BROOKINGS – It’s official. Willie Nelson has relocated to Brookings.
No, it’s not Willie Nelson the singer. It’s Willie the fainting goat.
Willie recently relocated from Bruce to his new dwellings at the soon-to-open W.H. Stables & Petting Zoo, 1913 20th Ave., behind Ramsdell’s in Brookings. He brings with him a long list of musical icon friends.
Sharing his stall are fainting goats Sheldon and Jennifer, who are named after two of the zoo’s partners, Sheldon and Jennifer Dobbs of Volga.
The zoo will also house:
Stable and zoo owners Adam and RJ Welch-Hagemann said that they came up with the clever names for the animals because not only did they want to make it fun for kids, but because they love all kinds of music. Adam said the animals’ names were given to them based on their personalities.
“I want to think that every one of the animals we have is a classic, just like the artists they are named after,” he said.
The idea for a zoo was always in the back of their minds.
“We were thinking about how to give back to the community, and since we are animal people, we decided to do that with a donation-only petting zoo,” RJ said. “Our friends Sheldon and Jennifer have always had the same dream, too, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to get them involved as well.”
Another major reason for them to take on this substantial project was to give kids the chance to experience all the animals that Adam and RJ wanted to own growing up but couldn’t due to city living.
Once the decision was a “go,” they set out on their quest in hopes of finding the animals that were the right “fit.” After online searches and referrals from family and friends, they hit the road.
But in the end, RJ said that they didn’t pick the animals.
“I would like to think that the animals picked us,” he said. “We visited all of them and the ones that came up to us and wanted love, well, we knew they were the ones.”
As the zoo developed, so did its mission statement: “Helping youth and families connect with their agricultural heritage while connecting with each other.”
So far, it’s working.
The Dobbs have been putting in long hours after work and school to get the zoo ready to open. Sheldon and Jennifer’s daughter, Leeah, 14, said as a result, it has brought their family closer together.
“We used to spend so much time running around with school and work,” Leeah said. “We never really saw each other.
“We used to come home and see each other right before we went to bed and that was about it,” she said.
Getting ready to open has been a labor of love as there is an extensive list of requirements set by the state to obtain an exhibitor’s license. The list was even longer and would have involved more paperwork from the county if the animals were going to be exotic.
But the four didn’t want to wait to show off their new kids on the block, so they decided to stick with domestic animals. They, along with volunteers Cammrey Waldner and Danielle Mamula, both of Brookings, have spent the last few weeks wiping down every inch of the stalls with disinfectant and removing birds’ nests and cobwebs. The final step was to have local vets from Heartland Veterinary Clinic examine and sign off on the health of each animal.
Speaking of labor, the zoo will look more like a maternity ward by Thanksgiving as Olivia, Petula, Tammy, Jennifer and Tanya, are pregnant.
Visitors will have their first chance to meet the country and rock superstars Saturday during the zoo’s open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be $1 pony rides, bobbing for apples, a coloring contest, a buried treasure hunt, potato sack races, a silent auction, food and more. Free-will donations will be accepted.
Normal business hours will be Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
If you can’t come out to their facility, the zoo can come to you as it is available for rent. Zoo officials also hope to work extensively with area senior care, disability and youth-at-risk agencies.
“We want to give back to our community in a way where they can be educated and experience something new.”
The Dobbs family couldn’t agree more.
“Every day is pretty fun out here,” Leeah said.
Vicki Schuster photos
Above: Leeah Dobbs, 14, Volga, holds 10-week-old rabbit Kenny (Rogers) while her best friend, Cammrey Waldner, 16, Brookings, holds 9-month-old rabbit Dolly (Parton), at the W.H Stables & Petting Zoo.
Below: Leeah Dobbs, of Volga, gets in some quality time with pygmy goat Billy Ray (Cyrus) while her mom, Jennifer Dobbs, takes a break from cleaning his stall at the W.H. Stables & Petting Zoo. The zoo, which opens on Saturday, has 21 animals that the staff and volunteers love and care for on a daily basis. The Dobbs have said not only are they bonding with the animals, but they have bonded better with each other as a result.
