Dear Friend,
Someone once sent Koko a small handmade book filled with drawings made just for her.
As I turned the pages, we came to a colored-pencil drawing of a gray cat with pointed ears and round green eyes. Koko stopped there.
She signed, โMe have that,โ as she pointed to the drawing.
When I looked more closely, I understood why the picture may have caught her attention. The cat looked a lot like Smoky, a gray cat who had once been part of Kokoโs world before Ms. Black and Ms. Grey.
I canโt say for certain that Koko saw Smoky in that drawing. Working with Koko taught me never to assume I knew exactly what was moving through her mind.
It also taught me to trust the moments when something in front of her clearly touched something she already carried with her.
This was one of them.
I hope it moves you the way it moved me.
With Koko love,
Penny Patterson
President, CEO and Founder
The Gorilla Foundation / koko.org
Conservation through Communication
The Gorilla Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Our Federal Tax ID is: 942-38-6151
