You’re actually getting paid for this?

Today I was working with the two elephants that we have in quarantine. Two more weeks or so until their TB cultures can be read and we will be able to release them. Until then, they are in a very small area separated from the other elephants, and those of us working in that area are separated from the rest of the keepers. It is not everyone’s favorite place to be. The smell in the morning is overwhelming and marinates into your skin. Most of the day is spent squeegying the floor, which is somehow angled away from the drains, because standing water is a big USDA issue. The very small space is designed to give the elephants as much room as possible, leaving a very, very small space for the people. In order to leave the area, we have to put coveralls over our clothes, change our shoes, and disinfect our hands. Time consuming. As a result, we hardly leave the room.

We make comments among ourselves about these little frustrations. We may even pretend that it is a real hardship or that we don’t want to go back in. But today as I was hand feeding pieces of produce to Jewel and casually petting her trunk, my boss walked in and asked “you’re actually getting paid for this?”, and he was making an excellent point. I have often said that even on my worst day at work, I still get to work with elephants so it can’t be that bad. And you know what? It’s not bad. At all.