Toy trucks memorialize boy killed at Pittsburgh zoo
Maddox Derkosh, the 2-year-old who died at the Pittsburgh zoo Sunday, loved playing with toy construction trucks, and he was good at sharing them.
So when his family met with staff at William Slater II Funeral Service in Scott earlier this week, they decided to do something to honor that memory of Maddox, said office manager Betty Borzilleri.
Instead of requesting flowers or donations, they suggested people who wanted to send something to send toy trucks, which they will donate to a children's Christmas charity.
The request went out Monday and then the trucks began to arrive. By the dozens.
There was a dump truck by Matchbox. A fire truck by Tonka. A mini-mover by CAT.
Little trucks -- in yellow and red and blue and green -- were left in the funeral home's driveway overnight or carried into the building and placed gently on a table in the foyer, then moved by the staff into a room where a visitation was held for Maddox Thursday afternoon.
"We will never forget this as long as we live," said Bill Slater, owner of the funeral home, as he stood surrounded by about 100 toy trucks on Thursday morning. The little trucks were displayed on tables and pedestals that usually hold flowers, transforming the large room into a tragic variation of a little boy's best Christmas morning.
People often send flowers to funerals and funeral homes because of that old saying, that "beauty softens sorrow," Mr. Slater said. Yet flowers are not the only way to offer comfort.
"These trucks -- for this family -- it's going to be similar to the flowers, but even more in this case, because it means something for them," he said.
The trucks -- by Thursday afternoon, Ms. Borzilleri said 1,000 trucks had been donated -- likely will keep arriving. Mr. Slater's funeral home has fielded calls from as far away as Cleveland, Arizona, California and Canada from people wanting to know if they, too, can send a truck for Maddox.
They come, for the most part, from people who did not know Jason and Elizabeth Derkosh of Whitehall, who lost Maddox, their only child, when he was mauled to death at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
The little boy was visiting the zoo with his mother when police said he fell 14 feet into the African painted dog enclosure after his mother lifted him into a standing position on the exhibit's railing to get a better view.
"It's a tragedy, and people come together in tragedy," Mr. Slater said.
That's why Shelley Bishop, a secretary at Slater's Mount Washington location, posted the Derkosh family's request for toy trucks on her Facebook page. In two days, Ms. Bishop and her family and friends collected about 15 trucks.
"I just think it was a terrible, terrible accident, and there's not a person that I've talked to that doesn't have a tear in their eye whenever they talk about it," she said by phone. "It's just so, so sad."
That communal sense of sorrow is also why Andrea Richardson of Crafton, carrying her 2-year-old daughter Norah, drove to the funeral home Thursday morning. She left her donations -- a cement mixer and a dump truck from her family and from a friend -- inside the funeral home.
"I hope that they know the whole community is mourning with them," said Ms. Richardson, who also has a 5-year-old son. "It's just such a tragedy and we're so, so sorry for them."
The request for toy truck donations serves a three-fold purpose, Mr. Slater said. It brings comfort to the family, who he said are "extremely distraught." It makes people, even strangers, feel they are doing something to help the family. And the toys, once they are donated, will help many other children.
"Think of how many smiles Maddox will put on different children's faces," he said.
Toy truck donations can be sent to the William Slater II Funeral Home at 1650 Greentree Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. There is no deadline for sending trucks.
A Mass for Maddox Derkosh will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Mt. Lebanon. The family has asked that trucks not be brought to the funeral.
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...at-zoo-661359/
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/2...#axzz2BkeDMPcD
the picture of his parents
This is so sad. I have seen so many exhibits where the railing or enclosure makes it impossible for small children to see the animals, so the parent ends up hoisting the kid up like that. Obviously the barriers have to be there, but surely there's some way to force that safe distance without compromising visibility. Dunno, there are always parents lifting little ones in the air and it just seems like there's a better way. R.I.P.
As a lot of you know, I am currently in school to become a zookeeper. So I spend a LOT of times at zoos. As some of you have said, you see people doing the same thing at your zoo with their kids. It happens everywhere and it drives me fucking nuts. I take my daughter with me a lot of the time when I visit and I have actually told several people they need to put their kid off the fences. At my zoo (Fort Worth) the tiger's exhibit has a very tall fence except for one part over a river where you walk across a bridge about three stories above the tigers. That fence is only like 4 feet tall. I CONSTANTLY have to tell people to stop putting their kids on that section because a) if the fall from that height doesn't kill them, then b) the tigers will.
The funny part is I normally NEVER tell people what to do with their kids. But when I am at the zoo, it's a whole different ballgame. It's almost like the parents think the animals are tame!
I never try anything, I just do it. Wanna try me?
This story broke my heart when I read it. I have a two year old and cannot imagine something like this happening to her.
I don't think it would ever cross my mind to put my child up on a railing like that. I've taken my older kids to the zoo when they were little and I never did it then either.
That poor baby.
I have a two year old son and this story makes me ill. I bet that woman is wishing she would have jumped in too - I know I would be thinking that. Not that she would have been able to save him or that she would have been any better off herself, but at least her last moments would have been protecting him when he needed it most.
I don't think the zoo was doing themselves or these animals a favor by saying they were "called off." Really? That makes them sound somewhat trained. I thought they were wild. Which is it?
I have let my kid sit on railings before but I'm pretty overprotective and have a death grip on their arms. Granted it was the armadillo enclosure (yeah, that's how rinky-dink our zoo is) and the flamgino area, but I've done it. I'm not proud of it and after this story, I certainly will be much more cautious.
Off topic- DO you have to take care of sick animals as a zookeeper? I would LOVE to work with animals, but I can't handle the sick and injured. It kills me. I wanna feed and love on the babies, carry them around in swaddles, and be their surrogate mommy. Can I get a degree in that?
As far as being "called off" the majority of animals at zoos have cues they follow to return to their nighttime areas. At some zoos they use noises to signal the animals to head inside for the night. A lot of animals at the zoo are actually locked into smaller cages at night for safety and to allow their areas to be inspected and cleaned.
And yes morbidT you have to deal with sick and injured animals. Not a lot though, zoos have vets on staff.
I never try anything, I just do it. Wanna try me?
You must be a wizard in the kitchen.
You people are fucking weird.
I'm considering veterinary medicine since I don't give a shit about animal guts but people guts skeeve me a little bit. I would consider it a good choice except I hear restaurant servers make more.
You can choose. There is specifically cat hospitals and small animals around here. You can also get a specialty in large animals/farm animals/exotics.
Aw, I just read through this, and I don't get the hate for the mom. Obviously, she did a moronic thing (that, even as evidenced in this thread, TONS of people do), but to say "I have no sympathy for her..."? Really? She just watched her baby get ripped apart by animals- and it was her fault. Her life is over. It's heartbreaking.
Moving on, Ron- go into small animal care. Specifically, how to euthanize a $5.99 hamster for less than $200.
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