A lovely lady. Maybe 70 now or so? You can safely view her videos from her website...
http://www.pawsweb.o..._home_page.html
She still is I think. She's succeeded at all she wanted to do in one lifetime I think.
This is about the time when I spent a every weekend ( age 12) for a year, with Ted and Pat Derby who had and do strive to do as much as they can for wild animals in captivity. Their early work as they simply began to collect and adopt animals and such also involved proper clean, sorted foods that were donated from markets and such warehouses. They taught this to many of our more famous zoos.
They did have performance animals, the big cats old and young for the Ford Mercury Car commercials in the 60s and 70s for southern california tv region, etc.... the bear starring in the movie the Love Bug, original film. His name was Sweet William and his security blanket was a claw footed bathtub.... he loved fig newtons.
a lion named Joe, that Ted would sit with until he got in a better mood. Just a big cat really, and yes they can get grumpy.
Ted passed not too many years after that after they had to move animals from the small zoo in Buellton CA near Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara, where I grew up.
Unfortunately this very sweet man was killed by a rancher who Ted had to drive over his property, often late at night in a small pickup to get to the new property, who decided without good reason , to assume Ted was rustling his cattle to feed the big cats. Absolutely not true, He shot him dead in cold blooded murder.
But Pat was able to go on. Her organization is the original .
I still have not seen all of the website.
They have at least a few sanctuaries and videos of more current things they do.
I did find her youtube page too. Here is one.
( ok CAUTION: its not her own youtube page and if you want to watch other videos look on right side and down and use your own discretion. on youtube page or you might see something too rude,which I doubt is anything to do with her. Sorry, I just noticed that. sheesh. Is nothing pure any more?
I learned so much from them. They were part of my beginnings.
We need to keep America safe and free for her to continue doing her work and so many others who do high quality endangered animal work like our native wolves sanctuaries.
At the time I knew Nina, her first elephant. Only Pat worked with her.
They also had two of the largest most healthy siberian tigers whom she would simply walk sedately through the animal zoo park they first had. I remember sitting there on a park bench absolutely petrified when she did that for Dad to film it in off hours of course.
Lots of sweet fun and educational memories. A real historical adobe we all stayed in, their home. It was such a comfort , its why I want a cob home like that some day.
Edited by arby, 03 June 2012 - 05:13 PM.
