If you scanned a QR code and it led you here, you’ve found a piece of the “Pocket Zoo.”
Pocket Zoo was created by Riley Lopez, her teacher Lynna Bagshaw, and a few of her best friends to spread joy throughout her school and community.Riley was 12 and just starting middle school when she was diagnosed with cancer for the third time. More than anything, she wanted to spend time with her friends and live a normal pre-teen life. So, she followed a modified school schedule and made the most of every moment with her loved ones.Riley always had a smile, no matter what challenges she faced. She was the peacekeeper in our family and found true joy in making others happy. At one point, she tried painting rocks and hiding them around campus, but painting became physically difficult for her. Around that time, her teacher, Mrs. Lynna Bagshaw, was participating in a "100 Duck Challenge"—hiding 100 miniature resin ducks around her workplace without being discovered. She invited Riley to join in.Soon, the ducks became turtles, pigs, frogs, pineapples, and any other adorable miniature animal Lynna could find. Riley embraced the idea and began hiding them wherever she went, often with help from her closest friends. They hid them at softball practice, on vacation, at school, in the park—even at the hospital. One day, a mom found several of them in the laundry and asked her daughter, “Why is there a zoo in your pocket?” That’s how the name Pocket Zoo was born.When Riley passed away on February 4, 2024, we had over 1,000 Pocket Zoo pieces at her memorial service. We asked everyone to take some and continue spreading joy in her honor. Now, every year on her birthday, her adoption day, her "angelversary," and throughout September (Childhood Cancer Awareness Month), we go out and spread Riley’s joy.Her Pocket Zoo has traveled far and wide—to Japan, Italy, Mexico, Disneyland, cruises, and all around her hometown of Red Bluff.This site was created to honor the life of Riley Ann Lopez. If you’ve found a Pocket Zoo, please share where you found it. If you’ve hidden one, we’d love to know that too.Let’s fill this space with the joy Riley gave so freely and see how far her light can reach.Let’s spread her Pocket Zoo and her love all around the world.
