"It's really a shame that two spoiled individuals that had their egos bruised are making a sport of bringing Kathy down," she says.
James Badman, a former Liberty Wildlife volunteer who is now a laboratory technician, gets choked up when he talks about Orr's gifts. "She's phenomenal, unbelievable. . . . The stuff she knows about exotic animals and the stuff she's able to do -- I've seen -- it blows me away," he says.
Paolo Vescia
Zoo director Jeff Williamson: "We will move through this, and I think people will contribute to an outcome that's going to secure our future."
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Gigi Rosberg, a current volunteer, says of Orr, "She's got a gentle touch. . . . I just think she does a really good job, and you learn a lot from watching her, too."
Rosberg adds, "I've never seen her hurt an animal, I've never seen her make a bad diagnosis. If I ever had any question about the medical diagnosis for an animal, I wouldn't have any doubts asking her about it. I just feel like she would know."
Linda Searles, a former Liberty Wildlife volunteer, is not as glowing in her appraisal. She refuses to comment directly on the organization; Searles left in 1993 to start her own group, Southwest Wildlife.
"They [Liberty Wildlife] could make life rather difficult for us. I mean, they did in the past, when I tried to start my own [group], so I don't know that I want to get involved in this."
Phalen and Hing's complaint is also pending before the state veterinary board.
As the anniversary of Ruby's death approaches, the elephant keepers and Kathy Orr are still being forced to meet to try to settle their differences.
Laura Lodwick, who now works for a local relief organization (not Liberty Wildlife), is looking for jobs out of state. She says this ordeal has not been easy.
"I don't have anything to gain from this. . . . It is ugly. She's a nice woman," she says of Orr. "In school, we were told not to talk bad about other vets. I consider myself a very ethical person."
But Lodwick says her concerns were too grave to go unreported, and she points to Arizona law, which requires a practicing veterinarian to report substandard care on the part of a colleague.
Complaints about Orr have not gone completely ignored. Jeff Williamson and Alan Eads confirm that the zoo has been searching for a "senior veterinarian" since the beginning of the year, someone who will oversee administration and be a liaison to other zoo staff.
So far, nobody has been hired.
And there are no signs of Williamson's radical ideas coming to light. Indu the elephant is snug in her barn. Animals are still called by name; recycling cans located around the zoo are even labeled with "Ricky the Raccoon" and "Stinky the Skunk."
Of the zoo's current struggles, Williamson says, in his trademark roundabout way, "We will move through this, and I think people will contribute to an outcome that's going to secure our future."
Contact Amy Silverman at 602-2298443 or at her online address: asilverman@newtimes.com 
