Tacoma’s renowned ‘Tiger Pa’ struck by disease after lifetime of caring for big cats
In a cruel twist of fate, a beloved caretaker of big cats at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium finds himself in need of full-time care.
Andy Goldfarb, 58, spent about 35 years hand-rearing tiger and lion cubs, helping to run an international breeding facility for clouded leopards in Thailand and working on conservation efforts for endangered species. Last year, a diagnosis of Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s forced Goldfarb into an early retirement and turned his world upside down.
Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s, which is rare and affects people under 65, is a form of dementia that affects a person’s memory, thinking and behavior.
“This disease is going so fast, it’s unbelievable,” said his wife, Maureen O’Keefe, who is an assistant curator at the Tacoma zoo. “There are some good days and some bad days. I pretty much have to do all his care now. I have to bathe him and dress him and prepare all his food.”
The couple recently marked 29 years of marriage, but Goldfarb’s disease meant he didn’t remember their anniversary.
O’Keefe doesn’t let things like that get her down. She’s focused on spending time with her husband and caring for his daily needs while still working full-time.
She has a caretaker come in three days a week and relies on her sick leave and a state-funded family care program to stay with Goldfarb the rest of the time. Friends set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for his care, which is estimated to be about $80,000 per year.
Signs of the disease first popped up in 2016, though it took doctors years to properly diagnose him and for the symptoms to worsen.
There was a misplaced wedding band, forgetting how to operate a computer system at work and general short-term memory loss.
Goldfarb also suffers from logopenic primary progressive aphasia, a rare neurological syndrome, that causes anxiety and is slowly making it difficult for him to communicate with words.
Although he is aware that he has Alzheimer’s and remembers his loved ones, Goldfarb can’t remember basic things like how to tie his shoes or fasten a seat belt.
Shannon Smith is an assistant curator at Point Defiance Zoo who worked with Goldfarb for more than 18 years. Smith said she’s disappointed their working relationship is over and they won’t retire together but is grateful for the mentoring he offered her and others.
“I am hopeful that Andy will be able to have that same amazing care that he has offered to so many creatures in his lifetime,” she said. “Andy now comes for visits to the zoo, and he always stops in to the clouded leopard building, where you can hear the excitement and pure joy from his leopard friends.”
Goldfarb grew up in the San Diego area and knew from a young age that he wanted to become a zookeeper.
His first job was at Marine World/Africa USA, a now-defunct animal-themed amusement park in Redwoods Shores, California. It was there that he met his favorite big cat, Rakhan, or “Rocky.”
Goldfarb still carries a photograph of Rocky in his wallet (O’Keefe noted there’s no picture of his wife tucked away there) and there are several large, framed pictures of the tiger in the couple’s home. When Rocky fell ill, Goldfarb flew back to the United States from where he was working in Australia just to say goodbye.
It wasn’t uncommon for him to develop that close-knit bond with other big cats that he worked with over the years.
“What’s so neat about him is the care he gives,” said Karen Povey, who first worked with Goldfarb and O’Keefe at Marine World and later at Point Defiance Zoo. “He’s so 100 percent focused on doing what’s best for the animals under his care, and to people. I’ve rarely met someone that is so committed, and it shows every single moment in love, compassion and caring.”
Goldfarb earned the nickname “Tiger Pa” because he was so good at hand-rearing tiger and leopard cubs. He would feed them with bottles, cuddle them close and play with them. When there were cubs at the zoo, Goldfarb rarely stopped working. When cubs needed 24/7 care, he and O’Keefe brought them to their home overnight.
He was so renowned for his work with cats that he was asked to be a stunt double in his favorite childhood movie, “The Jungle Book.” If you watch the 1994 live-action version, you’ll see Goldfarb playing Wilkins, the bad guy killed by tiger Shere Khan.
Friends and family say Goldfarb’s disease might have changed his life, but it hasn’t changed him.
“He still has the biggest heart and cares,” O’Keefe said.
“He’s still is the same cheerful, loving guy even though he can’t carry on the same conversations or remember the details,” Povey said. “It’s clear that he’s still right there.”
