A little about us:  Owners Gene and Dona Wheeler

     When Gene had his first open heart surgery his cardiologist suggested he do something for enjoyment and a release of daily stress.  He has always loved animals from the time he was a little boy.  He and his cousin would go to the pig fair every Saturday that was held in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin.  Now at the site that is behind the Performing Arts Center, if any old timers remember that.  He would bring home everything from birds to bunny rabbits, chickens and even one time tried to pull a goat home about 3 miles.  But, his father intervened before he made it home and he and his cousin had to turn around and head back with the goat pulling and pushing down State St.  Well, now that he is an adult he still loves animals and after his surgery we purchased a farm and started out with Flemish giant rabbits, emu's and deer and then went a little wild. Gene felt that because I was a nurse I would be a great asset to help him with the animals needing wound care, injections and administration of oral medications, etc. I must say it really did come in handy many times.  I even taught him to give injections to the animals.

     Our Grandchildren would love to come to the farm we had purchased and see all of the animals Grandma and Grandpa had. Our grandchildren would tell their teachers at school about all the animals.  Our one grandchild, Beth, told her teacher one day, "Oh, we should hop on a bus and go visit my Grama and Grandpa--they have monkeys, kangaroos, wallabies, emu's, rabbits, lots of birds, Chinese water deer, Muntjac deer, whitetails and all kinds of animals."  The teacher listened but thought she really had quite an imagination and when parent-teacher conferences came up the teacher told Beth's mother what an imagination her daughter has about all the animals her Grandparents had.  Our daughter said, "Oh, they really do."  And our first field trip was born.  the children enjoyed their field trip very much and the parting statement from the teacher was, "Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler you really should share this with all the children, it would a great educational experience for them and their parents."  We discussed this for a time and with the help of an architect friend we worked on designing Special Memories Zoo on land that we had purchased about 15 years earlier.  We worked on the zoo for about four years before opening up to the public and still continue to improve the attraction of the zoo.  Anytime someone has a suggestion we always willing to listen,  we may not be able to change or add to the suggestions given to us because of all of the rules and regulations of the WI-DNR and the Federal regulations of the USDA.  Our Zoo is privately owned and we receive no state, local or federal funding.  All vet care and all of he animal feed, specific to each animals needs, is purchased from the admission fee.  It also pays for insurance, workers wages, workman's comp., maintenance and up keep of the property. 

    So I hope this gives you a little insight into our zoo and us.We hope to see you sometime soon.