The animals arrive on Tuesday, June 7th around 11am.
The Petting Zoo opens June 8th!
Petting area is open 7 days a week, 11am to 4pm.
We will have Alpacas, Pigs, Goats, Sheep, Rabbits, Chicks and Ducklings!
**Admission is FREE**
We are in need of various items to keep the petting zoo running. Cleaning materials, feed, bedding, materials, etc are needed. We are seeking donations to help offset our costs.
If you would like to volunteer to assist with the Zoo please contact Exchange Club President Rick Bauer or Immediate Past President Rick Olig.
ZOO CLEANUP DAY 2010
PETTING ZOO Summer 2010
Fond du Lac Reporter - JULY 1, 2010
The goats and sheep have returned to Lakeside Park. The petting zoo is back up and running, thanks to a partnership between the Fond du Lac Exchange Club and Cristo Rey Ranch. Organizers were planning on opening the zoo at 11 a.m. today. But if the animals are uncomfortable and need time to adjust, the zoo will open on Saturday, July 3, said Rick Olig, past president of the Exchange Club. The zoo will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through Labor Day. Admission is free. Olig said both the club and the community wanted the zoo to return. For years, families have brought their little ones to play with the curious goats and adorable miniature ponies. However, the barn has stood silent since last year. Tim Wiskow, founder of Whisper Hill Clydesdales Special Needs Foundation, had run the zoo since 2005. In previous interviews with The Reporter, Wiskow said he couldn't open the zoo in 2009 because of financial considerations.
A nice addition
Before Wiskow, Cristo Rey Ranch provided animals for the zoo. But it faced funding issues, and the effort proved to be too time consuming for those involved. The ranch had to stop, said Sister Stephen Bloesl, director of nursing at Villa Loretto Nursing Home. Cristo Rey Ranch is located on the Villa Loretto grounds in Mount Calvary.
This time, the Exchange Club and Cristo Rey Ranch are determined to make it work. The sisters of Cristo Rey are starting small, bringing in goats, sheep, lambs, rabbits and maybe llamas. Depending on how things go this summer, they may provide other animals for special events. The ranch also has a miniature horse, donkeys, baby emus and turkeys and ducklings.
"It's such a nice addition to the park," Bloesl said. "We have an abundance of animals out here (at the ranch), and if we can share those critters with Fond du Lac, it will be a good thing for the community."
Money
The Exchange Club put up the money for bedding, feed, wages and insurance, Olig said. The zoo will have volunteers, and city staff will open it daily. But the zoo will need some paid positions to ensure the best care for the animals. Volunteers aren't always available, Bloesl said, though they are always appreciated.
Olig said the $1 million insurance policy cost $565 for the season, less than what he expected. Olig said the Exchange Club will use the $3,000 it raised during Walleye Weekend to help pay for the petting zoo. Members sold sweet corn in the Fond du Lac Fire Department
Association tent during the event held June 11-13 in Lakeside Park.
This year's Walleye Weekend was the Exchange Club's second best Walleye Weekend fundraiser, topped only by 2008, when the club made made $4,000, he said. He said the Exchange Club and Cristo Rey Ranch aren't looking for a handout, but they won't turn away help from the community. Bloesl said the zoo could use some smaller bales of hay, if any farmer can spare a few.
Olig said the zoo will accept donations of feed, bedding or money. Anyone who wants to donate or volunteer may call Bloesl at (920) 753-3211 or Olig at (920) 960-9306. "We're not going to set up a cup out there and beg for money," he said. Olig said the club is thrilled to have the zoo back up and running — just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. The Exchange Club is dedicated to kids and built the zoo barn in the 1970s as part of its community service mission.
The petting zoo may not be the Milwaukee County Zoo, but it's still a free place where families can touch the animals, see how they live and ooh and ahh over the babies.
"A lot of kids don't have that opportunity anymore," Olig said.
