*smiles* It really was!

Apparently, a lot of zoos have this sort of program. So cheshcat shopped around to see what the differences were. Ultimately, the one she picked was particularly excellent for a couple of reasons. One is that the Cotswold Wildlife Park runs "Keeper for a Day" as a one-on-one encounter -- they only schedule one person on any given day. Other zoos run groups, rather than individuals. For instance, the London Zoo takes groups of up to five people around. Another is that it was a full day event. We arrived at 9am, before the park had even opened, and left when it closed at 6pm. Apparently, there are some places that only run this sort of thing for half a day. Finally, it was really excellent to know that all the money from the "Keeper for a Day" program goes into only two things -- conservation efforts and sending keepers to conferences. Indeed, one of the keepers, in the reptile house, thanked me for participating, citing an especially good conference that he recently went to from that pot of money! :-D

I don't know where you live, but I would definitely recommend seeing if any nearby zoos have a similar program. It was a unique experience and a truly fantastic day!