A man from Missouri proposed to his girlfriend with the help of a giraffe from the local zoo on Sept. 24, 2017.
A couple, Cody Hall and Makayla Blakey, had been together for a very long time. Out of all the things that Hall knew about his girlfriend, one of which was that she loved giraffes.
He knew that he could use that to give his girlfriend a surprise, and hopefully, give her something that she would never forget.
Hall decided that he would plan a romantic date—a day out—and he knew exactly where he should take her: the Dickerson Park Zoo. It just so happened that Hall even had a friend who worked at the zoo—someone who could arrange a very special encounter just for Hall and his girlfriend, a close-up chance to meet and feed one of the giraffes at the zoo, Mili.
“Giraffes are her favorite animal,” Hall said in an interview with the Inside Edition.
“I consider myself to be a romantic at heart and Makayla is so special to me, I really wanted to give her something that she’ll never forget and something we can tell our future family many years down the road,” he said.
When they arrived at the zoo, the couple got a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo—that’s what Blakey thought they were getting. In the meantime, Hall’s friend who worked at the zoo, Jesse Rollhaus, was working to get things set up for the surprise that Hall planned for Blakey.
Hall said that Joey, another worker at the zoo, told them while they were making their way to the giraffe enclosure that they were going to watch and help with a training exercise and feed the giraffe Mili.
“The process began by getting Mili the giraffe into a small enclosure that only exposed the top part of her head and to point at a big tennis ball on a stick with her nose and every time she did it right we would feed her,” said Hall.
It was at that moment when the zookeeper gave Hall a signal—he then knew that it was time to give his girlfriend the surprise he had planning. Hall moved the ball away from the giraffe, Mili, which caused the giraffe to stretch her neck out, and the ring around the giraffe’s neck became visible.
Blakey was confused for a moment, but it didn’t take her long before she realized what was going on.
Hall reached up to grab and the ring and got down on one knee—and proposed.
Blakey said yes to Hall’s proposal, and as soon as she did, Mili the giraffe seemed to bow its head, as though it was giving the couple its blessing.
Gepostet von Makayla Hall am Montag, 25. September 2017
It was quite a bold way to propose, but Hall and Blakey had been together for so long, and he was pretty sure that she would say yes to his proposal. They had talked about marriage before, according to The Kansas City Star. However, he shared that it’s a completely different feeling when he had popped the question.
“It’s a different feeling when you ask the question and she says yes,” said Hall. “It’s still surreal.”
The zoo shared the photos from the engagement on their Facebook page.
You never know what your day will bring working at a zoo. On September 24, during a special Exotic Engagement Encounter,…
Gepostet von Dickerson Park Zoo am Donnerstag, 28. September 2017
“You never know what your day will bring working at a zoo. On September 24, during a special Exotic Engagement Encounter, Mili the Giraffe played a big part in this proposal! Congrats to Cody and Makayla. We think Mili should be your honorary ring bearer on your big day. Thanks for letting Dickerson Park Zoo be a part of your story.”
Hall commented on the post and thanked the workers and the ring bearer, Mili, for giving him and his girlfriend a “glorious day.” He said that he couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out.
“You all worked so hard to make this happen, the zoo was a place of wonder and special to me before, but now Dickerson Park Zoo, you all hold a very dear and special place in my life which I’ll never forget. I can’t thank you all enough,” Hall wrote.
In the comment, he added that the zoo had turned his dream into a reality and the generosity that they showed touched him in an unexplainable way.
“I cannot wait until the future when we can bring our own family to the zoo and share the wonder, knowledge, and kindness you all have shown us,” he wrote.
Hall said that the couple held a special place in their hearts for the zoo, and thanked them again for the wonderful experience he and his girlfriend had.
The couple was thinking that they would have a spring wedding at the church that they met in.
