Although still 3,000 pounds underweight and suffering from tuberculosis and other medical problems, Lota's prospects are improving, says Carol Buckley, executive director of the sanctuary. Lota and pachyderm pal Misty have explored their new 2-acre paddock and they can go outside their bar whenever weather permits.

"She's gaining weight," Buckley said of Lota. "She's really perked up, and she has quite a bit more energy now. She looks like she feels a lot better. We adore her."

Lota has even given her new home the ultimate elephant stamp of approval: She's laid down in the grass to sleep, a sign she's feeling secure.

You don't have to be a brainiac to deduce this will be great music for a great cause

After retreating to the unfortunately named ''Loser's Lounge'' on an episode of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, former NYPD Blue actress Gail O'Grady was asked about the charity she was playing for. It was after she said the words ''The Elephant Sanctuary'' that the following two things entered my mind: ''Oh, yeah, I forgot we had that here. And, why in the world am I watching Celebrity Poker Showdown?''

The Elephant Sanctuary is another one of those ''only in Tennessee'' stories that make the state great. Located in Hohenwald, the sanctuary is a 2,700-acre facility dedicated to caring for aging, sick or needy elephants, as well as an educational center for learning about the challenges facing these endangered animals.

A trio of Music City's most respected and talented singer-songwriters will serve as hosts of a benefit for the sanctuary tonight at Bluebird Cafe. Kim Richey (one of the city's vastly underrated recording artists and the subject of a recent greatest hits collection on Lost Highway), Don Henry (Grammy winner for the Kathy Mattea hit Where've You Been) and Jeff Black (who's written for Waylon Jennings, Lisa Brokop and Blackhawk) perform an in-the-round (or should that be in-the-triangle?) show starting at 9 p.m.

John F. Cuneo Jr., owner of Hawthorn Corp., has until Aug. 15 to find homes for the remaining elephants or lose his exhibitor license. The elephants have been exposed to tuberculosis, though not all have tested positive for the potentially fatal illness.

Cuneo did not return several calls for comment Friday. He repeatedly has denied neglecting or abusing his animals.

The Grayslake man signed a March settlement deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in which he admitted guilt to 19 violations of the Animal Welfare Act. He agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and give up the elephants, in exchange for being allowed to keep his lion and about 90 tigers.

In the settlement, Cuneo acknowledged that he traumatized or physically harmed the elephants and failed to provide them adequate veterinary care or grooming, among several other charges.

Elephants Misty and Lota will go to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., once the state veterinarian approves their entry, sanctuary Director Carol Buckley said. Because both elephants have tested positive for tuberculosis, she said, they will be housed a couple of miles from the haven's 10 other elephants.

Buckley's group raised $1 million this spring to build a barn for as many of Cuneo's elephants as he would agree to turn over. Though the USDA approved six to go to the Tennessee refuge, Buckley said, Cuneo refused to turn over all six.

"The only two that he agreed to send us are ones that no one else would buy or put on the road [in circuses] again," she said. "These two elephants are not marketable."

The USDA uses Animal Welfare Act standards in approving or rejecting the new homes that Cuneo proposes, department spokeswoman Suzan Holl said.

Holl said Friday that Cuneo had tried in the past few weeks to get the elephants transferred to circuses. But that would put them in public contact and present a health risk, she said.

Cuneo faces an August 15th deadline to find new homes for 14 other elephants. He says it's difficult to place the Asian elephants because they have been exposed to tuberculosis.

The U-S-D-A has charged Cuneo's company, Hawthorn Corporation, with dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Cuneo says his staff never neglected or abused an animal.

He agreed to give up the elephants so he could still exhibit a lion and about 80 tigers.

A garage sale was being planned by Tina supporters Pam Clifford and Janice Clark prior to Tina's passing, and it has been decided to hold the sale as scheduled.

"The initial reaction was 'How can we do this? She's gone,'" Clifford said Monday. "After, we all talked and thought 'Why not?'"

"It's important the memory of Tina lives on," Clifford continued. "She would want us to [hold the sale]."

The sale will be held, as planned, on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Springman's Saturn of Langley, 19550 Langley Bypass.

All proceeds from the garage sale will be sent to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN, where Tina spent her last days.

Tina died unexpectedly in the early hours of Wednesday, July 21, at the sanctuary. She took her last breath while in the company of sanctuary co-directors Carol Buckley and Scott Blais, and her elephant companions Sissy and Winkie.

The only indication that something was wrong was that Tina's trunk was moving a "little awkwardly," Buckley said, and the elephant was occasionally missing her mouth as she fed herself.

The sanctuary is waiting for the results from Tina's necropsy to determine the cause of death.

Tina captured the hearts of animal lovers in Langley and across North America last year, when a new home was sought for the ailing Asian elephant.

Tina lived at Aldergrove's Greater Vancouver Zoo from the age of two, until she moved to the sanctuary last summer.

At the time she was suffering from sore and injured feet, because of the years she spent in captivity.

Her plight attracted attention to the lives of elephants, and other exotic animals, in captivity.

"I can't help thinking that this was Tina's mission in life," Clifford said.

Clifford, along with Tina's other friends and supporters, found out on Friday that had Tina died.

"It's devesting, it's such a shock," Clifford said.

"It is a shock of course," echoed Greater Vancouver Zoo animal care manager Jamie Dorgan, "because sometimes you see it coming. Everybody obviously loves Tina here. We're all in shock."

After some days of "darkness," staff, volunteers, and the other elephants at the sanctuary are getting over the shock of losing Tina, Buckley said.

"Now we're feeling the joy of Tina," she said on Monday.

They realize that Tina is in a better place, Buckley said: "The thing is she's no longer hurting."

The garage sale organizers need donations of sale items. Donors can call call 604-856-7980 or email elechatmoderator@yahoo.com to find out where and when to drop off items.

When 34-year-old Asian elephant and former Northwest pachyderm Tina died last week, her mates appeared to remember her with an unusual display of elephant mourning behavior. The elephants stood vigil at her grave for two days, and when they finally left, one of them marked the spot with a favorite tire. They left the tire there for three days.

"There were footprints all around where Tina lay, and the tire at the center," said Carol Buckley, co-director of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., where the Portland-born elephant had been living for the past year. "I think we can only touch the surface of the depth of their emotion."

If elephants have long memories, so do those who love them. Tina had been living at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in British Columbia before being transferred to the sanctuary because of a painful, chronic foot condition. Her unexpected death last Wednesday has touched people all over the world.

By yesterday, 51 pages of e-mail tributes had been logged onto the Elephant Sanctuary Web site, where thousands had followed her daily life through the organization's "EleCam."

"We never met as I live too far north in B.C. but I never missed an episode of your diary," wrote Heather R. of Quesnel, Central B.C. "I will miss you so much as you became a much loved part of my life and my own large animal family."

Another wrote of her "dinner with Tina" every night at 10:30 when she would tune in during Tina's feeding, a ritual that left the writer a little less lonely as she ate her own late supper.

Tina, who delighted in consuming great bunches of grapes, and had bonded with her fellow sanctuary residents, Sissy and Winkie, was a "kindhearted, gentle creature," said Buckley. "She befriended everyone she met."

That may be because her early years were spent at the Vancouver Game Farm, which later became the Greater Vancouver Zoo, where visitors could feed her directly through her fence.

"She was used to very close, physical contact," Buckley said. And she interacted that way with her elephant companions, pushing at them playfully as though testing whether they would get mad.

They didn't. Sissy and Winkie, in particular, were faithful pals who checked in regularly with the less mobile Tina. They were by her side when she died.

Researchers have long puzzled over the apparent grieving behavior elephants exhibit.

In the wild, elephants have been known to cover the bones of other elephants when they come across them. And they often will stay with a dead or dying member of the herd.

"Because they are highly intelligent, highly social creatures, they do create relationships," said Bruce Upchurch, curator of mammals at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, who has worked with elephants for 20 years.

Last Wednesday after Tina died, three of her closest elephant companions entered the stall to touch her face and trunk.

"Winkie kept moving Tina's trunk with her foot, trying to get her to stand up," said Buckley. Sissy and Winkie stayed in the barn with her the whole time bulldozers worked to dig her grave. Then Winkie walked beside the backhoe carrying Tina's body, her trunk touching Tina the whole way.

During the necropsy, Sissy and Winkie were kept behind a fence, where they paced and appeared anxious. When they were released, they returned to the grave and stayed for two days.

After that, they rejoined the rest of the elephants at the refuge, and the whole group huddled "shoulder to shoulder" for a day as though to console one another, Buckley said. Normally, they would have spread out to graze, often within 100 yards of one another.

During that time, Sissy took her own favorite tire up to the grave and left it there.

When one dies, elephants appear to go through a period of acknowledgment and adjustment, Upchurch said.

"The only way we have to describe what we witness (in the elephants) is through human language," he said. "But that might be selling them short."

The cause of Tina's death is still undetermined, but results from the necropsy will be available in a few days. Asian elephants have a typical lifespan of 60 to 70 years. The veterinarians who tended to Tina when she got sick last week speculated that she may have had a heart problem.

At the time of her death, Tina had been awaiting prototype "Teva" shoes to protect the ailing feet that had sent her to the sanctuary.

Elephants in captivity are prone to foot problems from treading on hard surfaces, Buckley said.

Barry McGeough, senior director of development for Deckers Outdoor Corp., said the company will still make the shoes in hopes they will help another elephant with similar problems.

"We're all very upset about Tina's passing but none of us want to give up the project," he said by e-mail from China.

According to the Elephant Sanctuary, Tina's surviving relatives include Packy, age 41, and Rama, age 20, who live at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, and Hanako, age 40, who lives at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. Another sibling, Cora, 38, works with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Upchurch said that with a population of only about 300 living in the United States, the loss of any elephant hurts.

After two days of standing by Tina's grave at the Elephant Sanctuary, best friend Sissy finally left Friday morning, leaving behind her favorite tire as a tribute to her friend.

"In the middle of the gravesite, there's elephant prints all over it and in the middle of it is Sissy's tire," said Carol Buckley, director of the Elephant Sanctuary. "Sissy carries a tire around as her pacifier, as her security blanket...and her tire is left on top of the grave."

Tina, the adored 34-year-old Asian elephant, died at 2:45am Wednesday with her closest friends Sissy and Winkie by her side.

"She looked just as comfortable as she could be and she never in this time struggled." said Buckley who found Tina in her barn early Wednesday sitting down. "There was no sign of stress or panic, her eyes were calm. She set her head down, I was with her and Scott was with her...It was probably a minute or minute and a half and she closed her eyes and she passed away."

Buckley said staff were surprised by the sudden death since Tina appeared to be recovering well from her foot ailments. After living in Vancouver for most of her life, Tina was transported from the Greater Vancouver Zoo to Hohenwald in Tennessee last August to get help with a foot infection.

In the days leading up to her death, Tina was having difficulty eating, with her trunk missing her mouth. She also experienced other motor difficulties and the sanctuary is still trying to determine what caused the death.

For Sissy and Winkie, who lived with Tina in the barn, the death has been particularly difficult.

"They remained with her, touching her, caressing her." said Buckley. "Winkie was pushing her trunk a little bit like "wake up, wake up.'"

Remembered as a 'princess' of an elephant with a big heart, Tina befriended everyone she met.

Born on April 26, 1970, in Oregon Zoo to an equally gentle mother named Rosy, who hailed from Thailand, and father Thonglaw of Vietnam, Tina stayed in the U.S. for a only a short time before moving to B.C.

A lack of space at the zoo led baby Tina and stepsister Judy to move to the Vancouver Game Farm in 1972, where she met Hugh Oakes, part owner of the farm.

"She never to my knowledge did anything to misbehave as far as being aggressive in any way." said Oakes.

Tina, who had been battling a foot ailment, died Wednesday, less than a year after she was moved from the Langley facility. The cause of death has not been determined.

Carol Buckley, director of the sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., said Tina's health began to decline about a week ago when she began experiencing motor skill problems.

"Then we saw an escalation of sensitivity in both of her front feet," Buckley said. "She really showed that walking brought her discomfort."

Tina's foot problems were made worse by the hard-packed earth at the Vancouver zoo and it was hoped that her move to the spacious, 200-hectare sanctuary would cure her ailment -- a common problem with elephants held in captivity in relatively small spaces.

But even though Tina showed symptoms of failing health, there was no indication to suggest that her problems were anything but short-term.

"We didn't know she was going to go," Buckley said. "I'm still in total denial that she's gone. I've not accepted it and I'm still angry about it."

While the cause of death has not been determined as yet, blood tests performed on the Asian elephant a few days ago indicated heart problems.

Buckley said Tina was in the company of two other elephants, Sissy and Winkie, her two best friends, when she died, adding that the two female elephants stayed with their friend throughout Wednesday, until Tina was buried.

"Sissy left her tire [a truck tire she uses as a security blanket] on top of Tina's grave," Buckley said. "That just shows how much she loved her, and how much we love her."

In the wild, elephants can live until they're 70, but in captivity they often live only half that long. The elephant sanctuary was set up eight years ago to provide an environment similar to their natural habitat.

Tina was born on April 26, 1970 in the Portland Zoo and was described as a curious calf with an elephant-sized sense of fun. Her reputation as a loving, compassionate and friendly animal stayed with her throughout the rest of her life. She lived in Portland until 1972, when she was sold to the Vancouver Game Farm. The farm became the Greater Vancouver Zoo in 1997.

Buckley said Tina's death came two weeks before special boots designed to alleviate the pain caused by her foot abscesses were to be ready. The boots will be tested by another elephant at the sanctuary, Delhi, who suffers from the same disease.

News of Tina's death has shocked and devastated friends at the Vancouver Humane Society, the organization that pushed for the elephant to be sent to the sanctuary.

"It's just very devastating for all of us. We had hoped that she would have had a long, wonderful life," said Debra Probert, the society's executive director.

Probert said the society received numerous phone calls and e-mails from members of the public all day Friday, expressing sadness and grief.

"We're just happy she died in a much happier place than she stayed in for most of her life. The sanctuary was elephant heaven for animals in captivity," she said.

Tina was the star of the Greater Vancouver Zoo until early last year, when the zoo announced plans to send her to the Bowmanville Zoo in Ontario.

Under pressure from animal welfare groups that had long criticized the conditions in which Tina had been living, the zoo changed its mind when it was revealed that she would be used in circus-like performances in Ontario, and that Bowmanville Zoo owner Michael Hackenberger admitted to beating his animals.

Greater Vancouver Zoo animal care manager Jamie Dorgan said staff at the zoo are still in shock.

"She was a really friendly elephant. She was really attached to a few people she worked with here," he said. "There's no indication at this point of what caused her death and whether she would have lived if she left here earlier."

Tina was the last elephant to live at the zoo and Dorgan said there are no plans to bring in any more.

Directors of the Elephant Sanctuary in rural Hohenwald, Tennessee, delivered the news via email that Tina passed away peacefully early Wednesday.

The 4,100-kilogram elephant developed health problems while being housed for many years at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.

Tina's owners agreed to move her to Tennessee a year ago to give the animal a chance to heal and to interact with other elephants.

Director Carol Buckley of the sanctuary said Tina had made good progress, and was healing well from a persistent foot infection developed while living at the Aldergrove-area zoo.

The Province would like to hear about your memories of Tina, visiting her at the zoo, or posing for a photo. Please send your stories about Tina to: lsin@png.canwest.com or call 604-605-2084.

However, several days ago the elephant developed coordination problems and began having trouble feeding herself.

Veterinarians treated the elephant but she did not recover. A necropsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death.

Buckley said when Tina began to lose strength they helped her lay down on a bed of hay, and the elephant showed no obvious signs of distress.

"She was very calm the whole time, I mean so calm. Her eyes were clear and she was participating in what we were doing, and just didn't seem too concerned about it at all," said Buckley.

"[There were] no signs of any trouble, no signs of any stress.Then after about 10 minutes she closed her eyes, and then she just passed away."

Sanctuary co-founder Scott Blais speculates the strain of the longtime foot trouble took its toll.

"I don't think her muscles could hold up any more from the strain of trying to support the weight on feet independently," said Blais. "Each foot was sore, so she was trying to relax one foot at a time and her body just couldn't take it any more."

The actual cause of death has not been determined.

Blais said Tina was able to enjoy companionship in her last year.

Two other elephants at the sanctuary -- Sissy and Winkie -- have clearly been grieving. Blais said they spent most of Wednesday with the body.

"Human friends only account for so much of an elephant's life," he said.

"We can do a lot for elephants. As humans we can bring them a certain amount of joy but it pales in comparison to what other elephants can bring."

Tina spent most of her life at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, after being born in captivity to wild-caught parents at an Oregon zoo.

The Tennessee sanctuary, where Tina arrived last August, houses dozens of elephants on about 2,700 acres of natural habitat with heated barns and other facilities.

The sanctuary deals mainly with old, sick and needy animals that have been retired from circuses and zoos. Tina was the only one of its residents born in captivity.

Healthy elephants have a lifespan of up to 70 years.

Excerpts from Tina's Tennessee diary at www.elephants.com

June 9, 2004: This was an exciting day. Tina had molds made of her front feet so that Teva [a footwear firm] can make custom shoes.... Hopefully these shoes will bring her relief while walking so that she will finally begin to explore her surrounding.

April 26, 2004: What a day! ...Tina and Sissy had a very touching time together late tonight. This time Tina initiated the exchange and Sissy expertly helped Tina feel comfortable. Over the winter months these two girls have developed quite a fondness for each other. I have no doubt that Sissy will be the one to coax Tina out into the big outdoors soon. What a blessing they are to each other.

Tina turned 34 today, how do we know? She was captive born. All of our other elephants' birthdays are chosen for them, but this is really the day of Tina's birth. It is strange to consider if Tina might sense that this is her birthday but consider this: over the past two days Tina has broken into song on numerous occasions which causes us to wonder. Could she know this is a special day?

April 3, 2004: Tina decided that today would be a good day to take a walk out back. She spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the back alley pulling up newly sprouted vegetation while soaking in the sun.... Tina continues to be curious and now more active. Slowly but surely her feet are healing.

February 26, 2004: Tina's foot had overgrown and misshaped nails when she arrived. Six months later her nails are properly shaped and the healing process is nearly complete.

December 23, 2003: Dr. Steven Scott met with Sanctuary staff to discuss Tina's X-rays. It appears that Tina has a history of osteomyelitis in both her front and back feet as well as what appears to be an old fracture in one of her back toes.... The advanced deterioration of two bones in her front feet indicates a long-term infection at some time in her past. It is impossible to pin-point when and for how long she suffered from the active infections. What we can be sure of from the X-rays is that the infections are no longer active. At this point there is hope that her bones can and will regenerate.... [Attending vet Dr. Lori Tapp's] holistic approach to Tina's health has been successful in arresting her foot infections and will continue to support her body so that she can recover and regenerate the bones that have been damaged. Tina is young. There is every reason to believe that she can make a full recovery.

October 20, 2003: The weather has remained warm, in the high 70s. Tina took advantage of the good weather and followed Sissy right out of the barn this morning. This was another first for Tina.

Aug 11, 2003: It's been a great day! Tina met Tarra, her first resident of the Sanctuary. Now things are winding down for the night. 3:12 p.m. CST: Tina arrived at the Sanctuary! After her dirt ramp was smoothed just the right way so she could easily and safely back out of the trailer, the bars were taken out of the trailer and Tina was free to exit into the barn.

Entries by Carol Buckley, director of the Elephant Sanctuary

Teva, the high-end American sport-sandal company, is making a pair of designer shoes for Tina, an Asian elephant who lived in Aldergrove until relocating to Tennessee last year.

Tina has sickly front feet, and the change in locale and climate hasn't made them heal as quickly as her caretakers had hoped.

So the folks at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee contacted Teva to see if the shoe experts could come up with an idea to help the pachyderm walk less gingerly.

The Arizona-based company was intrigued, but it turns out there isn't an easy way to fit an elephant for a new pair of shoes.

Carol Buckley, the sanctuary's executive director, said last week Tina's feet were wrapped in a pliable, thin plastic that moulds to the feet and then were then wrapped in plaster.

"She was awesome because each foot was a two-hour process," Buckley said. "She had to stand still the whole time. One of our keepers gave her treats, and she had a smile on her face the whole time."

After the casts dried and were taken off the feet, a type of liquid plastic was poured inside to make the models.

The models are still drying, and will be sent to Teva in a few days, Buckley said.

It's not clear how quickly Tina's new shoes will be made by the company, which specializes in pricey sport sandals ranging from flipflops to extreme-sport footgear. But Buckley said she believes the company will be providing Tina's new shoes free.

The footwear will resemble water sandals that people wear to protect their feet while swimming in rocky areas. They will have a thin rubber sole with an elastic mesh top that will slide onto Tina's feet easily, and will allow her to stomp through ponds, streams and mud puddles.

After years of captivity and walking on hard, unnatural surfaces, the 34-year-old elephant began to have foot problems that grew into abscesses.

After being sent from Aldergrove's Greater Vancouver Zoo to her new home last August, Tina received twice-daily footsoaks, healing salves, dietary supplements, and a host of homeopathic remedies to prevent a foot infection from returning.

"We're disappointed she did not heal better," Buckley said. "The pads of her feet are still very tender, therefore she is hesitant to go outside and explore the habitat."

Other elephants have developed a similar debilitating foot disease, and in the past their keepers have rigged up boot-like devices to try to help them walk. Typically they have involved a slab of heavy rubber under the foot, which was attached to the ankle through various types of webbing, leather or canvas, Buckley said.

"We decided they didn't work, and we're not going to go with a boot -- we're going to go with shoes," said Buckley, whose non-profit organization is the U.S.'s first natural-habitat refuge for endangered elephants.

So what if Tina doesn't like her new shoes or they feel funny?

Modern research provides solid scientific proof that elephants confined to small spaces, forced to live on unnaturally hard surfaces such as concrete, in cold climates and deprived of the room necessary to stimulate activity, develop painful life threatening diseases including arthritis and osteomlyitis. Director Ron Kagan has taken the bold step to act upon this information in the most responsible way possible, by deciding to no longer exhibit elephants.

Everyone associated with the Sanctuary supports Mr. Kagan's decision and are eternally grateful for his vision and courage.

Tennessee Traveler Bob Brunner is one of the few reporters ever invited inside the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

Many of the elephants at the sanctuary are injured. One has tender and raw footpads because a trainer used acid to make her lift her feet and dance. Another has a rear leg that was broken while the animal was trying to do a circus trick.

The Elephant Sanctuary has now expanded to 2,700 acres, and both Asian and African elephants can roam the grounds at will. "Our mission is to make a healthy space for captive elephants -- that's elephants in zoos and circuses," says sanctuary founder Carol Buckley. "Right now, there are 600 elephants living in zoos and circuses that, in our opinion, need a change. They need to live in a healthy environment."

There are a dozen elephants at the sanctuary now. Some welcome human contact; others are more solitary. All benefit from food, warmth, companionship and health care. "We provide a space where elephants that have been abused, neglected or mistreated have a space where they can be elephants again," says sanctuary co-founder Scott Blais. "We give them room to roam, compatible herd members, proper diet and let them become who Mother Nature intended them to be."

Asian elephants are accustomed to weather similar to Tennessee's, and they're free to seek the warmth of a barn during the winter.