Giraffe Kisses Dying Zoo Worker Goodbye
Animals: they're just like us. Mario Eijs, a dying zoo worker at Rotterdam's Diergaarde Blijdorp Zoo, fulfilled his dying wish to be brought within the zoo's giraffe enclosure, where he had been working for 25 years. The giraffes then nuzzled and kissed him goodbye as if this story weren't sad enough.
Eijs has terminal cancer.
The visit was organized by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, which offers free transport to terminally ill patients.
Wijs was wheeled around the zoo in his hospital bed and several giraffes became curious when he was brought to their inside enclosure.
Eijs reportedly was "beaming" after the exchange, and also had an opportunity to say goodbye to his coworkers.
