They came 3000 Kilometers away just to say “Hello” to the bears.
The love for bears can cross the borders of five countries. Jill (picture) and Norman Dawson have crossed the seas to come to the “Libearty” Bear Sanctuary in Zărnești. They came to the gate of the Sanctuary on a hot summer day, when you looked with envy to the bathing bears. “I live on the Isle of Man, in Great Britain. I have watched a documentary on the National Geographic channel about the Carpathian Mountains and I saw images of the Bear Sanctuary. I jumped off the couch and yelled to my husband: “I have to get there!” said Jill Dawson.
Jill and Norman walked 3000 kilometers to get to the foothills of the Piatra Craiului mountains. They had to endure a lot: one year of waiting, a few hours of flight, one night without air conditioning in the hotel room and again a few more hours of driving to Zarnesti. They came accompanied by the manager of a travel agency. “The Dawson family contacted us a year ago, saying that they want to come to Romania to visit the Bear Sanctuary from Zarnesti. They couldn’t come last year because of some personal reasons, but they never gave up. This year they could take off a few days of holiday and here they are in the Sanctuary”, says Mihai Theodor, the manager of the travel agency.
Jill is wearing a cap and a bear shaped plush backpack. Very proud, she introduces us to her husband while we are walking up towards the pool from the first enclosure. Here two bears are taking a nice bath without being bothered by our presence. Then they come out of the pool and start paying like never seen on National Geographic.
Jill watches them open mouthed. „I love bears and I had to see them happy in their natural habitat. I can not stand to see bears living in miserable conditions. Once, I left from a zoo when I saw an ufortunate polar bear. I couldn’t look at him and I felt so bad for havig paid a ticket to see him. I’d rather pay money for a bear that I might never see again, but happy and living a free life in their natual habitat. That is where they belong!” , confessed Jill.
Threfore, Jill has an eye for happy bears. After she visited the enlosures of the bears, she memorized Max’s story and enjoyed some great„action” , Jill left reconciled, with tears of hapyness in her eyes. She even made a small donation, in appreciation of our work. „I have traveled all around the world, but I have never seen such a wonderful place”, confessed Jill on her way out from the sanctuary. ”
