wild at heart farm: It Ain't Quite Livestock......

Woot! Two posts in one day! And all without the use of caffeine or high carb, tasty treats! Man, it's like I'm Superwoman or something (well, until I need the afternoon nap!)

So someone curious about my "working with animals" bit wanted to know what I meant (if you've read this blog long enough---well, firstly, you really need a medal!---but, you'll also know I mention working with animals on and off).

So the secret's out: apparently writing, making dolls, dancing, and trying to sell dolls, jam, and more online ain't paying the rent (hmm...you'd think I'd be more dissuaded from doing those things)...so my "real life" job has always been working with animals. Always. My first job, which helped pay for college, was working at the Humane Society. Before this, I volunteered as a high school student at a local vet's office. I've trained dogs. I've worked with birds. And even a few farm animals. But for the most part, I work with dogs and cats. Oh, and rabbits. And reptiles.
It t'a'int bad being Dr. Doolittle.

As usual, the blame lies with my parents. Ok, not really. It's actually just my father--I've been exposed to animals EVEN BEFORE I can remember, and this is because my father took me EVERY WEEKEND to the National Zoo, even before I was TWO YEARS OLD. According to the stories I was told, I could say RHINOCEROS and PLATYPUS even BEFORE I WAS TWO.

Clearly, with that background, I wasn't just going to be an artist or something (umm...wait a minute!). In fact, I wanted to be a veterinarian--well, when I wasn't doodling or making up stories in my room (yes, I was a strange child, but you probably could guess that, right?)--and the only thing that STOPPED me from that dream was--who'da thunk it--my complete dislike of SCIENCE--doh!

So long story short, I ended up as a vet tech...with a snazzy vet tech job that I left almost two years ago, after 7 years of working there. I work freelance as a petcaretaker, specializing in giving medication to sick animals in their home, and dealing with pets that most people can't---or won't--deal with. Snakes, lizards, ferrets, hamsters, even chicken.

But--it ain't like wrangling a sheep. So, farm dreams are dashed temporarily, but I can't complain about my job (though I WILL, admittedly, whine when I'm running dogs in the park when temps are in the low 20's).

Here are a few pics of my fuzzy and friendly wards. I call them wards because I feel particularly responsible for their well-being when they are in my care. I am particularly fond of the dogs, who seem to have such a hard time in the city. I love helping train them and keep them corrected during their walks. But, I love all my animal clients:

This li'l dude was some kind of lizard that supposedly lives in North America. He would stick his front feet up like this and beg when he thought we had food (which was freeze dried crickets. Yum!!)