I had the great honor and pleasure of personally knowing Steve & Terri Irwin. They were an inspiration to me in everything I did & still do concerning animals & conservation of wildlife. He is dearly missed.

In a small southern Missouri town, this mid-western girl grew up on farms & ranches. Animals were as much an essential part of my life as was breathing.

At age five, I had my tonsils out and as a homecoming reward, my father who was an animal lover too, gifted me with a baby alligator sent in from Florida from my Aunt Bernice. You could buy baby alligators in stores back then but this baby alligator wasn’t of the 8-10 inch variety sold there, this was a 2- foot beautiful specimen that I named “Pursie”. (I realize now that the name was not cool! :) ) Thus my adventure with wildlife had begun!

In 1997, I wrote a letter to the Australia Zoo & the Irwin’s. I was overwhelmed with the evidence of passion Steve & Terri displayed on their TV show, “The Crocodile Hunter.” Finally, someone else had the same animal “disease” I had been labeled with since childhood and also wanted everyone to share in it with them! I was a fan, an animal groupie, a devoted watcher of the show… and eventually their friend.

When I received the phone call from Steve Irwin saying he personally had read my letter and was honored to know me, I nearly fainted. He spoke of our having similar upbringings both being raised by animal loving parents and around all species of animals, not just the domestic variety. I was in love with this man.

I had been living on an animal rescue & reserve for over 10 years and shared my life with critters ranging from the normal domestic cats & dogs to, ‘Big Bird” my ostrich with a club foot, “Sara” my man-hating, bile spitting Llama, and “Lucy” a incubator hatched, king-sized bed living baby goose. All aspects of wildlife around & in between also co-habited with us on what we named, Enchanted Emporium Wildlife Reserve.

In the Spring of 2001, Steve Irwin was in the USA promoting the premier of his movie and made a stop in Springfield, Missouri at The Bass Pro Shops just 38 miles up the road from my reserve. When I heard of his planned tour, I faxed Terri to invite Steve to visit my reserve. It was the proudest day ever when called me to say “hello” and that he would be delighted to come for a quick visit! A cherished day I will never forget.

I could ramble on & on about my heartfelt feelings for the Irwin’s. I watched Bindi grow up from a baby girl being balanced on a crocodiles back to the incredible intelligent and caring animal conservationist she is today now hosting her own TV show in her father’s footsteps.

This amazing family made their mark on the world and when it came to a screeching halt on September 4^th 2006 while doing what he loved, a piece of everyone’s hearts were pierced too. Steve Irwin was a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind friend. I miss him every single day and cherish the knowledge I learned from him concerning animal husbandry and true animal understanding and communication.

There will be many imitators, many wanna-be duplicators, and many silly attempts to come across as the truly caring animal lover that Steve was… but they all pale in comparison.

I miss you my friend & I know that you’ve crossed over that Rainbow Bridge.