Gretchen, a 22-year-old giraffe, was one of the Zoo’s attractions thanks to its inquisitive nature and was called ‘The Lady of the House.’ The care takers decided to end Gretchen’s life after the giraffe has shown signs of pain during the recent period time due to a fast moving arthritis.

Gretchen was born at the Denver Zoo in May 1986, and had problems with her legs all her life. When she was little, she had shown bleeding wounds on three of her legs, which had been considered to be caused by her mother stepping on her, a common accident in the giraffe world.

Latter on, the caretakers had discovered that her hooves had been rotating inwards, instead of growing outwards, the way they were supposed to. Even though this condition made the animal feel uncomfortable, the Zoo staff’s efforts of periodically cutting her hooves had made her life a lot easier.

During the last years, however, Gretchen had begun suffering of arthritis, and had sometimes been in a great amount of pain. People at the Zoo had noticed that she was rarely leaving her barn on rainy days, and that her posture was starting to deteriorate. The caretakers have tried everything to cure the loved animal and ease its pain, but without success.

Even though the decision was hard to make, the Zoo staff decided that it was better for Gretchen if she was euthanized. On Sunday, she was taken to a chute built for this occasion and was given a high dose of barbiturates. She died in her sleep.

Because of the condition that affected her hooves, ‘The Lady of the House’ had never been allowed to breed, for fear of passing the disorder to her children as well. However, the 4 giraffes that shared the same hill with her at the Maryland Zoo will most probably feel her absence in the days to come.