fear of failure ch 34 zoo veterinarian

In the fall of 1986, I received a call from Alan Metzler, director of our local zoo. He was looking for a new veterinarian to help with the medical well-being of the zoo’s animals. Bringing him from the San Diego Zoo, the City of Atascadero hired Alan to upgrade their small zoo. The ultimate goal was to have it accredited with the AZA, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums. He needed to improve much of the physical plant and to have a more comprehensive medical oversight in place. Once accredited, we could qualify for new areas of funding, and be allowed to trade animals with other zoos.