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Dobby The Giraffe Celebrates His First Birthday!

By Shawn Chitnis

DENVER (CBS4) - Hundreds helped celebrate Denver's favorite baby giraffe, Dobby, on his first birthday Wednesday.

"We've been here once a week for the whole year and seen Dobby every week and she absolutely loves Dobby," said Julia Bell visiting the zoo with her daughter.

dobby bday
Dobby celebrates his 1st Birthday. (credit: CBS)

Families lined up around the giraffe exhibit at the Denver Zoo under sunny skies to get a look at the 9-foot-5-inches tall, 757 lb. baby giraffe.

Kids, young and young at heart, even joined in on singing happy birthday to Dobby as handlers held up a "giraffe cake" made of grain and vegetables.

"We bought a zoo pass this year so we could come watch Dobby grow," said Jenn Clark.

Dobby was born underweight, half of what normal baby giraffes are supposed to weigh, and had to receive a plasma transfusion thanks to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.

dobby 1 (credit denver zoo)
Dobby (credit: Denver Zoo)

Handlers say it's best to keep Dobby here in Denver with his mom and dad, Kipele and Dikembe.

"It makes us all very happy to see everybody and to see how much they love him," said Amanda Faliano, a zookeeper.

Faliano also said Dobby might not grow as large as his dad, who is 16-and-a-half-feet-tall and weighs about 2,300 pounds, but he'll be close.

dobby 2 (credit denver zoo)
Dobby (credit: Denver Zoo)

The team at the Zoo is happy with Dobby's progress and health and can't wait to celebrate more birthdays. She says so far he has enjoyed the extra attention from visitors.

"He's a very outgoing little guy," said Faliano. "He loves his public. He's loved people ever since he was born."

RELATED: Your Questions Answered On Dobby The Giraffe

Shawn Chitnis reports for CBS4 News at 10 on weekends and CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the week. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.

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