09/20/2024
Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday in person, on Facebook, through the rescue, or just in their mind when they thought they were talking to me :-) it was a wonderful day for celebrating a half century plus two of orbiting Sol. I have so much to be grateful for and so many wonderful people that care about me. I want for absolutely nothing in this world.
If there is anyone who wants to do something for my birthday, I asked that they find a small rescue of animals near them and give them a donation. Small rescues are struggling so much right now and social media makes it almost impossible for us to get our messages out there because big rescues pay for ads that we cannot afford. And it's the small local rescues that are being overwhelmed every day with animals.
I don't come around on Facebook a whole lot anymore because honestly the emotional fatigue of rescue plus working in vet med has been a lot. In the last few months it feels like we received three to five messages a week from someone who wants to surrender their animals to us because they either cannot care for them, have too many and have become overwhelmed, or impulse purchased poultry and now don't know what to do about it. Every day at the clinic we see owners who have purchased exotic pets that they did not prepare for properly and are not willing or able to spend the time and money to make sure they have everything they need. Poultry sales at Farm stores and the reptile shows and exotic animal shows contribute to the problem by providing cheap and easy access to animals that require a great deal of care and maintenance without providing any education to owners.
I encourage you not to purchase any living thing from these places. If you want to purchase a puppy, find a reputable breeder not a guy on the side of Houston Levee selling puppies out of the back of the van. If you want to purchase poultry, please find a local rescue or contact in your local community that breeds. If you want to purchase exotic animals, please do your research in advance and perhaps contact a local veterinary office that can help you find a rescue or a reputable source or at least provide you with care information and cost of veterinary care should you need it. For example at our clinic, a reptile visit is over $100. A visit for a rabbit, guinea pig, hedgehog, etc is around $110. An avian visit is nearly $130. Most owners find this extremely shocking and sadly by the time they seek veterinary care it is often much more expensive because the animal is extremely ill.
All of this word salad if you've made it this far is to say thank you for everything you do for me, and for the community, and for the rescuers and the animals. Because I know everybody on my friends group is an animal lover. And if you have the opportunity to contribute in some small way, I encourage you to do so. Until they all have homes and love!
