M
Maggie Cummings
Guest
After reading how I was unfit to care for Bob I wasn't sure I wanted to share these with the group.
But...my sister asked that I share them and so I shall.
I recently had to drive to Yvonne's house in Calif to make a tortoise switch and visit her and while I was there I was also going to drive a couple hundred more miles to meet with Tom to go and see his home and the infamous "ranch" and what a visit it was! Most of the animals are at the ranch. But he had a dog kenneled at his house who was just amazing. Tom took him out and ran him through a series of exercises that the dog understood very well. He didn't hesitate at all and went from being a happy dog to an attack dog in a heart beat. Tom didn't have to tell this guy twice what to do. As a retired dog trainer I was very impressed. This dog is a worker and knows just what to do. There were several dogs there that Tom said were actors not pets and they know their position in life very well. They weren't barking or very excited at seeing strangers. Yet they were bright and paid attention to what was going on.
Tom is seriously good to look at and very social. He is friendly, intelligent and educated. It was very pleasant to visit with him. My main goal was to ride a camel and an elephant but unfortunately that was not to be. At first I was disappointed, but the visit was so much that the disappointment faded pretty fast.
I got a tour of his beautiful Southern Calif home with it's bright blue tiled pool. It was a very hot day but it was cool and dim inside the house. His 3 year old daughter Ava was going with us. She was bright and talkative and very well mannered.
So here are some pictures of what I saw...
I got to pet a Rhino, how cool was that...
He had herds of every kind of hoofed animal needed for a movie from camels, to goats, horses, oxen, buffalo,and too many more to list...
Big baby giraffe and zebra (beautiful black striped faces)...
Got to touch the giraffe's face...
OMG! A baby camel! How sweet is he? But I'm 5'8" and he was taller then me...
Such a beautiful face! All the animals are worked with so much that they can all be touched and petted and handled. They are all calm workers not pets...
More of the herds...
Need I say more???
He had large herds of any kind of animal needed. All of the pens were clean, none had old poop or garbage in them. They were all big enough and the animals looked healthy and well cared for.
When I was shown his tortoises I didn't have my camera so I didn't get pictures of them, but that simply gives me an excuse to go back for another visit. They are again well cared for and in great pens with lots of room. Daisy even looks feminine and it was easy to tell she was a girl. I was surprised as I thought all tortoises looked the same. Daisy is a girl, no doubt!
We also got to go for an In n Out burger...Tom's revenge on me as the day before I had some teeth pulled and a surgery done in my mouth and could only have some fries and a shake! That's mean all right!
I got to see and pet the elephants and got elephant snot on my face but that will be a second thread tomorrow. Thanks Tom, it was wonderful and exciting and I loved every minute of it!!!
But...my sister asked that I share them and so I shall.
I recently had to drive to Yvonne's house in Calif to make a tortoise switch and visit her and while I was there I was also going to drive a couple hundred more miles to meet with Tom to go and see his home and the infamous "ranch" and what a visit it was! Most of the animals are at the ranch. But he had a dog kenneled at his house who was just amazing. Tom took him out and ran him through a series of exercises that the dog understood very well. He didn't hesitate at all and went from being a happy dog to an attack dog in a heart beat. Tom didn't have to tell this guy twice what to do. As a retired dog trainer I was very impressed. This dog is a worker and knows just what to do. There were several dogs there that Tom said were actors not pets and they know their position in life very well. They weren't barking or very excited at seeing strangers. Yet they were bright and paid attention to what was going on.
Tom is seriously good to look at and very social. He is friendly, intelligent and educated. It was very pleasant to visit with him. My main goal was to ride a camel and an elephant but unfortunately that was not to be. At first I was disappointed, but the visit was so much that the disappointment faded pretty fast.
I got a tour of his beautiful Southern Calif home with it's bright blue tiled pool. It was a very hot day but it was cool and dim inside the house. His 3 year old daughter Ava was going with us. She was bright and talkative and very well mannered.
So here are some pictures of what I saw...
I got to pet a Rhino, how cool was that...
He had herds of every kind of hoofed animal needed for a movie from camels, to goats, horses, oxen, buffalo,and too many more to list...
Big baby giraffe and zebra (beautiful black striped faces)...
Got to touch the giraffe's face...
OMG! A baby camel! How sweet is he? But I'm 5'8" and he was taller then me...
Such a beautiful face! All the animals are worked with so much that they can all be touched and petted and handled. They are all calm workers not pets...
More of the herds...
Need I say more???
He had large herds of any kind of animal needed. All of the pens were clean, none had old poop or garbage in them. They were all big enough and the animals looked healthy and well cared for.
When I was shown his tortoises I didn't have my camera so I didn't get pictures of them, but that simply gives me an excuse to go back for another visit. They are again well cared for and in great pens with lots of room. Daisy even looks feminine and it was easy to tell she was a girl. I was surprised as I thought all tortoises looked the same. Daisy is a girl, no doubt!
We also got to go for an In n Out burger...Tom's revenge on me as the day before I had some teeth pulled and a surgery done in my mouth and could only have some fries and a shake! That's mean all right!
I got to see and pet the elephants and got elephant snot on my face but that will be a second thread tomorrow. Thanks Tom, it was wonderful and exciting and I loved every minute of it!!!