Daniel left us January 20, 1999. He had been having seizures that even medicine wasn't helping and on Friday January 20th he had a seizure that he didn't come out of. We will miss our baby Daniel but he is now where he can see, run and play like God intended.

Daniel came to us when he was about 3 months old along with another young lion. They both originated from individual owners. Leo was a year old when he came to us. Both cats have different stories so please read on of one volunteers experience with Daniel that was expressed in correspondence with friends.

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March 29, 1998 Yesterday we went to work on the petting zoo for the children (going back again today to put up fences) and found that Joe took in 2 new young lions. The 2nd lion is only 3 months old. He has had some type of head injury. He stares straight ahead. He can't stand on his own and can barely hold his head up. He does have movement of his limbs but no balance. He is hand fed and takes water from a bottle. Imagine the face of young Simba on the movie "The Lion King" only blind and you are seeing this little baby.

March 30, 1998 The baby held his head up a few seconds more at each attempt and he raised his head more than Saturday. But it broke my heart each time his head would just drop to the floor. He is tentatively named Tater Tot by one of the young kids here, because when he is curled up in your lap he is so cute and the color of a golden brown tater tot. No permanent name will be given to him till we know if he can be saved. We have already gotten attached but know that it may be necessary to put him down.

March 31, 1998 The baby actually sat up BY himself for a few seconds today. 3 separate times! The right diet and therapy by loving volunteers, along with all of our (this means you!) prayers he is *really, really* improving! I was so happy and I kept these thoughts even while the baby tried so hard to do something. I held him for about an hour last night. He slept most of the time but that he was warm and safe was good.

April 2, 1998 Audrey and Mike took Daniel (baby) and Leo (1 yr old) to the vet today and the news was bad and ok. Daniel is blind. The accidental hit to the head/neck did do the damage that we still have to wait and watch for improvement. He has not seemed to improve any since Monday. If there is no improvement in the next month, then we will need to do the "humane" thing.

April 4, 1998 Daniel seems better. Elizabeth is his primary handler and has told me he is doing something new each day. Amber and I checked on him last night, he was asleep in her arms and then I held him in mine as we talked. Just before we left I showed her a suggested exercise for him and as I sat him back on the floor he tried to sit up and he did for about 20 seconds with only my foot next to him for support. Then he promptly melted back down to the floor. We will keep on with a good diet, therapy and prayers.

April 17, 1998 Daniel seemed to be improving but he has had 4 seizures in the last week. Elizabeth called Dr. Alexander, the Dean of Veterinarian Medicine at OSU Vet School, who said Daniel may have peaked his improvement level. He also told her that he commends us for being willing to work with Daniel when other places would have put him down from the very beginning. Daniel has done a few things new but nothing significant. Again it is the waiting game we must play. Elizabeth is for caring for Daniel this entire time. Going through these seizures with Daniel can not easy. We bond with these animals and they are like one of our own. She said that today he rubbed his nose against her chin and jaw for the first time. A small thing, but it lifts our hopes when darkness seeps in.

April 22, 1998 I saw Daniel Sunday evening and he has gained weight but has also had a few more seizures. He hasn't improved much as far as being able to sit up by himself and things like that. Elizabeth still feeds him by hand and we continue to pray that improvement will come with a little more time and care.

May 3, 1998 Daniel is doing a little better in that he has gained weight and is getting stronger. He weighted about 17 lbs a month ago and last Thursday (4-30) at the Dr's he weighted in at 24 lbs. The Dr's said after several tests that Daniel has brain damage (the full report is very long), his blindness is something called 'cortical blindness', that his seizures are caused from scar tissue, and that we still have to wait, continue the therapy and watch for improvement. Every now and then with someone to lend a little support he can now stay sitting up for about 5-10 minutes. In the report it is mentioned that he could grow to full lion size.

May 21, 1998 Daniel keeps improving in little ways. His latest triumph is standing (yes, *standing*) for about 2 minutes to go potty like a real Lion! Gross you say? Maybe to some but the fact that he pushed his back legs up to stand (no matter the reason) is a great thing to those of us who saw this little sweetie when he first came to us with out the strength to hold his head up. I have pics of him sitting up, with Elizabeth there for the support on his unbalanced side. He is such a trooper!

May 28, 1998 Daniel is improving more and more each day. He is sitting up more and staying up longer. He is doing better on using his hind legs to help support himself when we stand him up. The prognosis is better as the days go by and his progress has even surprised the Dr's.

June 11, 1998 Daniel just continues to improve. Last week before Audrey and I took Tara the 9 month old Bengal cub swimming we did the same with Daniel. Keep in mind that tigers love the water and lions only go near it to drink. So Daniel wasn't real happy at first but once in he seemed to relax and we worked on exercising his legs muscles. One of us would hold his chin to keep his head out of the water while the other held him. It was fun getting him to 'dog' paddle and use his right leg more. That he has mobility is the saving grace here. We will continue to work with strengthening those muscles and hope that at some point his sense of balance will return. That is the main reason why he can not sit/stand by himself. But he is progressing daily.

August 24,1998 Daniel has gone through some rough times but he is a strong little guy and continues to bounce back. The latest good news is that Brian, one of our volunteers, designed and with the help of his fathers business built a walker fit for a king of the jungle! At first he didn’t care for the body harness that he goes in but now when he is put into it he gets very excited knowing he can walk on his own with a little help from his friends at Safari Joe’s.