Calling all aspiring doggie docs

Nov. 10—Over 100 animals of over 30 species are taken care of daily at the Frank Buck Zoo. That number was even higher recently when kids brought their stuffed animals to the zoo for the Teddy Bear Hospital.

This event, hosted by Worldwide Wildlife, was designed to teach kids about animal care and studying veterinary medicine.

"Teddy bear hospitals help get the younger generation interested in veterinary medicine," said Dr. Taylor Willis, the President and co-founder of Worldwide Wildlife. "They go through multiple stations; they get to be the doctor for the day, so they get to see a day in the life of a veterinarian,"

Willis and her husband, Andrew, founded Worldwide Wildlife to teach kids and teenagers about animal care and help inspire the next generation of veterinarians. This past summer, this included a program for high school students to help behind the scenes at FBZ.

This also included the Teddy Bear Hospital for the younger children. Kids brought their teddy bears and other stuffed animals and got to play doctor for the day, giving their plush patients a physical exam, giving them some stitches and bandaging them up.

"I ran a Teddy Bear Hospital in the state of Illinois when I was in veterinary school," said Willis. "This is the first time I've run it here in North Texas. I really, just truly loved it in vet school, and I wanted to make sure we brought it here where I was born and raised."

Willis grew up in North Texas, attending junior high and high school in Sanger before earning her undergraduate at the University of North Texas in Denton.

"Taylor was an education intern here at the zoo when she was an undergrad at UNT," said Susan Kleven, the director of the FBZ. "Then she went on to vet school up in Illinois. When she graduated and stared doing her rotations she made sure to come back and check in and see if we had any needs ... She's from the area locally and just wanted to give back."

"I wish I had experiences like this when I was in middle school, high school, elementary school, what have you, and [my husband and I] wanted to bring it to our own community here," said Willis. "The partnership with Frank Buck Zoo and Worldwide Wildlife, it's been an amazing experience of just not only getting high schoolers, specifically at Gainesville High School involved, but also getting middle schoolers and even younger kids involved here with the Frank Buck Zoo as well."

Willis said she was in the process of getting another and other events scheduled for North Texas.

Stuff a plush

There's even more plush fun at FBZ in the gift shop. Now visitors can stuff their own fuzzy friend to take with them.

"We wanted to do something that typically you would have to go down to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to have an experience like that," said Kleven. "I had seen this at a trade show for zoos and aquariums, and thought that it would be a really great addition for something different parents and grandparents to bring kiddos to come have the experience of stuffing their own stuffy and customizing it."

People get to choose their animal, decide how firm or soft they want it to be, dress it up in outfits and more. The stuffing and fabrics are made from recycled products, meaning they are helping the environment as well.

This is part of FBZ's extended plan to try to increase the amount of items in the gift shop made from sustainable, environmentally-friendly materials.

"You'll notice over time, more and more of our merchandise is recycled materials, bamboo-based, corn starch, banana, all sorts of different natural fibers, making them more sustainable," said Kleven. "We're trying to carry as many of those items here in the gift shop as possible."

FBZ is open daily year-round with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with ticket sales ending at 3:30 p.m. Tickets for adults 13 through 54 years old are $9 and tickets for children one through 12 years old, active military and seniors 55 and older $7.50. Annual passes are available.

FBZ is located at 1000 W. California St. in Gainesville within Leonard Park. For more information, visit gainesville.tx.us/1064/Frank-Buck-Zoo online or call 940-668-4539.