Seeing elephant up close in natural habitat a wish come true for elderly woman
A visit to the circus as a young child secured Brenda Kennedy’s love for elephants some 75 years ago, but she never thought she would be able to see them up close and personal in a natural habitat.
“God made us all different, and he made them different, too,” she said. “You stand by one and say, my gosh, it is different from this guy.” But Kennedy mentioned it during a church group luncheon one day and Clare McKee was listening. So McKee took to the Internet to see if she could arrange such a trip and found out about PAWS, a Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas that rescues abused, neglected, retired and needy captive wildlife. But at $400 a visit – money that goes toward the animals’ care – her next challenge would be figuring out how to raise such money.
But there was still the challenge of finding a driver and renting a wheelchair as her friend couldn’t walk very far. Home to elephants, bears and big cats, the San Andreas PAWS sanctuary measures some 2,300 acres of grasses, trees, lakes and hillsides, part of which visitors tour by car, and part by foot.
McKee contacted Elderly Wish Foundation, filled out forms and provided some documents, and in no time, Kennedy became the group’s seventh recipient of year, and, according to organizers, the most unusual of wishes they had ever granted. Founded by Rebecca Crowder 23 years ago, Elderly Wish grants wishes for recipients 50 or older who have a chronic condition, disease or illness. So far, they’ve granted some 250 wishes, according to organizers.
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