I don't know about the rest of you but for me this Millenium year will definatly be a memoriable one!
It started out just like any other year, rescues in and rescues out, not much different. Or at least that is what I thought!
In February, I sat in a second story kitchen window with a catch pole to rescue a wayward Iguana from a tree!
She had been loose in the neighborhood for the better part of a year. I was amazed as to how good of a condition she was in when I was notified and captured her. She was a brilliant green and tamed quickly, her new owner was pleased when she arrived and they hit it off beautifully!
In March, Randy from Reptiles Unlimited asked me to take in a beautifule Blue Ornate Nile Monitor into the rescue.
She had been taken to the store after some kids had found her and used her for rock throwing practice! She had such a severly shattered elbow that it required amputation! She was a beautiful Blue Ornate Nile, such a shame to loose a leg. Two months of rehab and she went to her new home.
Then in May came Phoenix.
A wonderfull little Iguana that taught me to look beyond the injury to see a potential.
She had been critically burned in a fire, it was a slow recovery but her personality was a true joy! What a wonderful day it was when I was finally able to release her to her new home this October. She now resides in a handicapped school where hopefully she will not only teach respect for the world around us but also a little about fire safety as well.
In August came a poor Iguana that had been taken from it's owner by a friend who could not bear to see it suffer any longer.
Apparently it had bitten it's owner so he wanted to teach it a lesson and not feed it until it decided to be nice! By the time the friend interviened the poor Iguana was barley a skeleton, too weak to move. He died 3 days later!
In August also came Bonnie and Clyde. Two huge Burmese Pythons that had been much loved and well cared for until their owner found out that he had cancer, he had to release them to Animal Control. They both found loving homes.
In September, I did my first raido show interview with Dr. Margolin on KRLA talk radio 1110 AM. Which I enjoyed immensly!
Now it is October already, I can't believe the year is almost over.
So far we have more than doubled the number of reptiles that came in last year!
The other night while I was fixing dinner there was a frantic knock at my door.
There were two teenage boys panting from running the 4 blocks from their house to mine. They said that something had happened to their Iguana and that they were afraid she would die. Apparently she had fallen into their pool and could have been on the bottom for around 15 minutes, thank goodness the pool was not heated. They wanted to know if I could help. I asked them to get the Iguana here and I would do what I could. A few minutes later there was a frantic knock at my door and there was their mother holding the poor Iguana wrapped up in a towel. She was dark, nearly dead, her eyes barley open, she was limp and unable to move. I held her lying across my arm with her chest in my hand with her head tiped down to drain the water from her lungs, while I vigorously tapped along her ribs pausing for chest compressions every few seconds to encourage her to breathe. Slowly after what seemed like an eternity she began to respond, and her color returned to a near normal. After about 1 hour of working on her she went into a warm cage. She was alert and active the next morning. Her family was so happy to be able to come pick her up and take her home the following afternoon!
Sometimes it is easy to see why I do the rescues.
The year is nearly over, soon the snakes will be sleeping for a much needed winter rest... theirs or mine I am never quite sure.
Hopefully next year will be quieter and people more responsible about the pets they choose.
Maby some day rescues will no longer be needed...I know, I know... wishful thinking. But I can still hope:)
Everyone Take Care
Sheryl Wiesner
Reptile Rapsody Reptile Rescue