A lasting impression

By Megan Venner

A local business woman is into making a big impression.

Andrea Spinney, owner of the Kentville area franchise for Wee Piggies and Paws, usually works with babies but, for this project, she’s thinking a little bigger. Spinney and Oaklawn Farm Zoo owner Gail Rogerson are making a life-sized impression of the paw of Rutledge, the world’s largest lion in captivity.

Spinney makes keepsakes of, taking impressions and mounting them into shadow boxes. While she’s sometimes worked with people’s pets, she’s never attempted anything like this. The idea came to her after a trip to the zoo with her kids.

“She’s so kind and welcoming,” says Spinney of owner Gail Rogerson. “Just to give something to the zoo, to give Gail, something my kids enjoy so much is to come here.”

For zoo owner Gail Rogerson, the paw print will be a way to hold onto a piece of an animal that has been so much a part of her life.

“He’s like my baby,” says Rogerson. “When you feed them and hold them and take them to the bathroom, they’re your babies.”

Spinney says Rutledge may be a lot bigger than her usual models, and admits her heart started beating a little quicker as the actual print was taken, but she says these animals are no different than other clients who come to her for special keepsakes.

“This is her big baby,” says Spinney. “He used to sleep in her bed. You grow attached to your animals. I just thought it was something really special for her and the farm to have.”

Rutledge was born at the Oaklawn Farm Zoo in 1991. At 16, he’s already outlived the normal lifespan of a lion in captivity. In 1997, he was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest lion in captivity, weighing in at 807 lbs.

The final print should be complete in about a month, a raised impression of the huge lion’s paw that will likely be displayed in the gift shop. Spinney plans to donate two shadow boxes to the zoo, one for display and the other that could potentially be used for fundraising.

Spinney says it will give kids a chance to get just a little bit closer to the zoo’s pride of lions.

“To get children to hold up their hands, to look at that paw and compare - that’s pretty neat. You can only get so close when you’re at the zoo for safety sake. This is a little step closer.”