When Sammy was around 18 months, things got a whole lot more fun. He liked going places and doing things on his own two feet. The days of easy stroller walks were unfortunately over, but it opened up other possibilities.
Earlier this year I was still home with Sammy full time, and although it was lovely… it can get pretty monotonous. I was looking for new things to do… and living in a small town limits things somewhat. A visit to a playground… playing in the garden… visiting the supermarket. These are all things to do… but they’re not terrible exciting.
So one day, in the grips of loneliness, I translated the word Petting Zoo and googled it. Cause that’s what we were ready for. Sammy was too young to enjoy a large zoo – but a petting zoo? Hell yeah.
And wouldn’t you know? There is a Streichelzoo (petting zoo) 20 minutes away from where I live. Though it’s more on the scale of a hobby farm than those mobile petting zoos that visit schools and shopping centres.
It’s a mix between a zoo and a petting zoo, and unlike what I was expecting… pigs and cows and sheep… the mix of animals is, along with the usual… somewhat eclectic. They boast around 350 animals, and sure, many of them are birds, and there is even a pond of gold fish and a handful of very intense goats. But then there are also… wallabies… capybaras… and my favourite… prairie dogs. And since we’re in Austria, it’s quite normal to enjoy the petting zoo with a beer, so that’s a bonus.
I ran in there, bought us season passes and prepared to ogle animals. And here’s what my son did:
This:
And this:
So even though I was a tad bit disappointed at his reaction (or lack of) to the cool animals, it was still one of the best things I did this warm season. It got us out of the house, we could go as many times as we liked without extra cost, it exposed Sam to things he didn’t normally get to see, plus it exposed him to other little people.
It was kind of like having another backyard to go and play in… where you could always find some random people… and also… animals. It made me feel less lonely. A couple of times I actually spoke to other adults. It made me feel like I was giving Sam something more than just another trip to the playground.
Every time we went it was a little different. During this season I was most excited to see pocket-sized cabybaras, mini goats, puppies, a gangly baby alpaca, and the teeny-tiny foal of the tiniest horse I’ve ever seen. Man, was I in animal heaven! And it was great to see how Sam warmed up the more we went and the older he got. We began with me dragging him around and distributing peanuts myself… and in the end he was dragging me around, thrusting peanuts through the fence to eccentric donkeys and ravenous goats like an animal himself. His confidence grew with each visit.
At the end of the season I sadly said goodbye to the animals (they close over winter) and Sammy enjoyed one last play in his favourite pile of stones. Till next year!
an aussie in austria 