Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wildlife Rehabilitation Training

This weekend I am going to Alliance OH to take a course in wildlife rehabilitation.

This is the first step to rescuing injured animals.  After this course, I will be able to get licensed to rescue orphaned squirrels and rabbits.  Ohio has some pretty strict regulation on this.  After I've been rescuing orphaned animals for about 3 years, I can take a class to add more species, and add injured animals.  It is a slow process, but Ohio wants to make sure that people know what they are doing before they start taking in dangerous animals.

So Friday night after work I am driving to Alliance OH.  This Saturday I am in class all day.  Then I get to drive back to Noah's Arc and my family.

Wish me luck.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

First gig!

We just found out that Noah's Arc has our first gig. We will be presenting to Emerson Academy in Dayton. The date for the show is May 25, which is good because we have lots to do to get ready.

First of all Smokey & Roseanne need portable cages. Our idea is to build large scale enclosures that can be assembled easily on stage. This will allow the animals to have some room to run and climb. They will also be more calm. Since they are wild animals they aren't too fond of leashes.

We also need fliers and business cards made. Its a little thing but will allow us to expand and look more professional.

We also need to work with Roseanne and Smokey to get them more used to being on display. In that same area we need to work on our presentation.

I'm absolutely certain I'm forgetting about a dozen things we need to do, but I'm just so excited.

We have our first gig!!!!!!!


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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Education & Collection permit

We received our education permit yesterday!!!  This means that we can show our animals for educational purposes.  We can start setting up programs to take the animals to schools and libraries and any where else that would like to have us present.  We also have a request for our younger boys' preschool to come to our house for a field trip to see all the animals.

We will talk about the animals specifically, as well as the importance of conserving nature so that our captive animals aren't the only ones left.

This permit also enables us to collect animals from the wild.  So we can take in orphaned animals.  In a couple of weeks, I will be taking a class to learn how to care for orphaned animals and re-introduce them to the wild.

This is very exciting for us!!! Things are really starting to move now.  The only permit left to get is the tax-exempt status.  This is the most involved application, and the most expensive.  It costs several hundred dollars just to apply for tax-exempt status.  I guess the IRS figures that this is their last chance to get any money from these organizations.

In other news, we are getting business cards, and working on that website.  I know it still has a long way to go.  But we have help with that.

We still need the land to expand.  And for that we are going to need money.  Lots of money.  Which is why we need the tax-exempt status.  That will allow us to apply for grants and donations.

One day at a time...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

OMG, What a week!!!!!

This has been a crazy week.  Okay, so most of it is about my personal life and not about the Sanctuary.  But still it has kept me from updating you on what is happening with the Sanctuary.  It has also kept me from doing much of anything I want.

As I've mentioned, I am currently in grad school working on a masters in economics.  This was finals week.  I also had a paper due this week.  So I've spent most of my free time studying and writing my paper.  10 pages on underemployment.  I won't bore you with the details of that here.

I've also had a day and a half of team building with my new department at work.  Not that I have a new job, just a new boss.  And my team has been realigned with other teams.  So I haven't gotten much done at work, and know that tomorrow is going to be crazy trying to catch up.

But on the good new side, I also had a phone interview with a company much closer to home.  But enough about me.

We just received our permits for the animals.  This is the permit to own and breed them. We are now licensed to have 2 foxes, 2 raccoons and 1 skunk.  So now we just have to wait until the new babies are ready.  The fox & raccoon should be ready to be picked up in May and the skunk in June.

Well, "just wait" isn't the right term.  We have to build pens, and figure out what skunks eat.  We have  a lot of prep work to do.  We are also waiting for our education permit so we can take the animals to schools.

On that last note, we were just asked by our boys' daycare/preschool if they could have a class trip to our house to see the animals.  So we are really getting started with it.

We have an offer to help with our website, so we need to provide pictures and ideas.  We are ready to get business cards made up, so now we need a logo.

OMG!!!!! It never ends.  All this is happening without even submitting our application for tax-exempt status.  I really need to get back to that soon!!!!

Any volunteers to help out?  Besides Dan for offering with the website, a great big thank you!!!!!!  

Monday, March 7, 2011

Permits, Permits, Permits!!!!

While it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but we are busy applying for our various permits.  There are so many we need to have.

First of all, we have a permit just to own and breed the animals.  This permit has to be renewed annually, and updated with all the new animals acquired each year.  This permit has to be sent to one state agency.

Then we need to have an educational permit.  This allows us to take the animals to schools, libraries, etc to showcase them and talk about them, us, and preserving nature.  This permit is a little bit more involved, since we have to not only be a registered organization, but also must have an educational program.

Our final permit that we are applying for today is our rehabilitator's permit.  This is a two stage permit process.  The first step is actually to take a class in rehabilitating wild animals and reintroducing them to the wild.  The first permit allows us to take in orphaned animals and raise them until they can care for themselves.  The second permit would allow us to take in injured animals too.

So tonight we applied for our general permit and our educational permit.  And I signed up for the rehabilitation class.  So on April 2, I will spending 8 hours in Alliance OH, learning about how to care for and rehab wild animals.

Once we get this permit, we can start advertising that we can take in animals.

The next step is to apply for our tax-exempt status.  This is the big one.  Once we have 501(c)3 status, we can start looking for grants and donors to speed up the process toward getting the land.

Driving

Currently I have to drive about 85 miles each way to commute to work. There are two ways I can go. I can take the interstate zipping through most of the trip and then sitting in traffic for the last 10 mile or so. Alternatively I can take a back way of country highways. I only hit traffic about 2 miles from work. Both routes take about the same time so there isn't a big advantage to either.

Except that taking the back way I arrive at work less stressed and happier. This morning I even started to notice the many farm houses I pass along the way. It helps that it is now getting light out when I drive to work.

Looking at these homes with barns and fenced pastures, with cows, horses, sheep, and even some llamas, I try to imagine living in these places. I think how great it must be to wake up to the silence and wide open spaces. I think about running out to the barn to feed the animals before showering and dressing for work. Or how great it would be to not need to worry about going to work. Just having all my work there on the farm.

That is my dream. That is my goal. Noah's Arc should be my full time commitment and I am excited for the day that will happen.


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