As I said goodbye to summer, so too did I say goodbye to many of my former long-time clients in outreach programs.
The past 3 months have been exceptionally trying. We were caught off guard with the sudden failing health of my father, and an urgent need to secure housing and ongoing medical care for him. The increased duties of my job and the unstable schedule of my daughter's new school year have tested the limits of my capacity. What would have been a slow reduction in my outreach programs has thrust me into taking immediate action and redirect almost 100% of my efforts towards the need of my family. Because of this, the animals have unfortunately become a much lower priority.
With the severe reduction in my ability to keep up with maintenance, I have had to make the heartbreaking but responsible choice to find new homes for a large number of my animals. Working with fellow animal rescue colleagues, I was fortunately able to find permanent or temporary placement for nearly half of my collection before the bitter temperatures of winter arrived. I of course could never part with some of my most beloved animals, and I continue to maintain those species that my daughter helps to care for, and those senior animals who would not likely cope with a sudden upheaval in thier living situation.
I am now looking at what direction CROC will take moving into 2023. It is clear that the demands of my family, career, and personal life are unlikely to dwindle. My plans on continuing to expand and advertise CROC to push it into the next year are once again being put on hold. With the cost of upkeep and services skyrocketting, I will be switching the majority of my communications to email and social media services, as well as discontinuing the phone number that has been associated with my business for nearly 10 years as it has become a target for spam and robo calls, and I am no longer actively answering rescue requests or referrals.
Regardless how much exposure CROC gets on the web and social media channels, it still continues to be a major piece of my identity and lifestyle. Through friends, family, word of mouth, and my already established local reputations I will continue to be available for those events within my nearby school districts and summer camps with the reduced collection of animals for smaller private events.
As I begin closing out my books for 2022, I want to conclude this post by saying THANK YOU ALL for joining me on this incredible journey and supporting all the things I have done with CROC and the amazing animals that have shared my home. From my family to yours, I wish you all the best in whatever adventure awaits.