There’s updated info from the Elephant Sanctuary, with lots of how-we-did-it photos, about the making of elephant shoes. The story includes a sad, yet hopeful twist:
Sadly Tina passed away days before the shoes were completed. Even though Teva had created these custom-made shoes in record time, it was too late for Tina. In an effort to make sure that other needy elephants would benefit, Teva finished the pair of elephant shoes in Tina’s memory. Tarra did the honors of testing the shoes for fit and effectiveness. After only a few minor changes were made to ensure that these shoes were both comfortable and functional, Teva did something remarkable. Not only did they make the recommended changes to the test pair of shoes, but they created seven more pairs as well, stating that they wanted to make sure other needy elephants would benefit from the shoes.
(Thanks to Bill Maloney for bringing this to our attention.)