They love their jobs
Sep. 25—Most of the animals at the Nez Perce County Fair, however cute, are amateurs.
If you want to see the pros, head over the petting zoo. There you'll find the cutest of the cute. There are the dancing piglets Brandon and Blake, George the llama who will give you a gentle smooch as he plucks a baby carrot from your mouth, Leslie the sulcata tortoise who loves to have her shell caressed and dozens of other small critters including bunnies, goats and chickens.
They spend all day interacting with fairgoers, eagerly accepting pets and treats. It's a labor of love.
"The animals would do this 24/7 if they could," said Bella Davis, whose family runs the miniature zoo. "They are very sweet."
They were raised to be that way. Kristina Nicholas Anderson, her husband Chris Anderson and their family run the zoo out of Cocolalla in the Idaho Panhandle. The animals are part of the clan and begin interacting with people at birth.
"We let the kids pet them from day one but not hold them," said Nicholas Anderson. "That way they get used to being handled."
As an example, she lifted a baby bunny — still pink and hairless and eyes still shut — from the rabbit house and cradled it in the palm of her hand. She instructed the children who gathered around her that they could gently pet the newborn but with just one finger.
"This bunny was born this morning," she tells them.
During a quick tour, she had piglets Blake and Brandon sit for treats and spin circles.
"Good boys," she said before rewarding them with oats.
George the llama did indeed take a carrot from her mouth and Leslie the tortoise, who is just 8 years old but may well live to 100, slowly but assertively gobbled leaves of lettuce from her hand.
The family does their best to educate fairgoers about the animals. For example, Leslie has nerves throughout her shell and loves a gentle massage.
"She can feel even a fly land on her," said Nicholas Anderson.
The zoo, which operates under the name DSS Backyard Events, travels to fairs and other events during the spring, summer and early fall. But the animals also spend plenty of time at home.
"We go to an event and then we go home and let them rest," she said. "And we don't sell our animals when they get old. We've got a whole retirement ward."
While at home, the critters are just part of the family and even spend time inside.
"A couple of years ago my husband built us a new house and it's completely animal set up," she said. "It has concrete floors so all of the animals can come in and it's easy to clean up. We put pads down and pool fences up and we raise them all indoors until they are old enough to join the herd. That way they still get to be animals but they are very socialized."
Outside, George serves as security, keeping watch for cougars and other predators. Brandon, Blake and the other pigs follow Nicholas Anderson like puppies as she completes chores on the farm.
"When it's time for bed at night, I say 'bedtime' and they run to their house and they put themselves to bed."
At the fair, people who enter the zoo must step on mats soaked with a sterilizing agent and have their hands spritzed with hand sanitizer. The effort is to keep the animals healthy and prevent any illnesses that other fair critters may be carrying from entering the small enclosure.
It's a popular stop for many fairgoers. Brittany MacDougal, of Pullman, gushed over a puffball of a lionhead bunny.
"It's so flippin' adorable," she said. "I'm pregnant and my daughter is hopefully going to show bunnies. That is what I did for FFA."
The fair is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
