well, okay.  Not all my jokes can be gold.

I got to bring home a Little Giraffe named Pinky, and she's my friend!

Finally, as I was strolling through the Gift Shop, figuring on getting a Tshirt or something, I met a Little Giraffe named Pinky, who lived at the store, but was hoping to find a nice Forever Home where she could get really used to her surroundings and settle in.  She asked me if I could find room for another Little Giraffe up in the Bing, and I said "Yeah!"  So Pinky got to come home with me.  How about that?!

As you can imagine from a Little Giraffe who's many shades of pink, Pinky is the life of any Little Giraffe party.  We're all pretty happy with her.  I'm really glad she's my new friend and that she gets along so well with all my other Little Giraffe Friends, and Sabretooth, too.

My trip to Living Treasures is a memory I'm going to treasure, and I can't wait to go back and spend some more time with those Giraffes!  They're just the greatest!