Dentistry Gone Wild! Can a Dentist Talk to Zoo Animals at Night?

Does scaling a fence at the zoo relieve stress for dentists?

Maybe one dentist thought so before getting into hot water over a nighttime wall-climbing stunt.

Louisiana dentist Dr. Matt Sanderson is being investigated by the Monroe Police Department for entering the Louisiana Purchase Zoo by scaling the fence after hours.

The dentist told the Star News that he picked up his 14-year-old daughter and six of her friends from the movie theater  after seeing the movie “Man on a Ledge” and decided to take them on an adventure.

“One of the girls said something about seeing a movie about a zoo, so I said, ‘Well, let’s go to the zoo.’ We got there about 8 p.m. The fence was not very tall so we climbed it and went inside and took some pictures,” Sanderson said.

Upon leaving the zoo, the dentist was approached and questioned by the police, but not arrested.

Monroe Police Chief Quentin Holmes confirmed that Dr. Sanderson has not been charged with trespassing, but said the investigation is expected to conclude next week.

Dentist Sanderson spoke with zoo officials the next day and apologized. He also ended up apologizing to the girls’ parents. He claims only one mother was upset because she believed he took her daughter into an unsafe area.

Once the story hit the news Sanderson confessed to The Star that, “Right now, sitting here in the light of day, it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve done a lot of fun adventures, but I agree it went too far.”

He’s one lucky dentist, many of us here in California remember what happened to the youths who entered the San Francisco Zoo at night and were mauled by a tiger.

I actually think this doctor handled the potential blow-back on this escapade fairly well. Just about everyone has done something that ” in the light of day, it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”  That doesn’t make right but by apologizing publicly and profusely he has mitigated the incident as best as possible under the circumstances.

Next time he might want to take the girls to an indoor rock-climbing facility instead.

For more: Dentist Says Climbing Zoo’s Fence After Hours Was Mistake