Zoo Miami reopened Friday, but just to grant one special kid her wish.
“I could think of no more worthy person than Jadyn Blanco,” said communications director and wildlife expert Ron Magill, who said this is the first time this has happened since it opened 40 years ago.
Eight-year-old Jadyn Blanco isn't afraid of snakes.
“It was really heavy,” she said.
With Magill as her tour guide, she got up close and personal with several animals at the zoo.
“This young lady is a brave young lady,” Magill said. “I know a lot of adults that would not allow the things that I have proposed to her that she has accepted to do.”
Blanco, who has a passion for animals, has been battling cancer and undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Her father said she wanted this day to happen.
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“I know she’s happy because she’s an animal person, an animal lover and she definitely is very mindful of animals,” said Jack Blanco.
Make-A-Wish South Florida worked with the zoo to grant her wish.
“When you have a child like this who has gone through so many challenges you can’t put a value you can’t put a price tag on, what a privilege and honor it was for us to open the zoo for her,” Magill said.
Blanco is taking it all in.
“Really happy, and I really liked it, because I’ve loved animals since I was little,” she said.
