News

Giraffe Kisses Zoo Worker On His Deathbed

by Andrea Garcia-Vargas

Get a box of tissues ready, because this made us tear up (and it's hard to make us cry on Fridays.) Algemeen Dagblad, a Dutch news website, reported that a terminally ill employee from Rotterdam's Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo had his hospital bed wheeled into the giraffe habitat. The zoo worker, Mario, had requested on his deathbed to see the giraffes whose habitat he had cleaned for 25 years of his life.

Mario was lying in his bed when, suddenly, one of the giraffes came over and planted a big, fat kiss on Mario's nose. At 54 years old, Mario is suffering from cancer. His wish was granted by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, who organized his trip to the zoo. We're glad to see that not only was his wish granted, but it came with a bittersweet giraffe kiss on top.

"You could totally see him light up," Kees Veldboer, founder and director of the foundation, said to Algemeen Dagblad. "It's very special to see that those animals recognize him, and sense that he isn't doing well."

Here's the picture of Mario with the giraffe. Again, we're warning you: if you want to leave this article with your heart in one piece...

Once the giraffe said goodbye to Mario, Mario said goodbye to his other zoo colleagues before being wheeled away.

Sob.

Image: imgur