whippet
Tara
For years now the big bad animal rights groups like the HSUS and PETA have been trying to eliminate reptiles as pets. They use horrible propaganda and negative news stories to push the public into a state of fear.
In order to prevent stories like this from breaking out, most herp keepers suggest we start to police our own. To stop negative occurrences BEFORE they go so far that animal control and news vans arrive. But seldom do we actually act upon this. In our own community a case of hoarding and neglect has been happening for months, maybe for years, and people have known and said nothing. Why do they not say anything? Fear. Fear of being called a liar. Fear of hurting feelings of friends. Fear of being the whistle blower. Fear of hurting THEIR reputation in a community that they love being a part of.
Well it’s time. Because the people who say nothing about it-- those who let it slide under the rug-- are as guilty as those who are truly at fault. Every animal that goes into the home of a person struggling with neglect and abuse suffers because no one wants to be the one who says something.
Robbie…. We love you. We as a community care about you. We value you as a friend and a fellow herp lover. But you are over your head. This past weekend many of your dearest friends from this community entered your house for the first time. What we saw there was a horror. Dead animals. Near dead animals. Starving snakes and lizards. Feces filling the cages. Months worth of sheds. Most without water. Under-size, Under-weight, poorly kept animals. Mites covered them. Paper soaked with grime and balled up in corners, animals directly on stained plastic. Cages far too small for adult animals. No temperature controls, extreme heat.
You told us you spent hours cleaning… so how bad were they before? What happened to the reptiles that were missing? Where are the snakes you were babysitting? Where are the snakes you were raising for others? Gone….gone and dead. We ourselves comforted you when you lost the boa we had given to you along with numerous others in a “heat spike.” We now know that she probably spent her last days in filthy conditions, living a life of untold neglect.
You admitted that many died from neglect. You promised members you now had “time” to care for these poor animals and would sell them when they were healthy again. But all behind closed doors and in hidden conversations, never in public where others might see.
So why did you buy a half-dozen new animals at Daytona? Why not fix the problems you have now first? Why bring healthy stock into a house of death to be infected with mites?
You asked us to talk to you face to face and not behind your back as so many were doing. Well here we are. Face to face. Asking you to stop, offering our help. Whatever you need, to cut back and slim down. Clearly you have too many, even the moderate number that remains. There’s no excuse to be bringing home more.
Many members of CS have offered to take in your animals and help get you down to a reasonable number. We are willing to take them on, cure them, fatten them up and find them great homes. Many people all saw the same things we did, and were just as horrified as we were… now is the time for all of us to say enough is enough and help Robbie and our hobby avoid the shame of another animal control nightmare.
You said you are ready to take care of them now. But Robbie….why not last week? Last month? According to many local people, and those who were at your house last year, this is nothing new. Weeks ago stacks of cages containing dead animals were piled on your porch. Last year snakes were filthy and had no water.
We care about you. I for one am very worried that you have entered a severe state of depression and are hiding in your room…ignoring the animals and trying to be the flamboyant fun guy you are on this forum. Hiding behind a persona that is not reflected in your everyday care of the animals you swear to love. This path can only lead to worse things. Robbie, you mean a lot to many of us. We don’t want to see you like this.
It’s been less than a week since Daytona. One of the animals you obtained there is already dead. Did you give it water? Did it sit in the deli cup all day Sunday in your 90+ degree house while you partied at the expo?
We love you Robbie. Lauren and I want to help. We want to make sure both the animals AND you are helped. We want you to seek help beyond the internet…and beyond your own home, for your well being as well as the animals.
This is the time NOW to get your collection down to a reasonable size. To rehome the animals you are keeping just to breed . To get it down to a reasonable number that one college age person can reasonably expect to be able to afford and have time to care for. You have well over 40 snakes…it’s time to get down to well under 10.
You can’t fix a problem like the one you are in by adding more animals. Burying the problem in more work is not fixing anything. Get to the point where you can easily care for and have healthy animals, then rebuild.
Robbie, you are young. You have plenty of time in this world to own all of the amazing animals you love. It’s just not that time yet for you. It is truly time to do the mature thing and set things right. Right now. Others far younger than you have cut back and are the better for it.
We are reaching out to help you. We don’t want animal control coming and taking everything. And Robbie…right now if they entered your home, you would lose it all.
I don’t want to intimidate. I want to make it VERY VERY clear how deeply into a very serious situation you have gotten yourself into. Lauren and I know that you are a popular guy around here, and we have decided that we are willing to deal with the consequences of being the ones who finally bring this sad situation to light, no matter what those consequences may be.
I am asking the community to come forth now, to talk about how you feel and about what you have seen. It’s time to come out of the closet a second time Robbie. Take the hands of those willing to help. Do not hide behind private PMs and Text messages which just let you sink into oblivion again. Together we can fix this. We know you can do right by the animals you love.
In order to prevent stories like this from breaking out, most herp keepers suggest we start to police our own. To stop negative occurrences BEFORE they go so far that animal control and news vans arrive. But seldom do we actually act upon this. In our own community a case of hoarding and neglect has been happening for months, maybe for years, and people have known and said nothing. Why do they not say anything? Fear. Fear of being called a liar. Fear of hurting feelings of friends. Fear of being the whistle blower. Fear of hurting THEIR reputation in a community that they love being a part of.
Well it’s time. Because the people who say nothing about it-- those who let it slide under the rug-- are as guilty as those who are truly at fault. Every animal that goes into the home of a person struggling with neglect and abuse suffers because no one wants to be the one who says something.
Robbie…. We love you. We as a community care about you. We value you as a friend and a fellow herp lover. But you are over your head. This past weekend many of your dearest friends from this community entered your house for the first time. What we saw there was a horror. Dead animals. Near dead animals. Starving snakes and lizards. Feces filling the cages. Months worth of sheds. Most without water. Under-size, Under-weight, poorly kept animals. Mites covered them. Paper soaked with grime and balled up in corners, animals directly on stained plastic. Cages far too small for adult animals. No temperature controls, extreme heat.
You told us you spent hours cleaning… so how bad were they before? What happened to the reptiles that were missing? Where are the snakes you were babysitting? Where are the snakes you were raising for others? Gone….gone and dead. We ourselves comforted you when you lost the boa we had given to you along with numerous others in a “heat spike.” We now know that she probably spent her last days in filthy conditions, living a life of untold neglect.
You admitted that many died from neglect. You promised members you now had “time” to care for these poor animals and would sell them when they were healthy again. But all behind closed doors and in hidden conversations, never in public where others might see.
So why did you buy a half-dozen new animals at Daytona? Why not fix the problems you have now first? Why bring healthy stock into a house of death to be infected with mites?
You asked us to talk to you face to face and not behind your back as so many were doing. Well here we are. Face to face. Asking you to stop, offering our help. Whatever you need, to cut back and slim down. Clearly you have too many, even the moderate number that remains. There’s no excuse to be bringing home more.
Many members of CS have offered to take in your animals and help get you down to a reasonable number. We are willing to take them on, cure them, fatten them up and find them great homes. Many people all saw the same things we did, and were just as horrified as we were… now is the time for all of us to say enough is enough and help Robbie and our hobby avoid the shame of another animal control nightmare.
You said you are ready to take care of them now. But Robbie….why not last week? Last month? According to many local people, and those who were at your house last year, this is nothing new. Weeks ago stacks of cages containing dead animals were piled on your porch. Last year snakes were filthy and had no water.
We care about you. I for one am very worried that you have entered a severe state of depression and are hiding in your room…ignoring the animals and trying to be the flamboyant fun guy you are on this forum. Hiding behind a persona that is not reflected in your everyday care of the animals you swear to love. This path can only lead to worse things. Robbie, you mean a lot to many of us. We don’t want to see you like this.
It’s been less than a week since Daytona. One of the animals you obtained there is already dead. Did you give it water? Did it sit in the deli cup all day Sunday in your 90+ degree house while you partied at the expo?
We love you Robbie. Lauren and I want to help. We want to make sure both the animals AND you are helped. We want you to seek help beyond the internet…and beyond your own home, for your well being as well as the animals.
This is the time NOW to get your collection down to a reasonable size. To rehome the animals you are keeping just to breed . To get it down to a reasonable number that one college age person can reasonably expect to be able to afford and have time to care for. You have well over 40 snakes…it’s time to get down to well under 10.
You can’t fix a problem like the one you are in by adding more animals. Burying the problem in more work is not fixing anything. Get to the point where you can easily care for and have healthy animals, then rebuild.
Robbie, you are young. You have plenty of time in this world to own all of the amazing animals you love. It’s just not that time yet for you. It is truly time to do the mature thing and set things right. Right now. Others far younger than you have cut back and are the better for it.
We are reaching out to help you. We don’t want animal control coming and taking everything. And Robbie…right now if they entered your home, you would lose it all.
I don’t want to intimidate. I want to make it VERY VERY clear how deeply into a very serious situation you have gotten yourself into. Lauren and I know that you are a popular guy around here, and we have decided that we are willing to deal with the consequences of being the ones who finally bring this sad situation to light, no matter what those consequences may be.
I am asking the community to come forth now, to talk about how you feel and about what you have seen. It’s time to come out of the closet a second time Robbie. Take the hands of those willing to help. Do not hide behind private PMs and Text messages which just let you sink into oblivion again. Together we can fix this. We know you can do right by the animals you love.
