It certainly is!
Posted on 08/22/2006 8:17:52 AM PDT by sinkspur
GLEN ROSE -- This is a story of love turned obsession and of a green-eyed, bald little girl with a French accent who wished it to come true. This little girl was named Claire Smith. She lived with her mother, Sophie, her father, Craig, and her baby brother, Cole, in a house in a town called Keller.
One day in April 2005, when Claire was 4 years old, the doctors told her she had a tumor named for a man, Max Wilms.
It was very scary because Claire had to go through a lot of very painful treatments for six months.
When she was sick and living in a hospital, she made a wish. She wished, more than anything else, to pet a baby cheetah. She had always loved cats.
The people at A Wish With Wings heard what she wanted. They had seen sick little boys and girls ask to go to Disney World or meet Kelly Clarkson or even to get 100 Barbie dolls. But they had never heard of this wish.
Claire didn't even put down a second or third choice.
They first called the San Diego Zoo, but that zoo couldn't do it. So they called two people at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center outside a small Texas town because everyone knew they had cheetahs.
Usually, the people at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center couldn't help either. Cheetahs are big cats, and they might bite children like Claire.
(Excerpt) Read more at dfw.com ...
Go to the link. She's a cutie.....
Kids and animals, a match made in heaven....
I used to work witha man whose wife was a Cheeta handler for the San Diego Zoological society. Beautiful animals but they don't get too far away from chaing things down and chewing on them.
Got me all misty-eyed here...
That is a beautiful touching story.
I hope she recovers, but even more than that, I hope she continues to live life best she can :~)
This is a kitty ping, of sorts :~D
:( Sweet story...
It certainly is!
Damned blurry monitor...
While in Orlando a couple of years ago,I stayed at a resort that featured a Sigfried and Roy kind of show with a huge tiger and a male lion.I watched then unload the animals from the truck.There was a girl who was about 5 foot nothing in charge of controlling the lion.She kept smacking him on the nose.
I'll bet that girl has trouble getting life insurance!
Great story. Hey, wait a minute! No photos of Moose & Bruce?
There is a picture of the girl with Moose and Bruce in the hard copy of the newspaper.
My daughter made another trip to the rare animals preserve just North and West of DFW. I posted pictures of her frolicing with tiger cubs. Just six weeks later she went for another visit and those cubs are now the size of my huskies. They're still playful but I warned my daughter that soon she change from plaything to supper!
Such a sweet story...thanks for posting it!
What a precious little girl with a kind heart for big cats; thanks for posting it, I love stories like these.
How wonderful - thanks for the story.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful note about Claire's story.
She's a beautiful child, so to the extent that it is a good story, it is due entirely to unforgettable material provided by a little girl.
Again, thanks for taking the time to write.
Regards,
Chris
What a dear story! Thanks for posting it. I can't get over the fact that the cheetahs responded to Claire. I could tell she is a special child. Apparently the cheetahs can too.
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