An Elephant Never Forgets - Her Friend
It's the last thing you'd expect to see emerging from the woods of Tennessee - the last two things actually. Which is why CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman knew the story of Bella and Tarra would be big. He just had no idea how big.
"Tarra and Bella have agents now?" Hartman asked.
"It's all your fault," said Scott Blais, a cofounder of the Animal Odd Couple, Pt. 1 "Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most of her time with," Buckley said.Of course, it's always another elephant, with the notable exception of Tarra and a stray dog, who just wandered on the property, named Bella. "They drink together, they keep together, they play together," Buckley said. And stay together - no matter what. When Bella got sick last year and had to live in the sanctuary office, guess who stood vigil? For three weeks, Tarra waited there."She was concerned about her friend," Buckley said."We had no choice but to bring Bella down to see Tarra," Blais said.The pair showed such devotion, such tenderness and trust, it was almost hard to believe. The whole story seemed like a Disney movie to a lot of people - including people at Disney. "Disney called, they actually pitched the movie," Buckley said.Disney pitched a live action movie that would star Tara or another trained elephant. Buckley and Blais didn't have to think twice. The answer was "No." "It just goes against the core of who the sanctuary is," Blais said."We don't want them to be in those environments where they're dominated and trained to perform for people," Buckley said.Here at the sanctuary, they've got this crazy idea that animals - elephants especially - aren't just here to serve us. The honestly believe that some animals are here for the same reasons we are - to love and do for others, whether it's appreciated or not. So, don't look for Tarra and Bella at a theater near you. But by all means, do look to them - the next time you feel like there's just no good in this world.
For those of you who can't get enough of Tarra and Bella, you'll be glad to know there's a picture book coming out Sept. 8. Profits will be used to support the sanctuary. To preorder now, click here.
Watch the original story of Tarra and Bella, which is one of CBSNews.com's most popular videos of all time:
