After days spent dealing with the surprise of the Toronto Zoo elephants’ pending arrival, and the misinformation about PAWS and ARK 2000 we’ve been reading in news reports and on social media sites ever since, Ed and I were excited to watch good friend, and PAWS supporter, Tony LaRussa win the World Series.
When Tony announced his retirement yesterday morning, we sent him a text message offering him a job as an elephant keeper. It’s sort of an inside joke — Tony has helped us lobby for elephants and he has visited our elephants on many occasions. Tony loves elephants! Actually, he has all the right qualifications for a good elephant person: he’s focused; attentive; very intelligent; and thoughtful. Those are key components for understanding these huge individuals who are all different, like baseball stars.
Tony texted back saying he wanted to apply and would interview. It was great fun and a relief from the tension generated by the recent news. We will be seeking more qualified personnel, but Tony is WAY out of our league.
When Tony told the story on the Late Show With David Letterman last night, we were very grateful for the plug. Three more elephants will be very expensive and Tony knows that, having helped us many times in the past.
Thank you, and congratulations Tony LaRussa!
Rumblings From PAWS 