Editor's note: Country in Caledonia is a new weekly feature. The focus will be on the rural character of the community -- barns, farm families, and homemade goods. If you like this feature, feel free to pass it along to others. If you have any ideas for what you'd like to see featured here, send an email to denise.lockwood@patch.com.
Being a lover of most animals, from furry to scaly, I was excited to visit Jo-Don Farms. When I began talking to Bob Meyer, the current owner, I realized how much love he and his family have for their animals.
Meyer told me the zoo began in 1975 in Oak Creek by his father, Don J. Meyer. Three years after, Bob started working along side his father in 1977, when the zoo moved to its present location at 5709 Nicholson Rd. in Caledonia.
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Bob said his father opened the zoo because he was an animal trainer who found it difficult to work with people and that the animals he worked with were the things he spoke to. When I interviewed some of the animals, they didn’t seem to mind Don’s well-spoken nature.
Bob and his family’s love for their animals bring a sense of relaxation to their zoo. When animals arrive, the first thing the new inhabitants learn is crate training and a behavioral conditioning. Bob said the crate training is crucial to the safety of the animals. A fine example of that is in 1994, there was a fire in the Jo-Don barn, and no animals were lost due to their crate training.
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Bob told me the behavioral conditioning is intensive, which is why their newborn Porcupine isn’t at the zoo. Rather, the animal is as at the home of one of his employees. And when the animals are out in the exhibits, they are the ones approaching the employees while purring to get ear rubs, and scratched under their chin.
The zoo boasts about 300 animals, ranging from lions to spiders. Some of their newest additions to the zoo are a two-week-old Burro, a one-month-old pony colt, and the baby Porcupine. When I asked Bob what his customers think of his zoo he told me the biggest complements he hears are: “It is a nice park, the animals are always close up, and you are always able to see the animals.”
Bob also told me there would be a new exhibit opening on July 15. He wouldn’t tell me what’s to come. He says, “It’s going to be a big surprise.”
