Attention Animal Rescuers: Prairie Dog Town Oakley, Kansas
We are driving to Colorado Springs, CO right now. On our way we saw billboards talking about a prairie dog town. We were intrigued, and exited there. The place was in the town of Oakley in Kansas. When we walked into the place we were greeted by a life-size Native American with its hand down its pants. It looked very racist.
The owner, Larry, is an old guy with a tattoo. He was nice enough, but not the kinda guy I would like to run into again.
Hanging from the walls in the gift shop were several dead animals stuffed and mounted. The had things like a “Jackalope,” a dead rabbit with horns. Or the butt of a deer with fake eyes on each cheek. This seemed kind of wrong since this was a petting zoo and dead animals weren’t there for learning reasons.
Larry showed us some rattlesnakes, he had about 40 or 50 snakes in a box 8 feet long and 4 feet deep. He took pride in saying that he hadn’t had one escape in 35 years. I wondered how he managed that because if I was one of those snakes, then I would try everything I could to get out.
He handed us a bag of dog biscuits. Not like home made cookies, but store bought doggy treats. We were supposed to feed it to the prairie dogs. I don’t know much about prairie dogs, but I’m pretty sure they don’t have the same dietary needs as real dogs.
Outside, where Larry keeps his animals, it was sweltering under the hot Kansas sun, with temperatures well over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Poor animals. They were all behind metal bars, except the prairie dogs who had holes everywhere. None of them were in their natural habitat. We saw the hog clawing at the dry water spigot. The poor wolves were pacing around the concrete floor of their tiny cage. All the animals looked miserable. If there are any animal rescuers out there, buy a ticket to Oakley, Kansas …NOW!
The main attraction of the place was “the world’s biggest prairie dog,” a gigantic statue of a prairie dog. It was not worth it to see the statue. Seeing the poor care of the animals just ruined the experience.
I do not recommend visiting this place, unless you are looking for animals to save, because these guys are in desperate need of help.
Please, if you are an animal rescuer, help these sad souls.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:45 pm
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