We Had A Wish - Georgie’s special day as a zookeeper

Most visitors to the zoo are lucky if they come within a metre of the animals on show. Not so for one Oxfordshire girl – she got to be the zookeeper...

Georgie, aged 15 and from Chipping Norton, was granted her wish be a zookeeper for the day at Cotswold Wildlife Park, courtesy of Make-A-Wish.

Georgie is living with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and needs around-the-clock care. Her only way of communicating is by blinking to indicate ‘yes’.

When Make-A-Wish visited Georgie to find out what her special wish would be, Georgie blinked to indicate this was what she wanted. She loves animals, especially reptiles and spiders, and the family felt a day with the animals would be a feast for all her senses.

The day kicked off with a visit to the lemur house. The lemurs loved Georgie and it wasn’t long before they were climbing on her wheelchair to say hello, which brought big smiles from Georgie.

The troop then headed to the reptile house to take temporary charge of the snakes and lizards, before Georgie’s duties required her to attend to the farmyard.

The final treat was a trip to the beach where the penguins live, where Georgie made their day by feeding them their favourite fish!

Georgie’s Mum Gill said: “It was such a fantastic day. Georgie was treated like royalty and blinked to let us know she really enjoyed herself. It was so wonderful to see her so relaxed and for us to have such lovely memories to keep. Thank you.”

Make-A-Wish was only able to grant this wish because of the generous support of people and companies around the UK. Please help us to grant more magical wishes by making a donation today