Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Friday, November 9, 2012
USDA!
It's been a while since I've updated this. After Gay Pride in Columbus things were a little shaky for a while. We had a less than stellar showing at Pride and quite frankly were run down and discouraged from it. Then we got a call from the USDA. We were reported and found out that we needed a license that we didn't have. We had spoken with the USDA previously and it was never mentioned until after they realized we were in violation. But anyway...
Since then we have been busy upgrading all our enclosures to make sure that we are compliant with USDA standards. And I am pleased to announce that just this week, we mailed off our application. We are now waiting for an inspection to be approved and then we can begin booking shows again. This is hugely exciting and we are planning on going back to Pride again next year.
I'm not sure how long it will take to hear back from the USDA but you can be sure I will let you know as soon as we do!!
Since then we have been busy upgrading all our enclosures to make sure that we are compliant with USDA standards. And I am pleased to announce that just this week, we mailed off our application. We are now waiting for an inspection to be approved and then we can begin booking shows again. This is hugely exciting and we are planning on going back to Pride again next year.
I'm not sure how long it will take to hear back from the USDA but you can be sure I will let you know as soon as we do!!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Gay Pride
For those of you who may have been following Noah's Arc for a while, you know that we went to Columbus Gay Pride last year. We had a lot of fun and made a little money. It was a great way to get our name out and get some recognition.
Well this year we are returning. We are going to Columbus again for Pride. But this year it will be even better. We will have some new animals. We will have a float. We will be offering photos with the animals. There will be more details to come, but we are really excited about it. We will also take the show on the road to Cincinnati. We are doing 2 Pride festivals this year.
We need to design a float. We need to build a float. We need to get a photo printer. We need to get a power generator to run the printer and computer. There is a lot of work to do. And I won't lie, we could use help. But we are really excited about what we are doing.
Well this year we are returning. We are going to Columbus again for Pride. But this year it will be even better. We will have some new animals. We will have a float. We will be offering photos with the animals. There will be more details to come, but we are really excited about it. We will also take the show on the road to Cincinnati. We are doing 2 Pride festivals this year.
We need to design a float. We need to build a float. We need to get a photo printer. We need to get a power generator to run the printer and computer. There is a lot of work to do. And I won't lie, we could use help. But we are really excited about what we are doing.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
A bunch of squirrels
We have several baby squirrels right now. They are so cute, and its hard to resist the temptation to pick them up and hold them. But we don't want them to be socialized to humans. We want to keep them wild so that when we release them they will stay in the wild and not get to close to people.
We haven't gotten any calls about baby rabbits, and that surprises me. Truthfully, I'm grateful, because baby rabbits are hard to care for and they too often don't make it. I hate to see them die. And if no one is calling about them, then rabbit mothers must be doing okay and able to raise them without getting hurt.
Over the weekend we made some changes to Smokey's cage. She is our female raccoon that we keep and take to shows. Although we won't be taking her to any shows soon. She's likely pregnant and not very happy having people around. But her cage was a mess and needed some work. So we got her out and went to work. We put in a better bottom to keep her up off the mud. We repaired her nest box, which is critical for her to have babies.
And our female fox, Roseanne is definitely pregnant. She is due in the next few weeks. It's not possible to know exactly when she is due without a trip to the vet. As long as she is doing well, we don't want to stress her out. We will of course bring her and her babies to the vet once they are born for a check out. Later this year, we may need to find some new homes for some of the babies.
We haven't gotten any calls about baby rabbits, and that surprises me. Truthfully, I'm grateful, because baby rabbits are hard to care for and they too often don't make it. I hate to see them die. And if no one is calling about them, then rabbit mothers must be doing okay and able to raise them without getting hurt.
Over the weekend we made some changes to Smokey's cage. She is our female raccoon that we keep and take to shows. Although we won't be taking her to any shows soon. She's likely pregnant and not very happy having people around. But her cage was a mess and needed some work. So we got her out and went to work. We put in a better bottom to keep her up off the mud. We repaired her nest box, which is critical for her to have babies.
And our female fox, Roseanne is definitely pregnant. She is due in the next few weeks. It's not possible to know exactly when she is due without a trip to the vet. As long as she is doing well, we don't want to stress her out. We will of course bring her and her babies to the vet once they are born for a check out. Later this year, we may need to find some new homes for some of the babies.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Orphan season
So now is the time that start receiving lots of orphaned baby animals. And yes feel free to call us if you find something in Ohio. We will let you know if we can take it and how to arrange for us to take it from you.
Some words of advice about finding baby animals in the wild, or your backyard, garage, etc.
Rabbits:
Rabbit mothers will often leave the nest for much of the day to eat. They return to the nest at night to keep the babies warm and feed them. This also distracts predators from following her to the nest where the helpless babies are. If you find a nest of rabbits, likely under a bush in your yard, just leave them alone. Most likely Mom will come back to take care of them. She most certainly will not come back while you are there watching, as you are a dangerous animal that could attack her or her babies. If you suspect that she isn't coming back there are some things to look for.
First of all, are all the babies in the nest, tightly wrapped up together sleeping? If so, they have been fed recently and she is caring for them. If the babies are starting to crawl out of the nest and disperse, this could be a sign that the mother has been killed. Mothers do not abandon their young. Even if you touch them or handle them, just put them back and she will just clean them off and keep caring for them. Would you abandon your child because he came home smelling like a dog, or another person?
Second, if you do think the mother is not coming back you can check. Sprinkle a small amount of flour around the nest. Leave it alone for 24 hours (overnight). If the flour is disturbed then she is coming back and caring for them. Again, just leave them there. If there is no disturbance, then they are likely orphans and need help. You can also arrange a set of sticks in a tic-tac-toe pattern around the nest. Don't use string because this can get caught on an animals leg, or a bird might pick it up to use for nest.
Squirrels:
Squirrels nest in trees. So if you are doing some pruning of dead branches, double check them to make sure there are no nests in them. Squirrel nests look like big stacks of leaves bundled up in the tree. If you find baby squirrels on the ground, they have fallen out of a tree. If you can find a nest nearby, you could help Mom by placing the babies back inside. She will try to carry them back, if she can. Again let them sit for 24 hours before calling a rehabilitator.
Raccoons:
Raccoon mothers move their babies every 4-6 weeks. If you have a mother raccoon in your garage, or shed, or a tree in your yard, let her take care of her babies for a while. She will move them along in a few weeks and you can inspect the damage and if needed make any repairs to the building so she can't get in again. If you find a nest of babies in your barn or garage or shed, the best thing you can do is leave them alone. Mom may be close and she can be very dangerous if you try to take her babies. Again use the flour trick if you think she isn't coming back.
And finally rehabilitating wild animals is best left to trained professionals. There is a lot to know and classes are required to become licensed. It is illegal in Ohio and many other states for just anyone to rehab animals. This is for the protection of the people and the animals. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or find an animal in your area.
Some words of advice about finding baby animals in the wild, or your backyard, garage, etc.
Rabbits:
Rabbit mothers will often leave the nest for much of the day to eat. They return to the nest at night to keep the babies warm and feed them. This also distracts predators from following her to the nest where the helpless babies are. If you find a nest of rabbits, likely under a bush in your yard, just leave them alone. Most likely Mom will come back to take care of them. She most certainly will not come back while you are there watching, as you are a dangerous animal that could attack her or her babies. If you suspect that she isn't coming back there are some things to look for.
First of all, are all the babies in the nest, tightly wrapped up together sleeping? If so, they have been fed recently and she is caring for them. If the babies are starting to crawl out of the nest and disperse, this could be a sign that the mother has been killed. Mothers do not abandon their young. Even if you touch them or handle them, just put them back and she will just clean them off and keep caring for them. Would you abandon your child because he came home smelling like a dog, or another person?
Second, if you do think the mother is not coming back you can check. Sprinkle a small amount of flour around the nest. Leave it alone for 24 hours (overnight). If the flour is disturbed then she is coming back and caring for them. Again, just leave them there. If there is no disturbance, then they are likely orphans and need help. You can also arrange a set of sticks in a tic-tac-toe pattern around the nest. Don't use string because this can get caught on an animals leg, or a bird might pick it up to use for nest.
Squirrels:
Squirrels nest in trees. So if you are doing some pruning of dead branches, double check them to make sure there are no nests in them. Squirrel nests look like big stacks of leaves bundled up in the tree. If you find baby squirrels on the ground, they have fallen out of a tree. If you can find a nest nearby, you could help Mom by placing the babies back inside. She will try to carry them back, if she can. Again let them sit for 24 hours before calling a rehabilitator.
Raccoons:
Raccoon mothers move their babies every 4-6 weeks. If you have a mother raccoon in your garage, or shed, or a tree in your yard, let her take care of her babies for a while. She will move them along in a few weeks and you can inspect the damage and if needed make any repairs to the building so she can't get in again. If you find a nest of babies in your barn or garage or shed, the best thing you can do is leave them alone. Mom may be close and she can be very dangerous if you try to take her babies. Again use the flour trick if you think she isn't coming back.
And finally rehabilitating wild animals is best left to trained professionals. There is a lot to know and classes are required to become licensed. It is illegal in Ohio and many other states for just anyone to rehab animals. This is for the protection of the people and the animals. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or find an animal in your area.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
501(c)3 Status Update
So after several months of waiting, we finally received a reply from the IRS. They need more information to complete our tax-exempt application. It's a painfully slow process but we are getting there.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Columbus GLBT Pride
We just completed 2 intense days at Pride in Columbus. We brought with us our animal ambassadors, Buddy, Rocky, Cinnamon, and Flower. They were a huge hit. Everyone was in love with the little guys. And we made a huge amount in donations. Over all the event was a great success, although we are exhausted. More to come soon.
Good night all.
Good night all.
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