How many people can say that they had a baby elephant for a pet? Well, I can.

When election years came up, there was no stopping with the red, white and blue. There were flags, bunting, and swags. There were replicas of the White House, the Capital Building and the Monument. You couldn’t have an election year without a donkey and an elephant. Well, Dad decided to give it a twist and use live props. He bought a baby elephant, named Bobo, and a donkey, named Eeyore. Someone was having a political party and Dad decided to use his new live props. After the party, the animals stayed in a barn on the man’s property. The next morning, Dad got a call from the client who informed him that he thought the elephant was sick. 

Dad took my mom and my two sisters in our work van to pick them up. On the way home, he ran out of gas, which happened to Dad frequently. He walked to the nearest house, knocked on the door and said, “could I use your phone? I have run out of gas and I have a sick elephant in my truck”. The man said, “RIGHT” and slammed the door shut, but not before his dog got out. The dog ran barking to the truck. When the owner came to get his dog, he peeked into the van and was astonished that there really was an elephant inside.

Once we got the elephant home, my mom had to find a vet. The first four did not believe her, but finally the fifth one came out. The elephant had gotten cold in the drafty barn where he stayed the night of the party. We needed to get him warm. Electric blankets had just come out so we got one and wrapped him in it, but no matter what the vet tried we couldn’t get him well. After five days he did die and is buried on our farm in Maryland. The poor donkey cried for days. 

I have always said that whatever Dad wanted he got but my  mother was the one who took care of everything.