A terminally ill Perth man was granted his final wish to say goodbye to Permai the elephant at Perth Zoo before moving to her new home in South Australia.
Grant Harris spent more than 27 years of his life working as an elephant keeper at Perth Zoo and was working with Permai when she arrived in Perth in 1992.
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness and with just days to live, Mr Harris’ dying wish was to see the 35-year-old elephant one last time with his family, and say goodbye before she made the journey to her new home at Montarto Safari Park in South Australia.
With help from volunteers at Ambulance Wish WA and Perth Zoo, the 64-year-old was able to leave his hospice bed at St John of God Murdoch Hospital to say goodbye to Permai and his former colleagues.
Ambulance Wish WA coordinator and clinician Les Anderson said it was one of the most special he had been part of among the many he’s seen over the years.
“The moment they wheeled Grant in to see Permai he lit up,” Mr Anderson said.
“Hospital staff said he had been in a lot of pain and his mood had been very low. The moment he saw his zoo family and Permai he instantly became animated, and his smile lit up the room.
“You could tell that Permai recognised him and that they had a bond. The moment he was pushed up close enough to feed her, she was right at his side and was touching him with her trunk and holding his trunk in her hand. It was such an emotional moment.”
Mr Anderson said Mr Harris was also reunited with his former colleagues.
“Grant had trained a lot of the current staff before he retired and Perth Zoo allowed all their keepers to come by and spend time with him even though they were working that day,” he said.
“Grant got to spend three hours there with his family, Permai and his zoo family who really embraced him. Everyone was crying happy tears.”
Mr Harris sadly passed away two days after saying goodbye to Permai and his former Perth Zoo colleagues.
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