Navy veteran fulfills bucket list by visiting with a zebra at Rye Road Giraffes

East County's William Hatt has seen a lot in his 98 years.

A lieutenant in the Naval Reserve, he was a pharmacist's mate serving in military prisons during World War II. He later became an orthopedic surgeon after graduating from Harvard.

But in all his years, he never had seen a zebra close up.

That came to the attention of Brandy Kwasniewski of Élan Manatee, who has a program where she asks the residents if there is something they've always wanted to do.

"He told me he never had seen a real zebra," Kwasniewski said.

She began searching on the internet for a place where she could fulfill that desire for Hatt. She came across Rye Road Giraffes.

On March 2, an Élan Manatee van pulled up to Rye Road Giraffes with Hatt and several friends and family members.

Hatt was met by Rye Road Giraffes Owner Serge Coronas and his daughter, Crystal.

"We live for moments like this," Crystal Coronas said. "William (Hatt) is very special. And my father is a Shriner, so we do a lot of community work. We take animals to the hospitals and schools."

Serge Coronas drove Hatt, who moved to Sarasota from Boston in 1954, in a golf cart over to the zebra's fenced habitat. Because so many seniors were in the crowd who came along, Hatt only could feed the zebras through the fence, but it was enough.

"I can scratch this off my list," Hatt said with a smile. "I've never seen anything like this. This is great fun, … wonderful."

He joked that he always thought a zebra was a cross between a tiger and a horse. But for whatever reason, he never had come across one. That was unusual, he said, because he is big on wildlife.

"I used to get all my calendars with wildlife programs," he said.

After only three or four minutes, Hatt had his fill. He was asked if he wanted to feed the two zebras some more, but he said he would rather other members of his family get their turn.

Besides seeing the zebras, Hatt was excited about seeing giraffes as well. He went over to that area and spent about five minutes feeding the two giraffes.

Almong those accompanying Hatt were his granddaughters — Laura Hoying of Myakka City, Jullian Hurd of Bradenton and Kimberly Gunther of Parrish — and his three great-grandchildren, 5-year-old Olivia Gunther, 10-year-old Laya Gunther and 7-year-old Lyndon Hoying.

Rye Road Giraffes provides a safe haven to exotic and domestic animals. Private tours are available at RyeRoadGiraffes.com.