In a deeply touching moment, a giraffe shared a final goodbye with a zookeeper, Mario, who had dedicated his life to caring for animals at the Diergaarde Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Mario, 54 and terminally ill with cancer, had one last wish: to visit the animals he had cared for over his lifetime.
The Ambulance Wish Foundation, a Dutch charity dedicated to fulfilling the last wishes of terminally ill patients, arranged the visit, bringing Mario’s hospital bed to the zoo’s giraffe enclosure.
As his bed was positioned near the giraffes, one of them gently approached, seemingly sensing the significance of the moment. The giraffe leaned down and gave Mario a soft, affectionate kiss.
“These animals recognized him and could tell something wasn’t right,” explained Kees Veldboer, founder of the Ambulance Wish Foundation, in an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. The foundation specializes in providing terminally ill individuals with a chance to experience meaningful moments in their final days.
Mario, who also has a mental disability, had worked at the zoo for most of his adult life, primarily focused on maintaining the enclosures.
After saying goodbye to the giraffes, he requested a final visit with his colleagues at the zoo, adding another heartfelt moment to his last day there.
The Ambulance Wish Foundation, established in 2007 by Veldboer, uses specially equipped ambulances with extended windows, allowing patients to view the passing world as they are transported to places of personal significance.
The foundation has provided similar experiences to others, such as an 86-year-old man who was taken back to his farm to bid farewell to his beloved ponies.
