Hospital Is a Real Zoo for a While : Animals Brighten Day for Ailing Youngsters

A pack of furry, feathery and scaly critters slithered, hopped and crawled into the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children on Tuesday.

But the only squeals were those of delight that came from about 50 children staying at the charitable center for burn and accident victims who petted, hugged and tugged at the visitors from the Los Angeles Zoo.

The “mobile zoo,” which brought a tortoise, rabbit, snake, duck, skunk and chicken to the hospital, is part of the docent program that brings the zoo to those who cannot get to Griffith Park.

The three docents who brought the animals to the hospital were peppered with questions.

The First Question

“Can he bite?” was what most of the children wanted to know first, whether they were presented with a snake, duck or rabbit.

But the most serious query had to do with the skunk: “Will he put his tail up?” asked 10-year-old Francisco, a wheelchair-bound accident victim from Los Angeles.

The docents, a group of more than 400 volunteers, have been bringing the zoo to hospitals and schools in the Los Angeles area for 20 years, said Bob Simpson, a retired school principal and docent.

Besides providing take-out animals, the group also brings handicapped people to the zoo in a van equipped to handle wheelchairs for special lectures, slide shows and tours. They also sponsor a “Senior Safari” tour for the elderly.

“We wanted to take the kids to the zoo,” said Marty Lucker, spokesman for the Century Shriners Club, which sponsored Tuesday’s event. “But for medical reasons, some of the kids couldn’t go. So, we said, ‘Let’s bring the zoo to the kids.’ ”

“It’s fun,” Lucker said. “But there’s an educational component to it too.”

‘Massaging’ a Tortoise

“Yech! That’s the first time I ever touched a snake,” said Juan, a burn victim. The California desert tortoise named Speedy was more to Juan’s liking. “I’ll give him a massage,” he said while rubbing the tortoise’s back and learning from Alice Deem, another docent, about the creature’s habitat, menu and defenses.

Most of the children seemed to like the animals, and while some had seen such critters up close before, few said they had ever been able to touch them.

But even still, it was not necessarily the biggest event of the week at the Shriners hospital. “I’ve been here a week,” Francisco said. “We’ve had a party with clowns and a puppet show. I liked the puppet show best.”