Visitation Battle for Tarra the Elephant

An unusual battle for weekly visitation rights is unfolding involving an elephant named Tarra, currently residing at the 2,700 acre Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. The original co-founder of the Sanctuary, Carol Buckley, has had a falling out the current board of directors at the facility. Buckley wants to continue visiting Tarra, whom she acquired when the elephant was only one year old.

For the last 35 years Tarra has been like Buckley’s child. Buckley taught Tarra many tricks including how to roller-skate! Together they toured and performed for two decades. Buckley started the Elephant Sanctuary in 1995 as a natural wildlife habitat sanctuary for ill, elderly and abandoned elephants in the US. She continued to visit Tarra regularly ever since.

Tarra is a very unusual elephant and does not seem to bond with other pachyderms. With Tarra’s longstanding relationship with Buckley currently severed while they go through court, Buckley is very worried about Tarra’s mental state. Tarra does have another friend at the Sanctuary - a yellow lab mix named Bella. When Bella first showed up, the two became inseparable and now do everything together. They eat and sleep together, and have even invented games to play with each other. Nobody realised how strong their relationship was until Bella suffered a spinal cord injury that left her paralysed.

Bella had to stay inside for several weeks. The entire time, Tarra waited at the gate outside the Elephant Sanctuary’s offices. One day a staff member decided to take Bella out on the balcony so the two could at least see each other, and that was the very first time since her injury that Bella wagged her tail. Such is the power of their friendship.

You can read more about Tarra, Bella and Buckley’s pending lawsuit on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tarra-and-Bella/109989825679278#!/group.php?gid=107312185960934

Most animals that we keep as pets are not happy to be left alone and are happiest when they have a friend. If you have to leave your buddy at home for a while make sure they have plenty of dog toys to keep them entertained. We have added several new toys to our inventory just in time for the holidays, including Kong Squiggles. Kong Squiggles come in several different animal shapes, including elephants, monkeys and rabbits. These durable dog toys have a Kong ball at one end, a soft toy with a squeaker at the other, and a stretchy section in the middle that’s perfect for playing tug-o-war!

Posted 22nd November 2010

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