For a start, I often get laughed at when I tell people I’m the ARC Volunteer Small Furries Rehomer as it sounds slightly obscene, plus my day job is in IT so my colleagues find it rather baffling! Nicole and I work with and manage a team of fosterers who look after mice, rats, chinchillas, degus, gerbils and hamsters – we have little fact sheet if you’d like further info on any of these animals. We all work full time but juggle our ARC duties on top of this. I mainly coordinate the animals due to come in i.e. speak to the owner and confirm a foster place for them and Nicole then homechecks potential adopters before reserving the animals if all goes well.
On a daily basis, we never know what we’ll get – most of the time we get contacted as people are unable to keep their pets due to moving home or a relationship break up etc. however we do also get the occasional neglect or hoarding case which can be really hard to deal with and we must remain professional when meeting the owner even though we do this as we’re all animal lovers. The rewarding aspect is when we’re then able to nurse animals back to health and then rehome them to a fabulous new owner.
Nicole and I often end up in the dog house when our partners spot a new cage in our homes with something moving inside of it but of course it’s only temporary until the animal goes to another fosterer or they’re adopted so we just about get away with it!
The small furries adoption page is kept up to date so do have a browse if you’re thinking of adopting but just a reminder that a pet is for life and not just Corona so remember that you’ll still need to find time to look after them once things are back to normal!
Hope you’re all keeping safe and well.
Cat