Does this qualify as a Worse Picture of me or what? I think it is so funny that I had to share it with my Pet People friends. Be gentle with your comments!

Last night the Saint and I went to the local Fair. They had a little area set up as a Petting Zoo. We just had to go and get some Noggin from the furry ones! We got a cup of food and I had the best time getting to know the critters. This camel had me laughing at the way in which he would take the food from my hands. The young cow was such a slobber goblin that the Saint refused to feed him! This coming from a guy that does his own car maintenance and comes into the house a greasy mess from head to toe!

I had a bit of a problem with a burro. I was kneeling down to get closer to him and as I kneel, I was cupping the food so it would not fall out of my hand. Well, as it turns out, I did not need to kneel down as far as I had thought and the burro started taking the food before I was ready for him! The thing ended up getting a hold of my hand and as I tried to pull away, he was tugging the other direction! He and I were playing tug-of-war with my hand while the teeth were clamping down! I could not blame the burro as it was my fault and I knew better because as a child I was bitten by a horse by cupping my hand instead of holding it flat. The Saint knew I would not feed the burro any more food after that as it left teeth marks on my hand. I decided I was not going to be scared of him so I continued to feed him. Oh mighty brave one I am… I had to cup my hand while feeding the Llama and Camel as they use their lips to get to the food and not their teeth as the burro.

I worry about how well the animals are being taken care of but they all seem to be happy and in good health. The care takers kept a watchful eye on the animals and will ask people to leave if they feel someone is not being nice to them. The people are there to answer questions about the animals also. It gave me joy to see a small child that was scared to death of the big hairy creatures become brave enough to feed them from her tiny hands. She was so excited at the feel of the animals tongue that she kept getting more and more food to feed them! I think that child learned that big scary looking critters are not so scary after all. A good lesson learned in my book. I was impressed as to how gentle people were with the animals too. Everyone seemed to show the animals respect. I am sure the animals would probably prefer to be elsewhere but these seem happy and they were being used as a learning tool for children. So we were okay with the Petting Zoo….

It was fun walking down the mid-way hand in hand with my Saint as we munched on Corndogs! Do any of you attend local Fairs and how do you feel about Petting Zoo's at such events?