USDA-licensed nonprofit exotic animal sanctuary & wildlife rehab facility in Jacksonville, FL. Honestly, it's really simple- we're in recovery!
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Our mission is to work with other recovering addicts to help save animals in need. Our mission: "To do what others won't, to handle what others can't, and to love what others don't." So, you wanna know our story, and why we call ourselves "Recovery" Rescues. Nick and I (Reeci) were both he**in addicts. We were the bottom-of-the-barrel gutter junkies you'd never even consider letting in your home.
We'd lost all trust with our loved ones, served jail time, lost custody of our kids, and were drowning in despair out on the streets. Friends and family were completely done with us. Neither of us ever dreamed we'd find a way out, and death would have been preferable to the lives we were living... and had we continued our ways, that's exactly where we would have ended up. One day, just like that, everything changed. Recovery WAS possible, and we were saved. We never knew each other in our active addictions- we met in rehab, and found mutual interests through our love of reptiles and exotics. We were both in the same profession, working as exotic veterinary technicians, and had even worked for the same doctor at different times! Thanks to Nick putting in a good word for me with the doctor I'd previously worked for, I was hired back into the field I loved- and was given a second chance to get my life back on track, saving animals while redeeming my broken, healing soul. I will ALWAYS be eternally grateful to Dr Darlene Lundberg Eslick, for having more faith in me than I ever had in myself, for showing me trust and love and encouraging me to be the tech I am today. Thanks, Doc, neither of us would be where we are today if it hasn't been for you giving us each a chance. When we first got together, we had a mutual mission - to save the ones who no one else thought were worth saving. Of course we identified most strongly with them because WE were the ones no one wanted to save - someone had to do it, and we figured we were the ones to do it. Nick's been clean since March 2015, I've been clean since April 2016, and we are truly living our dream. While also working full-time and raising two girls, we took in our first rescue - a bearded dragon we named Ducky. He was underweight, worm-ridden, and pi**ed off at the world. That was our calling - Ducky was the one who started it all. Since August 2016, we've taken in HUNDREDS of animals of varying species and medical conditions. We began on our own, through contacts in the animal and veterinary industries, but as word got out that we'd take in the un-save-able, more and more were thrown our way. We now partner with the FWC, taking in surrendered animals between Amnesty Events. We began our rescue in accordance with the 7th tradition of all 12-step recovery groups - with no outside funding. As we grew and expended, we realized that we simply could not save them all on our own dime, and became a 501c3 nonprofit in March 2019. We obtained our USDA Class C exhibition permit, to legally give tours and events with our Animal Ambassadors, as well as to adopt out some mammals and breed endangered species. We also obtained our Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation license, specializing in bats and wild reptiles- again, taking in the misfits that others do not want to work with. Bats are my heart, and every release gives us motivation to push harder and continue saving as many as we can! We provide mobile, hands-on educational events and "meet the animals" tours by appointment only. All proceeds from our events go to the day-to-day maintenance, feeding, and medical expenses incurred by the animals in our care. Many of the smaller educational events we provide for schools and scout troops are free, for the love of what we do. We offer very reasonable rates for birthday parties, private events, corporate team-building events, and other events. We offer individual sessions teaching husbandry, care, and handling of specific exotic animals - we can use our animals or yours, depending on your needs. We offer exposure therapy classes to help conquer fears of snakes or other reptiles. Contact us for more information, and let us know your needs! If you have a reptile or exotic pet in need of rescue or rehoming, please contact us. We are licensed through the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission to possess and exhibit Class III Wildlife and conditional/non-venomous reptiles. We are also exotic veterinary technicians; every animal in our care receives full veterinary services and wellness exams before rehoming or attending any events. When we DO rehabilitate and decide to rehome, our rehoming fees are nominal, and potential adopters are thoroughly screened. Please do not take offense! We care deeply for our animals and are passionate about their well-being - they are welcome here as long as they need to be until the right adopter comes along. This may mean that they wind up becoming a permanent member of our extensive animal family! Contact us for information on animals up for adoption. Our rates fluxuate on a case-by-case basis and are subject to change and/or negotiation based on individual circumstances. We are a legitimate 501c3 nonprofit, also recognized on GuideStar, and all income from private tours, donations, and/or additional fees are 100% tax-deductible. We do accept and train volunteers; however, spaces are very limited, and we cannot promise that we always have availability. We are always happy to answer any questions regarding husbandry or rehoming; however, being technicians in the veterinary field, our advice is just that - ADVICE. Please do NOT contact us asking specific questions regarding medical conditions of your own animals - we will kindly refer you to an exotic veterinarian :)
09/15/2023
We want to extend our sincerest apologies for our page being hacked and offensive materials bring posted on our stories. It has been handled, but we cannot be sure it won't happen again. We have reached out to Facebook in an effort to prevent future episodes like this.
We appreciate everyone who reached out to let us know, and I gotta give a huge shout out to Jessica and Nick for jumping on it and getting it handled before I was even made aware.
Those of you who have stuck with us for years, through thick and thin, know this is NOT anything that WE would ever do- we even curb the profanity to make our page as family friendly as possible, as our own young children follow our page as well!
Again, our deepest apologies, and thank you all for letting us know 🖤 - Reeci
09/15/2023
To our followers, we are SO sorry that we were hacked. The situation has been handled. We hope everyone has a fantastic friday,and a great weekend!
♡♡Thank you for your continued support that helps ave so many lives! 🖤🐽🦇🐾
Cash.App $recoveryrescuesinc
We are aware of the situation on our story and have contacted facebook as it will not allow us to delete it. Thank you to everyone that has reached out to let us know. Much love to all!
09/15/2023
Throwback Thursday!
Sally the porcupine has ALWAYS been a social butterfly and loves everyone she meets! Growing up inside with Princess Pork Chop (now Top Hog in our herd of 17) we would find them like this at all times, snuggled up or playing 🖤
Buy Aivituvin Large Insulated Wooden Dog House Up to 55 lb. at Tractor Supply Co. Great Customer Service.
09/10/2023
"Addiction is giving up everything for one thing, and recovery is giving up one thing for everything."
In honor of recovery month, will you make a $7 donation any day through the month of September to help celebrate my 7 years' continuous sobriety? I got clean 4/20/2016 and the month of September is close to my heart due to it being Recovery Awareness Month 🖤
I want to put it out there that my inbox is always open to anyone struggling with addiction. You are not alone. And we do recover 🖤
We still need over $100 to meet this week's feed budget - we need to go to the feed store tomorrow to make it for next week, and as of right now we have nowhere near enough for next week. Who would like to step up and be a hero today?!
Still trying to come up with several heated houses as well!
With everything going on this week (having covid/strep) I have not worked at all and we're still $140+ short of meeting our weekly feed budget goal, let alone purchase any of our heated houses. Will YOU be one to help save a life today?!
$3 Thursday!
We're raising funds for our regular Feed Store Friday to stock up on feed for the Sanctuary residents, and are also still raising funds to purchase several of these heated houses for the animals during winter! The lemur, porcupines, foxes, and raccoon will all be very appreciative 🖤
It costs an average of $200 - 300 each week for our normal feed, fresh produce, and supplements- in addition to what's necessary for enclosure maintenance, things like these heated houses, and other incidentals that comes with caring for 40+ animals.
If each one of our followers pledged just $3 a month that would exceed our monthly needs! Will you pledge $3, $13, $30, $300, or even $3000 and do your part to help save lives?!
With winter coming up, we really need to start thinking ahead. The lemur, foxes, raccoon, and porcupines all need heated houses - the bats are inside but if we can rig up something for them we'll add a heated element as well. Things we never really had to think about in Florida but is definitely an issue here.
In addition to our normal maintenance feed, supplement, and medication bills, we're trying to fundraise for at least 4 of these.
My job has severely reduced hours, and Nick will be starting nursing school October 2 and significantly cutting back his own work hours to focus on school. We don't have the ability to come out of pocket for anything extra, and have to rely on the kindness and compassion of those who have supported us all these years 🖤
Buy Aivituvin Large Insulated Wooden Dog House Up to 55 lb. at Tractor Supply Co. Great Customer Service.
09/04/2023
Already worrying about next week's feed bill!
We're starting to stock up here and there for the upcoming winter and prepare the outdoor animals for the cold weather that's just around the corner!
September marks National Recovery Month. The tagline, “Every Person, Every Family, Every Community,” emphasizes that recovery is possible for everyone. Treatment can save a life and can help people with substance use disorders recover from addiction's powerful effects on their brain and behavior.
We would not exist without recovery. Someone once saw something in both of us that they felt was worth saving, and God intervened to help keep us clean. We would not be who and where we are today without our sobriety.
Part of our mission is to help animals- the other part is to help people.
Our inbox is always open for anyone struggling with addiction. I will give you my personal number to call at 3am if you're fighting the demons in your head to keep from using.
Addiction is cunning, baffling, powerful- but by putting in the work to get and stay clean, we can buy ourselves a reprieve, one day at a time.
In honor of National Recovery Month, would you consider making a donation towards the animals in our care?
This weekend will be spent revamping the fox/ raccoon enclosure before winter arrives! Lowe's gift cards would be incredibly helpful and appreciated, as well as Tractor Supply and/ or Rural King gift cards 🖤
E-gift cards can be sent to [email protected].
You're all amazing and we're so excited to show the completed project!
It's only Tuesday and I'm already stressing about our Feed Store Friday bill!
We have a lot happening in our lives that has our personal finances stretched as tight as they can go and I'm stressed to the point where I may need professional help. I'm struggling with my own mental health, and every aspect of my life is being re-routed towards maintaining my sobriety. I'm putting this out here for a number of reasons- I have ALWAYS been transparent about my history and struggles, and I need the accountability that goes along with speaking my truths aloud. Having a large community of eyes on me helps keep my grounded and focused on what I need to do.
What I AM stressing about with the animals is that, in addition to our regular $120/week feed budget and $70/week produce/meat budget for the animals, it's also time to re-up on other stuff- macaw food ($60), supplements for the elderly pigs and horse (~$125), and parasite prevention- flea prevention for the fur-bearing mammals and dewormer for ALL of the animals. For this alone, we're looking at about $450. This should be the last prevention we need to apply before winter, but it's a doozy and I'm losing sleep on how we're going to cover that expense.
So for today, if you can donate towards $2 Tuesday, every little bit adds up. If you can't donate, a like and share go a long way towards helping the algorithm!
We appreciate you all so much, both for what you all do for the rescue and the support many of you have given us in our personal lives as well. All storms will pass, but sometimes riding them out it's easy to forget what the sunshine looks like 🖤🐽
I posted this on my regular page, but I'm posting here as well in case someone has a lead on something..
Nick starts nursing school October 2.
I'm looking for another full or part time job, remote or work from home ONLY, that does not require a VPN. Evenings or overnights would be preferred so it doesn't interfere with my primary job.
He's about to endure 2 years of grueling hell, and I want him to focus on school ONLY and not be worrying about trying to help support the family.
NO MLMs or anything I have to "invest" in!
I'm on Indeed and a few other sites trying to find something that suits my needs, but so far no major bites. Help!
This algorithm is killing me, since Facebook put me in jail in my personal account some months ago it's affected the rescue page as well!
We have some exciting things in the works, but we need help preparing for winter before it's on top of us!
We NEED panels to expand the pig area. We NEED wood, metal roofing panels, screws, to make sure Fidget, Monkey, and the foxes are happy. We NEED heated houses and water pails that won't freeze over. We NEED your help!
Every dime goes a long way. We are frugal and smart with our business finances and make sure every penny is stretched to the max. We make, scavenge, and produce what we can on our own. But it's never enough.
If you can't donate, a LIKE and a SHARE go a LONG way towards supporting us and helping us be seen! We've got a feed store run for this weekend and I'm already cringing because it's going to wipe out the little bit we do have.
It literally never ends around here, and depression is kicking my ass in a big way. Constantly worrying about feed and enrichment and making sure everyone's happy means I don't take the time to make sure *I'm* happy. I keep finding myself wondering WHY we keep working our fingers to the bone every single day just to have to turn around and beg for support.
But, here we are, and I have 40+ lives relying on me for their every need and want. To keep their bellies full, to make sure they're warm and dry and have plenty of things to keep them occupied. To keep them parasite free and provide medications and veterinary care when they need it.
We don't get sick days, we don't get vacation time, and we don't get bonuses for a job well done. We just do the same thing, every day.
We NEED panels to expand the pig area. We NEED wood, metal roofing panels, screws, to make sure Fidget, Monkey, and the foxes are happy. We NEED to start planning for winter NOW with heated houses and water pails that won't freeze over. We NEED your help!
Every dime goes a long way. We are frugal and smart with our business finances and make sure every penny is stretched to the max. We make, scavenge, and produce what we can on our own. But it's never enough.
Despite everything we've done to try to prevent it, Fidget is aging. He survived distemper as a tiny baby and walked away alive, but with some lasting neurological side effects. This past year his age has really started to show (he's almost 8 now!) and despite being on a multitude of supplements and anti-inflammatory medications, we can't stop it from happening.
Fidget has made many dreams of people getting to meet a raccoon, a reality. He's been an ambassador since day 1- going to work with us at the clinic every day, going to pet stores and even dressing up to trick or treat with the kids. He's always been exemplary in personality and attitude and just all around the best boy. He's always lived with his brother Wookie the fox and they've been brothers from another mother, sharing snacks and kisses.
But still, he's getting old. He's slower, his joints are bad and his vision- already not great from the distemper- is fading.
We have to appreciate every day we have with him, because as time marches on, every happy dance or kiss from him could be our last.
Fidget wants to know if you'd like to sponsor more marshmallows, supplements, enrichment toys, and other fun things for him and his friends at the Sanctuary!
Finally got power back on after it being out for like 5 days. Had it on for less than 24 hours and now a massive storm came through and wiped out power for more than 7400 people in our town....
.. for context, our town has about 12000 people 🙃
Fml.
At least we're not in FL anymore where the heat index is 115°! Tiny blessings.
YAYYY the hits just keep coming! 🫠
We're still sitting in the dark, probably for another few days yet but possibly even the next week.
Then just a little while ago I got an email alert that the business checking account was overdrawn- WHAT?! Last time I used that card was at the feed store Saturday and it was definitely NOT overdrawn then!
So I some digging and the fraudulent charges were reversed, but Wells Fargo had to cancel our card and send a new one, which can take up to a week. We won't have access to the funds in that account for 3-5 days.
With all the rain, all the fleas have come out in FULL FORCE, so we ALSO need to buy appx $360 in flea and parasite treatment for everyone, from the lemur to the foxes to the bunny and maybe even the bats. It was so bad last night that while I was walking through the pig pen I had fleas jumping in my FACE! 🤮
If anyone wishes to donate, now would be a great time- PayPal and CashApp are the only ones that we can actually access right now 🙃
I could deal with one issue or the other, but losing the power AND this crap with the card AND the fleas all hitting back to back when it's so hot out is just killing us.
At least we're not in Florida where the heat index is 104°... and thank God we're on city water and not a well, so the animals all still have fresh cool water! At this point I'm grabbing on to every little single teeny tiny silver lining I can 😅
Whether it's $5, $50, $500, or $5000, every dime is stretched to its max and contributes towards feeding, housing, enriching, and caring for all the innocent lives who depend on us for all of their needs. We made commitments to each and every one of them that no harm would ever come their way again and that they were safe with us, and I intend to keep that promise.
EVERY cent adds up! We appreciate all of you for your love and support over the years. We might be the ones getting our hands dirty, but all of YOU are saving lives!
Even if you can't donate (we get it, we're ALL struggling!) a like and a share goes a long way towards the algorithm! Ferdinand and Albert SWINEstein say THANK YOU!
I removed my last post because it was gaining too much traction and I don't want anyone getting in trouble. Simba has found placement and is awaiting transport. If anyone is able to assist with transporting him from FL north to anywhere along I40 or even up I75, it would be greatly helpful. Thanks!
We do need to get enclosures together and pay transporters! We are aiming to raise at LEAST $1500 for transport and enclosures and have zero time to do it 🙃
We can use gift cards to Tractor Supply or Rural King to purchase the 4 gauge panels needed for enclosures- electronic gift cards can be sent to [email protected].
Cash donations can be sent in a variety of ways:
We thank you all for your dedication- these matters are URGENT! If you can't donate, please SHARE! Please help us do the right thing and save innocent lives!
Go to paypal.me/recoveryrescuesinc and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.
07/29/2023
Guys we have 2 emergency situations with animals that need to come to us ASAP. We need to raise at least $1500 for transport and enclosures and have zero time to do it.
One animal needs to come from FL and we need to arrange transport like TODAY, any volunteers??! Lives are literally at stake right now. Please message us ASAP!
We can desperately use gift cards to Tractor Supply or Rural King to purchase the 4 gauge panels needed for enclosures- electronic gift cards can be sent to [email protected].
Cash donations can be sent in a variety of ways:
We thank you all for your dedication- these matters are URGENT! If you can't donate, please SHARE! Please help us do the right thing and save innocent lives!
Address
We Keep Our Location Private. Please Contact Us Directly For Animal Dropoffs And Tours Jacksonville, FL 32210
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$5 Friday!
It's Feed Store Day, will YOU help save a life?!
Thank you for your continued support that helps save so many lives! 🖤🐽🦇🐾
Cash.App $recoveryrescuesinc
Venmo @recoveryrescues
Zelle 9313350263
https://www.paypal.me/recoveryrescuesinc?locale.x=en_U
Muttley made a friend! 🖤
Thank you for your continued support that helps save so many lives! 🖤🐽🦇🐾
Cash.App $recoveryrescuesinc
Venmo @recoveryrescues
Zelle 9313350263
https://www.paypal.me/recoveryrescuesinc?locale.x=en_U
So, why "Recovery" Rescues? It's simple. We're in recovery!
We were he**in addicts. Crack heads. Bottom-of-the-barrel gutter junkies. We didn't think we'd ever find a way out. Friends and family were done with us. Death would have been preferable to the lives we were living.
And one day, everything changed. Recovery WAS possible, and we were saved. We met in rehab, and instantly bonded through our love of reptiles and exotics, and from being in the same profession - we were both exotic veterinary technicians. When we got together, we had a mutual mission - to save the ones who no one else thought were worth saving. We identify with them because WE were the ones no one wanted to save - and now, with over 7 years of clean time between the two of us, we are living our dream.
Immediately after leaving rehab, even as we struggled to rebuild destroyed lives and relationships from the ground up, we knew we had bigger things in store, and we jumped right in. While also working full-time and raising two girls, we took in our first rescue - a bearded dragon we called Ducky. He was underweight, worm-ridden, and pi**ed off at the world, and we had to do SOMETHING to help him. Ducky was our first; he was the one who started it all. Since August 2016, we've taken in hundreds of animals of varying species and medical conditions - from a water monitor with multiple medical conditions, to chronic respiratory snakes, to a raccoon who beat the odds and managed to survive distemper, to a rescued racehorse with a bad attitude and trust issues - and SO many more. Some animals have become permanent sanctuary residents; others we’ve treated for medical conditions and rehomed. We’ve lost a few along the way, as is the nature in rescue work - it’s a tough pill to swallow when you KNOW you can’t save them all.
We began on our own, through contacts in the animal and veterinary industries, but as word got out that we'd take in the unwanted and un-save-able, more and more were thrown our way. We now partner with the FWC, taking in surrendered animals between Amnesty Events and during special circumstances.
We started our rescue efforts in accordance with the 7th tradition of all 12-step recovery groups - with no outside funding. However, as our mission has expanded and we continue to take in more and more animals needing human assistance, we simply cannot do this by ourselves anymore. We became an official 501c3 sanctuary in May 2019, meaning all donations are tax-deductible for you, and have grown exponentially in just that short amount of time. We are now a USDA-accredited sanctuary and are FWC licensed wildlife rehabilitaters. At this time, the only native wildlife we take in are rabies-vector species, primarily bats and raccoons, because, again - we take the misfit ones no one else wants to deal with.
Because we are still small, and very new, our sanctuary is located on our own private property. We have snakes and monitors in our bedroom right next to the bat cages, and baby raccoons in our kitchen. We rescue and rehabilitate reptiles, exotic mammals, and wildlife on [mostly] our own dime. As a nonprofit, we are just now able to take in outside funding from donations, events we provide, and other sources of revenue such as grants and corporate sponsors.
We provide mobile, hands-on educational events using our rescued "animal ambassadors." All proceeds from our events go to the day-to-day maintenance, feeding, and medical expenses incurred by the animals in our care, as well as continuous expansion of our facility and caging. We offer reasonable rates for birthday parties, private events, corporate team-building events, and other events. We offer individual sessions teaching husbandry, care, and handling of specific exotic animals - we can use our animals or yours, depending on your needs. We offer exposure therapy sessions to help conquer fears of snakes or other reptiles or wildlife. Contact us for more information, and let us know your needs!
As we expand to accommodate for further native Florida wildlife rehabilitation efforts, our needs will grow tremendously. Please visit our Amazon wish list or contact us directly if you wish to help. We are always happy to take in and train volunteers; however, we prefer to work with recovering addicts who are wishing to expand their knowledge and skills and have a need to give back to society. We of all people know and understand how much animals can help heal a recovering addict’s soul!
If you have found injured or orphaned wildlife in need of assistance, or have an exotic pet or reptile in need of rehoming, please feel free to contact us. Lord knows we have no room to judge - our interest is solely in providing the animals the best chance possible to live their best lives. We DO NOT take in cats or dogs! We will take in occasional farm animals in special circumstances.
We are always happy to answer any questions regarding husbandry or rehoming; however, being technicians in the veterinary field, our advice is just that - ADVICE. Please do NOT contact us asking specific questions regarding medical conditions of your own animals - we will kindly refer you to an exotic veterinarian.
