sometimes it just makes you feel good.....

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Posted by Tenor Goddess on April 23, 2003 at 13:45:47:

As a rescuer, educator and animal lover, I typed this up. Enjoy!

Sometimes We Feel Great Being Rescuers

I was in Home Depot on my lunch break today trying to get the last components to build my first rack system to house up to 20 bins for small snakes and lizards.

I spoke with a man that was to help me decide which wood would be best for my shelves (being of course a less than wealthy rescuer, I made it clear that I wanted durable but cheap wood). �� As the conversation waned on, he dug a little deeper into my animal keeping to find out that I do rescue iguanas (they are what started my official rescuing in the first place). He was overjoyed. He explained that his son used to have an iguana when they lived in Florida. He was super tame, let anyone pet him and would often get out of his cage to go upstairs into his son��s bedroom and lay down with him. He said the iguana became sick last year and the vet told him that something happened in the bones or something (he was hard pressed to remember what it was) that probably happened due to growing up in Florida then here in much dryer climate (he probably didn��t know to keep humidity since they had it so abundantly in Florida). The iguana passed away last year and his son was devastated. Even when telling me the good times they had with the iguana, he raised his hand a couple times to his mouth like you normally do when trying to stop yourself from giving in to tears, saying that his son still refuses to talk about it as it upsets him so. They genuinely loved this iguana. He has been scared to buy one from a pet store although he thinks now is the time to get another for his son. We briefly discussed the problem with most chain pet stores and he affirmed that they didn��t look healthy, that��s what made him scared. I told him that although right now, all I have is a 4ft adult female, I��m sure to get calls and emails to take in more iguanas.

When he found out that I rescue and adopt out iguanas, he was so happy he was jittery. He told me he��d do the most perfect cut of wood for me once I came in to get the shelving and if I ever needed anything to just let him know. ��

I walked away so happy, it made me proud to be a rescuer and to be able to make that much of a difference, even to just one person. ��

If any of you know of someone needing to place an iguana (I would say the yearlings or about that size would be best so he could grow up with it) that has a wonderful temperament, male or female, please contact me and let��s find this boy an iguana. In the meantime, I��ll give the father all the information this walking encyclopedia can muster up. ��

Many thanks and biggest hugs to everyone,

Amanda & the Menagerie

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