A new chapter

For more than 10 years I have been an advocate for responsible pet care, and the welfare of captive reptiles and other exotic animals. As a pet owner, I had been in situations where resources and knowledge about these animals was limited, I felt a need to provide that resource where there were none available.

Over the years, I had been dealt many challenges requiring change and a shift in my business and personal goals. I'm reflecting on all the things I have accomplished on this journey.

In 2009 I formed my first business as an officially permitted animal exhibitor - sharing the message of education and conservation to members of the public with a small number of animals in my personal collection under the name Upper Valley Reptile. In the beginning it was meant to remain small-scale, to serve only the occasional outreach program, and provide sanctuary and rescue services for animals in the immediate area. Once I became more actively involved in the community, it became obvious that there was a greater need for my services. In 2011 I made the decision to convert my small business into one of NH’s only 501c3 nonprofit animal shelters dedicated to the care of reptiles, and I began increasing my capacity and ability to care for abandoned, unwanted, and neglected pet reptiles. The word "Group" was added onto the end of the business name to reflect the addition of a few interested volunteers who would form the organization's initial board. In 2012 Once my organization had become known as a public business, I was challenged by local town ordinances on whether I was in violation of zoning rules related to animal care businesses. The resistance I met by locals with irrational fears merely reinforced my belief that the area needed more education and support in the realm of dealing with reptiles & exotic animals. I was able to relocate to a new home on a limited budget and minimal support. The animals and the business came with me. In 2013 Personal financial hardship forced me to transfer a large number of my animals to a dear friend and colleague in the animal outreach community who had recently suffered a loss themselves. In just a couple weeks following the transfer of those animals my home suffered major flood damage from area storms and I too was forced to relocate. I found a new partner who was willing to share his home with me and my menagerie, and I was incredibly fortunate that I was able to receive the animals and resume my business operations with the rescue and outreach programs within the following year. In 2015 Upper Valley Reptile Group's services were beginning to reach far beyond our small area of the central VT/NH - with programs and services extending to partners and volunteers throughout the New England region - myself and the board members decided to change the name of the organization to Northeastern Reptile Welfare League and worked closely with area veterinarian, pet shops, and wildlife officials to further provide outreach services and animal rescue out of my home. In 2016 The state agricultural department enacted new regulations that made operating a public animal shelter out of a private residence financially and logistically impossible for me to maintain. In cooperation with a local pet store, and by reducing the animal shelter/rescue capacity by more than 1/2 we relocated the "animal shelter" portion of the organization to a small office space within the local pet store in order to meet visitation and inspection hours requirements. The bulk of permanent resident and ambassador animals used in outreach programs remained with me in my home. In 2017 The birth of my daughter brought on new challenges, putting serious pressure on my ability to continue to maintain and manage a nonprofit animal rescue. I began relying heavily on the few dedicated volunteers still involved with the organization to keep it going. I began to reduce the number of exhibit programs I provided to enable myself the time to be a parent without sacrificing the care being given to the animals within my private, and animal shelter facility. In 2018 The decision to close the "animal shelter" portion of the organization at the pet store office was made so that efforts could be focused on maintaining exceptional care and outreach services with the animals used in public exhibits and programs. Rescue was handled on a case-by-case basis, focusing solely on those animals in most need of rehabilitation and re-homing. The pressure to maintain both new family obligations, and that of a nonprofit weighed heavily on me. In 2019 I decided I could no longer operate a nonprofit under the added pressure of being a parent, and began the process of handing-off the duties of my nonprofit organization to another group of people who had a vision to turn it into something new. The operations of the 501c3 were put temporarily on hold while the new board was organized. I continued my efforts as a professional wildlife exhibitor under my own DBA, CROC while keeping the animals who I had been using in outreach programs in my home. In the start of 2020 the new organization was coming together, and I had been given huge hope that the foundation of what I had built was going to be shifted into something much greater than what I would have been able to accomplish. The new board of directors was formed, while I remained as a supportive role to see it through. It was renamed WE CARE Foundation with new leadership driving it. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders as I began to find a good balance between my personal family life, and that of caring for animals and sharing my passion with those around me on my own terms. Spring of 2020 Brought us a pandemic - Schools closed, summer camps cancelled, non-essential services had been brought to a halt early in the year. As a private wildlife exhibitor, all income to maintain my business had previously relied on bookings from schools, daycare, private parties, and other regularly scheduled events that I had been attending for years - these opportunities dried up seemingly overnight. After months of maintaining a business presence for programs that would never happen, paying for insurance I would never use, and trying to determine the logistics of providing outreach programs in the world's new normal I had to face the harsh realization that it is simply too much for me to continue to maintain I needed to make a serious business decision to avoid failing to adhere to the previous levels of exceptional professionalism and ethics that held as the core values to my operations. You can only do the absolute best you can for so long... and I was no longer able to give it my best.

This week I announced the discontinuance of my work as a wildlife exhibitor, and the closure of my DBA. I will no longer be offering public exhibit programs, rescue/rehab, or consultation services of my own.

Although I am stepping away from a duty that had so entirely consumed my life for the past decade, I recognize that I have accomplished so much, and faced incredible odds and challenges along the way. Over the years I have saved hundreds of animals from death, neglect, and abuse, and have shared the message of compassion for these animals with countless other people. It is a conflicting mess of feelings for loss, relief, and others that I simply don't have the words to describe at this time... but I feel in my heart I am doing exactly what I should be doing, and will let me soul guide me to the next great adventure.

The animals who have come into my home will continue to call it sanctuary, and while they may "retire" from their work as ambassadors, I am honored to still consider them members of my family. As I withdraw from sharing my passion with the public, I can now focus my energy towards sharing this life, and these creatures with my daughter.