My boyfriend and I live in upstate New York, he is...

My boyfriend and I live in upstate New York, he is from Oklahoma, so recently we decided to visit. While we were there, we decided to visit the GW Zoo. The hours on the website said they closed at 5:00, so when I called close to 8:00 and expected to hear a recording, I was greeted by the nicest, most pleasant woman on the phone. She gave me all the information that I had called to find out about and told me they were still open because there had been visitors in the park and the suggested close time was 5:00, but nobody is ever kicked out of the park due to closing times. My boyfriend and I arrived for an 11:30 guided tour. We were asked nicely not to use our phones during the TOUR due to the fact that we would be interacting with animals and a phone going off may scare them and also the zoo sells a DVD of your tour. Just like many other businesses, they obviously are trying to make money, which is totally understandable. Joe introduced himself and the reasoning for the zoo. It was started by Joe and his parents in memory of his brother who was killed by a drunk driver. Apparently his brother had a love for wild animals and had always dreamed of seeing them. During the tour, we were surrounded by very educated staff members. Skip and I learned so much about the many different animals. We were lucky enough to be there and on top of that we got a bonus, Grizzly Adams happened to be there that day. We started off our tour by kissing a camel, learning about the ponies, seeing a lion living with dachshunds, petting wolf/Siberian huskies, holding lizards, being willingly wrapped in snakes, ferrets, a skunk, a joey (baby kangaroo), Skip's favorite, the tiger cub and my favorite, the baby bear cub. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Skip said the same thing! After the tour we continued to stay and walk around on our own, taking pictures with our phones and continuing to enjoy the day. We purchased a DVD and were beyond thrilled with how amazing the pictures of how our awesome day had turned out. Upon returning back to New York, I just happened to go on the website and was shocked to see people's negative reviews. Some people may have had a legit "bad experience", but for the rest of you... what planet are you from? Wherever it is, please go back! As far as Joe "yelling" at the staff, um, hello!!! He's running a business where people are paying him and it involves human contact with animals. Grow a backbone people. Next, for the crazy lady who claims she was so uncomfortable and was forced to hold the snakes, I call BS! At no point are you locked in or held hostage. Most people with a brain leave places that make them uncomfortable. I'm glad that people who said they visited one time became experts in animal behavior, saying that the animals looked sad and don't belong in cages or captivity. I'm no expert, but I feel confident that saying without Joe or someone else taking in some of these animals, they would be dead. Pretty sure cross eyed lions and lions who can't walk at birth don't survive the wild. News flash, people do not spent every day of their lives, eating, breathing and sleeping something that they intent to harm. Every animal that Joe had contact with that day ran up to him and greeted him the way my dog greets me when I walk through my door. As far as people writing reviews on the videos of "Joe abusing the animals", he was no different on them than I am on my house hold pets. He tells you that he disciplines them during the tour. If an animal is bad, you stop it from doing whatever behavior should not be done. He shouldn't even have to explain that, you don't let a baby who is going to grow up to be around 500 pounds do whatever the hell it wants to do when it's little. Bottom line, I came home and told EVERYONE I could that if they were ever in Oklahoma, I suggest you stop by and see Joe and the wonderful things he and his awesome staff are doing for these beautiful animals.