Yes I know what your day intails I hoped by this postings

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Posted by Christy on March 11, 2002 at 19:53:59:

In Reply to: Re: A survey for those who do rescue posted by Ig Chick on March 11, 2002 at 19:40:26:

That it will shed some light on things for the average joe smoe that has NO CLUE what you guys do in a day. I applaud all that you rescuers do (ill try to catch you tomorrow I need a venting session (what about you LOL). Email me when you get time id like to hear the rest (If its something I havent heard yet). Good luck hopefully in those apps you can find some good homes.

: : How long have you been doing iguana rescue? (Or reptile rescue)

: In all honesty I have no idea .....we estimate two years on the rescue end of things howver we had been keeping iguanas/reptiles much longer than that.

: : When you first started what did you have to get started?

: A ton of money in the bank, a good exotic vet, a good relationship with my supplier, years of knowledge under our belts both reptile and business and a STRONG DESIRE to rescue. NONE of this made us totally prepared for rescue.

: We found out well after the fact that we were not legally or financially prepared for rescue. Lucky for us we stumbled upon the knowledge we needed to correct those things.

: : Did you set a limit when you first started?

: ROFLMAO Yes ROFLMAO

: : How many rescues do you have NOW?

: I do believe today's count is at 76 as we got in 3 new arrivals over the weekend

: : How many other reptile species did you get in besides iguanas, even though your plan was iguanas ONLY?

: Almost all of them INCLUDING crocodilian (American ALligators and Caiman)

: : What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a rescue?

: 1. Be prepared from a business angle. Get your legal ducks in a row and make sure you know the laws in your state. Get your finances in order. Seek out small business assistance in addition to finding animal rescue resources to help you set things up.

: 2. Whatever you think you know -know that you know almost nothing. Talk to other rescues and rescuers and learn as much as you can for them.

: 3. Be prepared for Murphy's Law -anything that can potentially happen will, especially if you think that it can't or won't happen to you.

: : What is the WORST thing you have seen (personally) in your rescue?

: I have to pick just one? This is tough so I will list the top 3

: 1. The pet store closing we recently assisted the police in. The smell, the dead animals, the disease ..... I still get sick to my stomach when I think about it.

: 2. At the reptile expo a "breeder" from Maine (in reality people that posted reptiles wanted ads and then resold the animals) that turned over a snake thats mouth was so hard from scar tissue it could not open its mouth.

: 3. An iguana with thermal burns so bad there were no scales left, only soft tissue holding its organs in.

: :
: : WHy did you get into rescue?

: It just kind of happend ... first was an adoption, then a rescue that we were called to help on and then the rest just came. Kind of like -if you build it, they will come and they came in droves.

: All kidding aside, there is a reason and if certain people were to email me privately I would tell them but I won't post it here.

: : What would you change from when you started to what you know now?

: EVERYTHING

: If we had started out with the knowledge that we have amassed today I can honestly say that we would still be in the planning stages and not already working with local law enforcement and other rescues. We would have taken the time, as much as necessary, to build a solid business foundation so that the rescue ultimately would crumble.Sitting where we are now there is no going back and so we have to deal with problems as they arise all the while taking care of all the animals every single day.

: I wish I had time to post what 1 day's schedule is like for me (maybe Jiff will post her's, it's worse than mine). This schedule repeats every day of the week, I do not get a day off, not even if I am sick. In fact, I have been typing a reply to this post off an on for the past hour (I think) in between phone calls, trying to get dinner for the humans, etc. etc. etc.

: There is so much more I could say but honestly, for the most part, it will fall on deaf ears and then someone will throw a hissy and blah blah blah

: I know that you (Christy) know how exahusted we are all the time .... we have no more personal time and that is just a side effect of all this. I am going to finish cooking dinner so we can sit down while we eat and go through adoption apps .... maybe if we are lucky we will get to bed before 3 am

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: That it will shed some light on things for the average joe smoe that has NO CLUE what you guys do in a day. I applaud all that you rescuers do (ill try to catch you tomorrow I need a venting session (what about you LOL). Email me when you get time id like to hear the rest (If its something I havent heard yet). Good luck hopefully in those apps you can find some good homes. : : : How long have you been doing iguana rescue? (Or reptile rescue) : : In all honesty I have no idea .....we estimate two years on the rescue end of things howver we had been keeping iguanas/reptiles much longer than that. : : : When you first started what did you have to get started? : : A ton of money in the bank, a good exotic vet, a good relationship with my supplier, years of knowledge under our belts both reptile and business and a STRONG DESIRE to rescue. NONE of this made us totally prepared for rescue. : : We found out well after the fact that we were not legally or financially prepared for rescue. Lucky for us we stumbled upon the knowledge we needed to correct those things. : : : Did you set a limit when you first started? : : ROFLMAO Yes ROFLMAO : : : How many rescues do you have NOW? : : I do believe today's count is at 76 as we got in 3 new arrivals over the weekend : : : How many other reptile species did you get in besides iguanas, even though your plan was iguanas ONLY? : : Almost all of them INCLUDING crocodilian (American ALligators and Caiman) : : : What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a rescue? : : 1. Be prepared from a business angle. Get your legal ducks in a row and make sure you know the laws in your state. Get your finances in order. Seek out small business assistance in addition to finding animal rescue resources to help you set things up. : : 2. Whatever you think you know -know that you know almost nothing. Talk to other rescues and rescuers and learn as much as you can for them. : : 3. Be prepared for Murphy's Law -anything that can potentially happen will, especially if you think that it can't or won't happen to you. : : : What is the WORST thing you have seen (personally) in your rescue? : : I have to pick just one? This is tough so I will list the top 3 : : 1. The pet store closing we recently assisted the police in. The smell, the dead animals, the disease ..... I still get sick to my stomach when I think about it. : : 2. At the reptile expo a "breeder" from Maine (in reality people that posted reptiles wanted ads and then resold the animals) that turned over a snake thats mouth was so hard from scar tissue it could not open its mouth. : : 3. An iguana with thermal burns so bad there were no scales left, only soft tissue holding its organs in. : : : : : : WHy did you get into rescue? : : It just kind of happend ... first was an adoption, then a rescue that we were called to help on and then the rest just came. Kind of like -if you build it, they will come and they came in droves. : : All kidding aside, there is a reason and if certain people were to email me privately I would tell them but I won't post it here. : : : What would you change from when you started to what you know now? : : EVERYTHING : : If we had started out with the knowledge that we have amassed today I can honestly say that we would still be in the planning stages and not already working with local law enforcement and other rescues. We would have taken the time, as much as necessary, to build a solid business foundation so that the rescue ultimately would crumble.Sitting where we are now there is no going back and so we have to deal with problems as they arise all the while taking care of all the animals every single day. : : I wish I had time to post what 1 day's schedule is like for me (maybe Jiff will post her's, it's worse than mine). This schedule repeats every day of the week, I do not get a day off, not even if I am sick. In fact, I have been typing a reply to this post off an on for the past hour (I think) in between phone calls, trying to get dinner for the humans, etc. etc. etc. : : There is so much more I could say but honestly, for the most part, it will fall on deaf ears and then someone will throw a hissy and blah blah blah : : I know that you (Christy) know how exahusted we are all the time .... we have no more personal time and that is just a side effect of all this. I am going to finish cooking dinner so we can sit down while we eat and go through adoption apps .... maybe if we are lucky we will get to bed before 3 am

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