I have on more than one occasion observed the need to take a step back from the efforts I have put into my animal outreach business and former nonprofits. While one is never truly “done” working with animals, the past year’s additional challenges have further restricted my involvement in the animal rescue and outreach community.
- Due to my capacity and ability to provide additional veterinary care needs, I can no longer take in most rescues that are referred to me.
- Many of my primary ambassador animals are aging and becoming less fit for travel.
- I have been unable to remain active in professional groups or keep in close collaboration with other facilities related to animal care or outreach.
- I have not been able to allocate time or resources for continued education or professional growth in animal care.
- Regulations around animal transportation, transfer, and housing of animals used in exhibition are becoming more complex and difficult to adhere to for small-scale private facilities.
- Costs for maintaining an animal care and outreach business have increased exponentially in recent times.
- Demands of personal and family obligations have taken priority over efforts involved in providing outreach services and other efforts to grow CROC.
These are only a few of the many reasons that have stifled my efforts to continue to operate CROC. Being an effective voice and advocate on behalf of these creatures requires a huge commitment physically, emotionally, and financially. Furthermore - maintaining competency and professionalism in any animal-related industry requires continuous research and collaboration with peers to stay informed of the latest science and best practices to avoid spreading outdated information. This sadly is something I have been falling behind on, and I am feeling as though I can no longer offer the level of service that I had hoped to when I started this endeavor. It is for this reason that I need to set aside time away from providing outreach services to pursue further education in the animal care and outreach fields before I can return to offering programs at any sort of increased capacity.
Acknowledging that I simply cannot continue to operate this way, and that my lack of involvement in the animal care and outreach field is only doing a disservice to the public and those seeking to improve on animal welfare I will be making the following changes to CROC starting September 1st...
I will NOT accept private surrenders of pets from members of the public.
Direct requests for animal placement from existing rescues & Animal Control authorities will still be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
I will NOT be offering traveling outreach visits as a professional hired service outside of my limited geographical region, and those programs will be limited to seasonal availability.
I will be further reassessing which animals should retire to other pet homes or professional facilities.
The CROC website & social media pages will remain online as a resource for referrals, links, and reference material that I have gathered but I will be further reducing many of my activities on social media platforms. This reduction in social media presence is also extending to my personal profiles, as I am hoping to strengthen my personal privacy and internet security.
I feel proud of all that I have accomplished over my 15 years involved in animal rescue and outreach. From my humble beginnings starting a reptile “club” run out of my first apartment, to the growth and expansion of one of the region’s only 501c3 reptile rescues, to my personal efforts to inspire wonder of these animals in my own daughter and local community. I will not deny that this has been an amazing journey and one I would happily take again if fate were to allow it.
It is time that I step down and allow those who are continuing to do even more wonderful things to continue to build appreciation, respect, and inspire love for these animals as I had done in the past and be a stronger, more effective voice on their behalf.