Not only a fabulous fellow member of EtsyVeg Team, but an Etsy seller with a super unique shop! If you can make the rodents look cute to me, you know you're a true artist! I bring you...
Scrappy Rat Designs
bio: I've always been
an animal person, and I think if you truly care about animals, you can't
go long in life without getting involved in rescuing them. I started
out with taking intake calls and helping matchmake dogs and cats with
responsible homes for Independent Animal Rescue. We got calls about
other animals, too...rats seemed to be especially in need, and we had a
hard time finding anyone who would foster these little guys until
adoptive homes could be found. Shortly thereafter, a desperate friend
showed up at my door with a pair of rats who had been mistreated by a
pet store and were brought to the vet where she worked for help. How
could I say no. Then, at the vet kennel where I worked, I somehow found
myself becoming the resident "rat girl" who was willing to help out when
people abandoned their small pets. Over time, this grew into Raleigh
Rodent Rescue, which I ran for six years, helping find foster homes and
permanent ones for mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, degus,
chinchillas, brazillian opossums, even the occasional bird or
non-rodent-eating reptile. With the help of some fantastic volunteers,
we helped about 100 animals a year, and worked to spread the message
that buying animals from pet stores isn't just bad for dogs and cats,
it's just as harmful and sometimes worse, for small animals and exotics
as well. Most people we encountered never even knew there was a better
option, or that these species end up left in shelters (and
unfortunately, put down in them) just the same as dogs and cats. We did
our best to help out our local shelters and animal control by taking as
many of these little guys into foster care as we responsibly could and
we met some pretty fabulous, caring people who adopted from us.
Unfortunately,
I was diagnosed with a genetic spine disease that causes intense,
continual pain and I had to start thinking about how I could take care
of myself while taking care of the animals I love, including those
closest to me, my own pets who need me more than anyone. With the help
of my friend Kay her impressive group of volunteers at Carolina Pet
Rescue, Raleigh Rodent Rescue was merged with her organization so I
could continue fostering animals and helping the way I can without
compromising my health or the time my own animals need from me.
Scrappy
Rat Designs is a creative way I can share with others the animals I
have known and the deep responsibility and love I feel for their
welfare. I hope when people visit my store they can see this in the
cards and other items I design, and that they can communicate their own
compassion to everyone they mail them to. I often donate card sets to
different animal rights and rescue organizations for use in their
fundraising, and I frequently offer the price of items or percentages of
my sales to animal protection groups. One item that is always sold with
100% of the profit I make donated is my cookbook, Yummy for Dogs,
filled with loads of recipes I've developed for dog treats and special
occasion meals. During the "research and development" phase, I was lucky
to have an abundance of volunteer tasters among the dogs at the kennel
where I worked, and later among the dogs I trained working for Sylvie's
K9 Solutions. My other passion is writing, both in the form of
non-fiction (including several pet columns in various magazines) and
poetry. I also have just had my fourth book of poetry published, which
will be available shortly via my site, as well as that of my publisher,
Foothills Press.
Please visit here;
www.cpr-nc.org
http://scrappyrat.blogspot.com
www.evnoechel.com
I
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1 comment:
So awesome! We are lucky to have Scrappy Rat in EFA and Etsy Veg, I love her unique, adorable creations and that she's a great friend to the animals!!! Michele
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