Mary Esther Hart, owner of Hart's Reptile World, Canby, OR, reports that Godzilla is available for parties and special events. That's Godzilla, her new 12-foot alligator — who has stepped into the gator-skin shoes of the recently murdered Wilbur.

Mary is still recovering from the trauma of the serial poisonings earlier this year — which also claimed the life of Sherman the Tortoise — in this normally quiet corner of Oregon. The killer still hasn't been caught. "Even though it's been four months since Wilbur died, it's still hard to deal with or accept," Mary said. "We got many calls from visitors around the country that had been here over the years and had their picture taken with Wilbur and Sherman. They couldn't believe what was done. Just because he wasn't 'fuzzy' didn't mean his personality didn't touch visitors."

Mary has been determined to return her Reptile World to normal, which includes resumed public appearances with her unusual pals. "I called one of the local movie theaters to see if they wanted to do a promotion with our Godzilla for the release of the movie Godzilla, but they turned me down," Mary reports. "Actually, they loved the idea because he is perfectly 'tame' and they have seen him before. They didn't think they could block off a big enough area to house him for the movie." [05/10/1998]

February 10, 2012