My Future Career

When I was in high school, I volunteered at this therapy stable called Horsefeathers (http://horsefeatherscenter.org/). When I was volunteering there in the summer of 2011, these eight horses were the ones that were being used as therapy horses. The type of therapy that these beautiful creatures are used for is called hippotherapy, which uses horses to help people with disabilities or who need therapy to improve their life. I worked alongside a lovely lady who was very nice to her clients and patients, and she helped me improve both my relationship with our clients and with the horses. For the summer before my senior year of high school, this was probably the best thing to happen to me. I loved these horses, and working with them only increased my love for them.

Here are the descriptions of the horses, from my point of view (starting from top left and ending in bottom right):

Apollo: He is a chestnut, Belgian Draft and Quarter Horse cross. He is a very strong horse, but he’s a gentle giant, and very sweet. He greeted me every day, and I just had to give him a big rub on the nose. He’s a bit of a dunce, he likes to push, and he likes to nip. When he’s happy, he’ll smile.

Big Red: He is a large, chestnut, Thoroughbred horse, who is actually retired now. He was a police horse before he became a therapy horse. And he loves his hugs. (He is my favorite.) He’s very calm, very laid-back, and he loves to nuzzle.

Calvin: He is a chestnut Paint pony, and he’s actually a rescue. He has issues with people trying to feed him from his hand, as he was malnourished before he was rescued. He’s stall-aggressive, and he doesn’t like people handling his food. However, when I took him to pasture, he let me pet him, and he even nudged me in thanks before we went back in.

Harley: He is a black Quarter Horse, and he’s a bit of a bully. He likes to shove us workers around, and he absolutely doesn’t like it when you tighten his saddle around him. However, he’s a silly boy, and he liked to use me as a scratching post.

Lucky: He is a red roan Welsh pony, and he is very rambunctious and sweet. He’s very small, only a few inches taller than Little Red Rover, but he’s the fastest equine at the stable. I saw him during morning turn-out, and boy, was he fast.

Ice: He is a bay Paint horse who belongs to one of the owners there. He is the ‘alpha’ of the herd. He’s very laid-back, though sometimes he has a bit of an attitude.

Poco: He is a black Paint horse who is a sweetheart. He knows how to bow and nod, and he will hug you back if you hug him. He is my second favorite, and he is such a happy horse. I feed him carrots after he bows and nods for me, and then he licks me.

Recently, I’ve had the urge to draw, and since I have a graphic drawing tablet, I bought a new tablet pen, and away I went. The three drawings that are pictured above are the products of those drawing sessions. As you can see, I very much love to draw animals.

The top picture is a drawing of a hyena that I have for one of my stories that I currently have in my mind. Her name is Makena, and I will more than likely come back to her in the near future.

The middle picture was actually supposed to me practicing human facial expressions, but my hand had a mind of its own and decided to draw a barn owl. I am very happy with this drawing, though, as with Makena, I will more than likely come back to it in the future.

The bottom picture is of another character in the book that Makena will be in. He is a black mamba snake by the name of Theo. I have drawn him before, but only by hand, and I was very curious as to how I would draw him with my tablet. I’m pleased with how he turned out, though I probably will come back to him again to do some touch-ups and whatnot.

Over the course of my life, I’ve had basically one true career path that I want to follow: work with animals. Whether that involved working in a veterinarian’s office, or working a zoo, I really don’t mind what I do as long as it’s something that I love, and that, my friends, is animals.

I want to be able to help animals recover and rejoin their life in the wild, or, if they are unable to properly live in the wild, I want to be there for them and provide the socialization that they need to be a happy, healthy, living creature. I would really like to have a hands-on job with animals, whether through being a veterinarian technician or maybe even just shoveling poop out of the animal’s enclosure.

Paradise 4 Paws, a premier Chicago pet resort, offers cat and dog boarding, cat and dog grooming, dog day care, and dog training. Airport parking available,

Over the weekend, I went home for Easter to spend time with my family and my dog. However, I also was able to get an interview with a pet resort company called Paradise 4 Paws (see above link). I am super excited by the outcome of this interview, and also how much I enjoyed myself while I was there.

For the past three years since leaving high school, my summer job was a summer counselor for children aged 3-7 years old. Last summer, I realized that I didn’t like my job anymore; sure, I enjoyed my coworkers and some of the kids that went to camp, but it wasn’t a pleasurable experience for me. So, this year, I had been looking for other avenues of work, whether that was through volunteering or an unpaid internship, or even a job.

My sights turned to where my family boards my dog when we go on vacations that she can’t come with us on. However, I use the word ‘board’ loosely, as Paradise 4 Paws is, as it says in the description, a pet resort. It has a small dog play area, three large dog play areas, and a cat jungle area. The dogs have their own suites, though if they’re in the same family, they can be allowed to be in the same suite. The cats are all together in one area, but there are places for cats to go if they don’t want to be with other cats.

Over spring break, I went down to New Orleans to visit my sister, and then my parents and I went to Texas to see San Antonio and the Alamo.

While I was at New Orleans, and my sister was at work, my parents and I went to the Audubon Zoo, and I was able to get a private tour with a keeper at the zoo, who happens to be my sister’s friend.

Aimee, my sister’s friend, is one of the keepers of the Asian Domain at the Audubon Zoo, and she told me what a normal day would be at the zoo. She showed me where they kept the food for all the animals in the zoo, and she even showed me some animals that weren’t on display. Porcupines are one of them, as they like to burrow and wouldn’t be a good exhibit animal to view, and another is a fox that was kept as a pet. Aimee told me that they have to come in early in the morning to feed the animals, and then they turn the animals into their pens at 10:00 am when visitors arrive. Then, the keepers hose down the animals’ overnight enclosures. They do that for all the animals, and then when their chores are done, they can do what the keepers call ‘animal enrichment’.

The four animals pictured were four animals that Aimee and an intern, Katie, did animal enrichment with, so they could show me what they do. For the Amir Leopard, that’s the male, Sasha, and Aimee used some ginger plant to get him to come by the fence to say hi to the guests. For the Bengal Tiger, Aimee threw a blood-popsicle for him to lick up and move around instead of just lying in the enclosure all day. For the otter, Aimee and Katie threw fish down and had the two otters swim to get the fish. For the pig, they threw some grass stalks for him to nose through.

This is a ball python, a type of domesticated snake that most snake owners start out with when they decide to purchase one. This one belongs to a couple who were letting people hold and take pictures with this snake, as well as a boa constrictor that was much, much bigger. I was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans when I saw the snake and asked his owners if I could hold him and get pictures with him. You see, I want to have a snake when I get my own place (my father doesn’t like snakes and won’t allow them in the house, so I am respecting his decision on the matter).

While it may seem creepy to some people, I love snakes, and they are my favorite reptile. There are so many different snakes that exist, and they are all so beautiful, from the rattlesnakes that live in the south and west to the green tree boas that live in the rainforests of South America. They aren’t slimy at all; in fact, their scales should be smooth and soft to the touch, if they aren’t shedding their skin. And as long as you treat these beautiful creatures right, they won’t feel the need to bite you. As it stands, I know that I’m not going to get a venomous snake, as even if I think he will be the sweetest thing and never bite me, you can never be too careful with animals. Something might set them off and they may feel threatened--just like me when I’m in a crowded room with people I don’t know well.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with best friends while growing up. My parents are huge dog people, my dad a bit more than my mother, and so, they passed their love of dogs onto me. It’s probably because of the dogs I’ve grown up with that started my fascination with everything animal related.

The larger black dog (although she’s a shiny black puppy in two of the three pictures) was a flat-coated retriever by the name of Sheeba. I don’t remember much of her, as she passed away when I was only three or four years old, but I do remember how soft she was and how tolerant she was of me, a rather boisterous toddler.

The black poodle (the curly-haired monster) was the dog of my childhood. His name was Monet, after the French artist, and he was my best friend and playmate. We grew up together; I helped train him with my dad. We had him from when he was eight weeks old (February 1999) til he was almost 12 years old (April 2010). I had him for twelve years of my life, and he was probably the goofiest poodle I have ever met. He was relatively tolerant (until he got to be a grumpy old man) and I knew that he loved me. He would let me dress him up in dolls’ clothes, which was funny and I still have pictures.

The ginger dog with the green bandana is my current dog, a goldendoodle named Brandy. She’s the sweetest dog, always happy to see me, and generally a happy dog. She has her moments where she’s a brat (hiding under the table when she has a toy she knows we’re going to take it away from her), but even then, she calms down and then just lays down to cuddle. She loves hugs, she loves walks, she loves to laze around all day. Basically, she’s my dog, and I love her to pieces.

The yellow lab-type dog is named Cowlie. She’s my sister’s first dog, and she’s 3 years old. You know she’s part Lab just by the fact where she’ll bring you a ball and just bother you until you play fetch with her. She’s a lazy bum who loves her belly rubs, and I will babysit her whenever my sister needs me to.

Rusty is the blue-eyed dog. He’s a Catahoula leopard dog who is the biggest dope you will ever meet. He’s such a lazy dog and he will literally let you do anything. I met him for the first time over spring break, and I can’t wait to see him again in the summer. He’s about 2 and a half years old, and he has some little quirks that are cute. For instance, when he has to go out, he will bark at you. Not a rapid succession of barks, though. More like, a couple of sharp barks that mean “I gotta go”. However, he doesn’t stare at you. Instead, he looks out of the corner of his eyes when he barks at you, just to make sure that you’re looking at him.

When I think about what I want to do when I'm older, my thoughts immediately shoot to wolves or hyenas. Not only are these my favorite animals, but they are beautiful animals that are threatened by humans and development. While I do have a rather unrealistic dream of owning one of these beautiful creatures (unrealistic because it's illegal without a license and because they are wild animals and, unless they are unable to provide for themselves, they should stay that way), I would still love to have hands-on experience with these beautiful animals.

I've been thinking of places to visit and perhaps apply as a volunteer or even to work there, and there are several places that I have in mind. For one, there's the International Wolf Center in Eli, MN (www.wolf.org), which has an internship program that I would love to enter. That, however, is for wolves.

Another place that I have looked into is the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Africa. If I ever have a chance to go to Africa, I will drag whoever I am with to this center just to look at it and (hopefully) apply to work there.

When I first saw "The Elephant in the Living Room", I was excited to learn about what different animals people would own as pets. As I continued into the documentary, my heart went out to the main two men it was about: Tim Harrison and a lion owner, Terry Brumfield. Terry Brumfield was the owner of a small pride of lions, two adults (a male and female) and their three cubs. As I learned about Terry's struggle recovering from a back surgery and how his friend had given him a young lion cub to hopefully bring him out of his depression. He named the young lion Lambert, and he raised Lambert as his own pet. Soon after receiving Lambert, Terry also gained Lacy, a female lion. The two lion grew up together and eventually had three cubs, named Sampson, Tabitha "Tabby", and Sophia. I grew invested in Terry’s story, and I was hoping that, when he decided that the five of them had to go to another, more appropriate place to live, that they would all leave together. And it really seemed that way. However, tragedy struck when Lambert was electrocuted in his outdoor pen after a particularly rainy day. He was only four years old when he passed away.

This story really affected me, because I had been with the dog I grew up with while he was suffering from cancer and eventually had to be put down. I was with him as he fell asleep and didn’t wake up again. With any animal death, from Old Yeller to “The Elephant in the Living Room”, I find myself tearing up and basically sobbing until I can compose myself. It breaks my heart when their deaths can be avoided.

These pictures are all of me interacting with wildlife,whether through actual physical contact in a controlled space or just capturing these beautiful creatures with my camera (or my mother’s, so to speak). After seeing every one of these animals, it has only enhanced my dream to work to save animals and their natural habitats.

The first two pictures are of a young deer who was very friendly with the visitors at this national preserve. By the markings on the top of its head, I could tell that it was a male fawn, as his antlers were barely starting to show through his head. He was extremely friendly, I could tell that he was young, if only because of his small stature. While his spots are gone at this point, his mother was not far off. In the background of the first picture, while they are not visible from the camera’s angle, the deer’s herd was grazing, and one of the does in particular was keeping an eye on the fawn that was spending time with humans and being fed peanut butter crackers. What surprised me about this beautiful animal was how comfortable he was around humans. While he is a wild animal, he walked straight up to me, and even allowed my mother to take that picture of him.

Now look at the next picture, the picture of the doe in the grass. She is much more wary of humans, and that is mainly due to the fact that she is from an urban environment. In this picture, she is actually in a forest preserve on the edge of a bike path. The way her ears are positioned can tell you that she is nervous around my mother and me, and while she did allow us to take this picture, she fled after a few minutes. If you look at the fawn’s ears, his ears are pointed forward, which is a sign for curiosity and shows that the animal is comfortable with you.

The next picture is of a herd of elk, in Elk Grove Village. While these are a tamed herd, they are by no means domesticated. However, they are comfortable enough with humans to graze peacefully and not have to worry about being killed by hunters. The stag himself has his head down while he grazes, though his ears are pointed towards the doe next to him, making sure that she is alright and in no discomfort.

The picture that is after the deer is of a garter snake, also known as the garden or gardener snake. It is a harmless snake that is native to North America, and this particular snake lives in Winter, Wisconsin. I know this because I have a cabin that is in that town, and I found this little reptile sunning himself between two rocks. While he does look small, the way he is curled up clearly shows that he is longer than he actually appears. This little guy didn’t move from his spot the whole time that I was visiting with him; however, you can tell he isn’t sleeping by the way his head is positioned: it is raised off his body, and if he was sleeping, he would have rested it on his body for more comfort. This shows that he is very aware of his surrounds, but he wasn’t feeling threatened enough to strike or even to flee.

These next two pictures are of a baby alligator, about two feet in length from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He is old enough to be without his mother, as the mother generally lets her hatchlings leave when they are a foot long. The way this alligator is laying is allowing him to both be cool and be warm at the same time. As reptiles are cold-blooded animals, they cannot regulate their inner body temperature as mammals can. So, it is easy for him to get overheated. Once he feels too warm, however, he slips into the water to cool off and find food, as you can see he is doing the second picture with me. He allowed me as close as he was comfortable, and then as he moved into the water, I made no move to go anywhere closer, as animals, just like people, need their personal space.

Speaking of personal space, some social creatures, like these adolescent California Sea Lions, don’t really seem to need their space—if they are with their own kind. These sea lions loved to float by the docks in California, and one way to allow them to do this without floating away from their colony is to interlock their tails and fins together so they keep close. The reason I know that this group are adolescents is because the older, more scarred, and bigger sea lions were on a plastic raft made just for them, and whenever one of this group tried to get on the raft, the bigger sea lions would bark and show their teeth at the smaller ones.

This picture was taken in Montgomery, Alabama at the Montgomery Zoo. This is a male Reticulated Giraffe, and the name that the zookeepers had given him was Willy. He is 12 years old, but in this picture he is 10. He is actually the father of a two year old calf, though the baby giraffe was born after I had visited the zoo. Meeting Willy the giraffe was an amazing experience, and it was probably this experience that turned me onto the idea of being a keeper in a zoo or helping animals recover at a rehabilitation center for wildlife and exotic animals.

This is an example of my life if I choose to be a zookeeper. I was talking with the zookeeper who was running the meet-and-greet of the giraffes, and he was very informative and very willing to answer all the questions that I asked. He seemed to really love his job, and I could easily see myself being a part of a zookeeper.

In the top photograph, you can see that Willy is wrapping his two-foot-long tongue around my wrist. This was because I was pretending that I had food for him, so he tried to taste me instead of the hay that I had provided him moments before. From firsthand experience, the giraffe’s tongue is rough, a lot like a cat’s. This is to help them to strip leaves off of the tall branches that they would eat in Africa.