Kangaroo kisses! Animal visit brings too much cuteness to Sacramento hospital
Lezlie Sterling
·3 min read
Animal handlers with SeaWorld San Diego brought some cuteness and comfort to young patients at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento on Wednesday, with bedside visits from a kangaroo, a sloth, a skunk, an owl, a raven a tortoise and more.
The visit was part of SeaWorld’s effort to educate children about wildlife conservation with rescued animals.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to see a kangaroo like that ever again,” said Lucas Bartsch, 12, of Cottonwood, after petting a kangaraoo named Fuzz Bucket who was stuffed in a basket and placed next to him on his hospital bed in the oncology ward. He also got to pet a skunk named Flower and an owl named Archimedes.
“It’s something that brings joy and excitement,” said Sara Anderson, a manager with Sutter Health’s child life program. ‘It helps them forget for a little bit that they’re in the hospital, for just a little while.’
SeaWorld has visited the hospital with rescued animals in the past but this was their first time back since the pandemic.
Lucas Bartsch, 12, of Cottonwood, pets a kangaraoo named Fuzz Bucket from his hospital bed at Sutter Children’s Center in Sacramento on Wednesday. SeaWorld San Diego provided the experience for young patients. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
Patient Matt Prado, 11, left pets a skunk named Flower held by SeaWorld handler Corrine Brindley on Wednesday. “They’re really cute,” he said. SeaWorld brought rescued animals for children at the hospital to experience including a great horned owl, raven, alligator, kangaroo, tortoise and sloth. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
Antonio Alba-Miller gets a view of rescues animals from his hospital bed as his grandma Laura Davis pets a sloth named Edward Scissor Hands on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. SeaWorld San Diego provided the experience for young patients at Sutter Children’s Center by bringing rescued and rehabilitated animals to the hospital. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
Animal rescue handlers from SeaWorld San Diego hold a skunk and a kangaroo up for Aryn Moore and her 17-month old daughter Charlee to see at Sutter Children’s Center on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
Nurses at Sutter Children’s Center take a break to pet a kangaroo named Fuzz Bucket as SeaWorld San Diego brought rescued animals to the hospital Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
Corrine Brindley, left, an animal handler with SeaWorld San Diego, sits on Kiira Kinkle’s hospital bed and she holds a kangaroo named Fuzz Bucket in a basket for young patients at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento on Wednesday. The visit was part of SeaWorld’s effort to educate children about wildlife conservation with rescued animals. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
A kangaroo named Fuzz Bucket, held by SeaWorld San Diego animal handler Corrine Brindley, appears to kiss Sutter Children’s Center surgery nurse Lexi Sanchez during a visit by the rescued and rehabilitated animals to the hospital Wednesday. Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com
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