a farm auction listing a camel. The camel, it turned out, was the very camel, Maxx, he'd met more than a decade earlier and always dreamed of owning.

It took a few years for the full dream of Animal Adventure to be born. Patch opened the doors in 2013. The night before, Patch said to his girlfriend, now his wife, Colleen Patch, "I hope people come."

They did.

As the animal park grew, so did Patch's family. He and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Ava, last year. She required brain surgery shortly after her birth, and now deals with a rare form of epilepsy. At the same time, the park was undergoing a major overhaul.

It was overwhelming and Patch ended up delaying the park's opening last year.

With help of familyand friends, everything got done. Patch and his family have learned to deal with their new normal. Ava and the park, he said, are his "two babies."

This year, the park is scheduled to open May 13. It stays open through October.

Now Patch has 200 animals of 70 different species. Last year, Patch said, there were more than 50,000 visitors. (Patch didn't want to say exactly how many).

With the newfound fame of April the giraffe, and her soon-to-be-born baby, it's likely those numbers will be higher when the doors open May 13.

But what about Maxx, the camel who was there when Patch's dream was born? He's still around and one of the most popular animals in the park.

With all the attention, and scrutiny, on his park, Patch still feels