Meet Tammy Davies | Owner of Zen Zoo Petting zoo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tammy Davies and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tammy, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
People enjoying my (farm) animals as much as I do. Rough days are always made better when I go sit in my zoo pen and have the animals come over for pets and hugs.
It’s my therapy, honestly!
I have so many people say “this is so therapeutic,” and It truly is.
It warms my heart to see people visit these animals and relax, smile, and just feel better.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work. What sets you apart from others?
I would say how much I truly love doing this with my whole heart! Not saying others that do this do not. Most look at it as a job, and it is! It’s a very hard, full time job actually. There is so much work that goes into traveling with animals and setting up/taking down everything. But, I love it! I love seeing all the kids smile and laugh and go crazy over having a zoo in their backyard! I love when adults are as excited, sometimes more so than the kiddo’s. My heart always smiles when we visit senior’s!. My zoo makes their day brighter and their smiles brighten my day even more!

It HAS NOT been easy at all, lol trying to bounce back after Covid has for sure been difficult, but my boyfriend has carried me along, and I will never be able to thank him enough. If I had to pick a “favorite” moment, it would be one that happened very early on with my zoo. I was doing a Special Olympics event, and a family with a quadriplegic little boy came over, while we were giving our animals a break. They asked if their son could look at our miniature horses. That led to us setting him on the horses back, with four of us holding on to him, we began to walk just a little bit and this child who had no control over his body, and could not speak, began throwing his arms up in the air yelling faster faster. He was having the time of his life, and putting everything he had into it! We were crying along with his parents, as they had never witnessed their child do this.
I was given more that day than I gave, and it changed my life and set me in a new direction with my zoo. Lessons learned? I don’t need 2 of everything lol.
When I started out I thought I needed 5 miniature horses, three standard horses, llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, basically Noah’s ark LOL. I thought the bigger I was the more impressive I looked. However, when people visit, most of the time the children want to sit and hold the chicken, or a bunny, or even a baby goat. Although that is not enough for me LOL my zoo is quite small, and I keep it that way, because it’s simple but still so very powerful. I want the world to know that if I was rich and could afford to do this for free, I would! The events that I have done at no cost, for disadvantaged children, or visits to senior resident centers, give me more joy than any event I charge for. Having a petting zoo costs a small fortune, and is a ton of work 7 days a week. There is no vacations and even when there is no business, like in the winter, the animals still require the same amount of work and care, actually more so. I wouldn’t change a minute of it though.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Off the grid, anywhere alongside the rapids, where we could put our hammocks up in a tree and chill, listening to the water rushing and the birds chirping. Estes park, Ed’s Cantina, an avacado Margarita, and visit all the cute shops.
Jefe’s in Longmont, love the bartenders and the atmosphere, and their margaritas are awesome too! Best loaded fries and nachos by far. I even named my mini donkey Jefe! Lol
Bruce’s in Severance Co. Rocky mountain oysters are the best there, and it’s the tiniest little town I’ve seen. If the Season is right, we would walk along all our irregation ditches and pick fresh asparagus, that’s mine and my grandkids favorite pass time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly, my childhood was pretty rough, and I grew up in many different homes. A lady named Deanna Moya took me in and cared for me much of the time. Her kids were my siblings, as far as I was concerned, and she was the MOM I strived to be. I give her the credit for becoming the mom I was to my kids. My cousin Melodee Putt took me in as well, and was another big influence in my life. She has been there for me multiple times when my zoo was looking like it wasn’t going to make it, due to expenses and not enough business.
My best childhood friend Angelica Bueno has been there for me every single day of my life from childhood to present, and has assisted in keeping my zoo afloat in tough times. My boyfriend David Eisele,,,, I couldn’t have my zoo nor have taken it this far without him! Through Covid and even Winters, I could never have afforded to keep my animals, as the cost of feed, hay vets etc. Was impossible. He believes in my mission with these animals, and has had my back emotionally and financially when times looked really grim.
And, my granddaughter Harley Davies! She is 9 and works every event with me. She is the strongest little person I know and the best help anyone could ever wish for. She has been by my side from the age of 3, sharing our animals with people.
Animals have always been my saving grace. As a child, I was always finding a stray dog or cat, the worse off they were, the more I loved them and had to make them better. I would skip school as a teenager and spend the day at the humane society, just visiting and sitting with the poor homeless dogs. I worked with a few vets as an older teen, but the job usually paid all the vet bills I had fixing up a stray dog I found on the street hit by a car.
Moving to present, rescues make the best pets in my little petting zoo, but not all of them are rescues.In a nutshell, I absolutely love what I do, and enjoy all the amazing people I meet in this process. My goals are to one day walk one of my amazing animals down the hallways of a children’s cancer center, or any hospital that has sick people that need a smile and uplifting! I have done so many amazing things with my animals over the years, but there are still a few more on my bucket list.

Website: Zenzoopettingzoo.com

Instagram: _zenzoopettingzoo

Facebook: ZenZoo72

Image Credits
Myself Tammy Davies and my granddaughter Harley Davies with Otis the steer. My granddaughter Harper Davies with our mini donkey, Jefe