South Texas, July 1999: Satchmo was just 3 1/2 months old when he arrived at the WAO. His owner had bought him from a roadside zoo to be his pet. However, he did not know how to feed him properly and by the time Satchmo was only 14 weeks old, his bones were already paper thin. He "fell down some stairs" and broke both of his front legs.

The owner took him to his veterinarian to have him euthanized because he didn't want to spend anymore money on him! The veterinarian contacted the WAO and that same day our staff drove a total of four hours to pick up Satchmo. Satchmo was examined by one of our veterinarians and she found several hairline fractures in all of his limbs in addition to the two major breaks in his forelegs. Satchmo was immediately put on calcium supplements and had to be confined to a covered crib for the first 8 weeks after his arrival. His confinement was necessary to avoid further breaks.

After 8 weeks, Satchmo was finally able to go outside for short supervised playtime. He was quite happy about that!

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 Satchmo, confined to a "crib" upon arrival.

Today, Satchmo lives in a large natural enclosure at Talley Road.  He has come a long way since his accident in 1999!  It is hard to believe Satchmo is now 12-years old! 

(Click photo to enlarge)

Photograph taken at Talley (January 2010)