Furry Scurry

Thanks to everyone that came out & donated, the 16th annual Furry Scurry was a HUGE success! They raised more than $865,000 to help homeless pets this year. They are 99% in reaching the goal that they set of $875,000 for 2009.

The Furry Scurry was a two-mile walk and fun run in Washington Park. Click on the highlighted Furry Scurry Picture link to see all the thousands of people & pets that came out to support the cause it was so much fun! (Furry Scurry Pictures) This fundraiser helps the Dumb Friends League care for as many as 25,000 homeless animals every year and provides valuable services to our community. I loved volunteering my time for such a wonderful & much needed cause.

The day was beautiful the weather was great not too hot, & not too cold it was just right. I donated my time at the even working in the Corporate registration area. It was very hectic from time to time yet everything managed to stayed organized. Amber & I were busy the whole day no time for breaks...LOL We did however manage to watch some of the contest they had going on. By the end of the day I was exhausted but when I look back at waking up at 5:00 am to be there by 6:00 am volunteering for over 10 hours it was all worth it every moment.

BLIZZARD.......Oh my

Here we are in April Easter has past so doesn't that mean it's Spring time??? I guess Colorado didn't get the message...LOL It is so weird because it has been very nice weather for the past few weeks warm & cool very nice not to hot not to cold oh & did I forget to mention NO humidity (sorry Fl). I woke up yesterday morning to a blizzard yes you read right a blizzard. It was raining & snowing and boy was the wind blowing. This was my first time driving a long distnace in a blizzard my poor little VW bug. It is so use to the sunny South Florida weather not this icy bitter cold. I took some pictures so you could see for yourself. This week we are going back in the 70's so please tell me what happened yesterday did mother nature have a bad day...LOL

2009 Furry Scurry!

It is getting closer to the date! The two-mile walk & fun run in Washington Park on Saturday May 2, benefiting the Dumb Friends League is almost upon us. I volunteered to work at this event because this fundraiser helps care for as many as 25,000 homeless animals a year.

When the organization was founded in 1910, it was named after a London, England, animal shelter called Our Dumb Friends League. In those days, the term "dumb" was often used to refer to those who were unable to speak.

Although the term "dumb" is not generally used with that meaning today, they kept their name, because it has significant recognition among Colorado residents.

The mission statement of the Dumb Friends League includes these words: “speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves," meaning our companion animal friends.

The Dumb Friends League welcomes every animal in need. They turn no animals away. They are defined as an “open admission” shelter.

Besides those little tidbits they hold a very close place in my heart as that is where I adopted Lena & Mandarin. They are a non-profit shelter & rely solely on donations.

If you live in the Colorado area and would like to be part of this amazing day please stop on by & visit. For those of you who don't live in the area but would still like to help the shelter out you can go to http://www.ddfl.org and make a secure online donation.

Jungle Island

WOW, I am so excited to post these pictures. While down in South Florida visiting my family during spring break my mom booked a VIP tour for me to Jungle Island. We started the tour at 10:00 am with our tour guide Ryan. I told him about my love for all animals but especially for exotics, and how i wanted to become a zoo vet someday. The tour was suppose to be a 90 minute behind the scenes type of deal. We must of really rubbed off well on Ryan because a 90 minute tour ended up being a 5 hour tour..LOL It was once of the best days of my life Thank you Ryan!

We started off with the bird show, you think oh its just another bird show right? Well think again it was one of the most intense lifetime experiences I got up close to a Cassowary. Cassowaries are extremely aggressive and dangerous birds. The Guinness Book of World Records lists them as the world’s most dangerous bird, as they have been known to viciously attack humans who intrude upon their territory. Their middle toes have a long sharp claw with which they can attack and instantly disembowel an enemy in seconds. Their also known for their close relation to the prehistoric Velociraptor. Jungle Island is the proud home of Mama Cass, the only known Cassowary to be trained and in a show anywhere in the world.

My next close encounter was with the African penguins. I was taught how to feed them they are very spoiled penguins. Forrest was the sweetest she kept coming up to me to give her a snack. It was a bit tricky getting the fish just in the right spot for them.

You will see a picture of some macaws sitting on branches we were in their enclosure. No one is allowed in there except for the zoo keepers but Ryan pulled a few strings and got me in. Along with the macaws were some squirrel monkeys they were all running up to me wanting me to feed them some sunflower seeds. They were so adorable. It was so cool being around wild birds & monkeys.

Next we were off to the Lemurs I got to play with Honey, Goldie & Bear they were jumping from me to the cage and back. Their coats were so soft and fluffy their tails were long and bushy. They loved the grapes i had in my pockets they kept trying to pick them. Bear started a LOUD call when he got excited and got the other two started it sounded as if I was in the wild..LOL they were so lovable.

Our next stop was the reptiles. I got to meet Hank the 20 foot long, 2000 lb Crocosaurus, Lucy a 300 year old tortoise, a bearded dragon, a true albino alligator, some pythons and lizards oh did I mention Tarantulas. We did not spend too much time on that side of the jungle...LOL I'm more of a fur lover.

The red kangaroos were awesome. They are the largest marsupial around hopping all over the place. They loved drinking from their bottles they still get drink formula. They would hop into the sacks along the fence when they wanted to feel like they were in their mama's pouch.

Then we went to T.I.G.E.R. it stands for: The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species it is a wildlife education organization. The tiger show was very informative not only did I learn all the different types of tigers there are I also learned how endangered they are. I saw Bengal Tigers, Siberian tigers, Golden Tabby tigers, lions, and even a liger that weighed over 900 lbs and stood 12 ft tall. His name is Goliath he was so breathtaking. At the end of the presentation I took a picture feeding a baby Bengal tiger named Mitra while Shivu the gibbon sat on my shoulder.

I got to go behind, behind really behind the scene with peanut & pumpkin the twin orangutans they were so adorable. I got to touch them and feed them snacks while I talked to their surrogate mom.

I could keep going on and on about all the things I did at Jungle Island it truly was a great experience but I'll stop & just let you see all the great pictures I got. Thanks Mom I love that your always thinking about me this was the best homecoming present ever.

Finals

Finals are all done and I did great on all of them. I am so relieved that they are over & done with I had been studying so hard. My final grades for Medical Terminology, Humanities & Chemistry were all passed with a "B". I am really proud of myself.
Now that this quarter is over I am home visiting and I am having a great time. My mom booked me a VIP Jungle Expedition @ Jungle Island. I have always wanted to go there and it looks like I am finally getting my chance it is going to be so much fun I can't wait.
I am back off to Colorado on the 30th classes start back up on the 31st then its back to study mode for me. I am also going to try & find a job. I would really like to work some where I can work with exotic animals. They are my passion & I would really like the chance to get as much experience working with them as I possibly can but I am happy getting any animal job. My mom tells me to take any job but I don't want just any job I want "THE" job that is going to make me happy & I want to go to work everyday knowing that I am helping animals in some way.

On My Way To School

I thought I would take a picture of myself in my scrubs...LOL I have to wear scrubs to school everyday. Thank god for scrubs it makes it so much more easier to get ready on those days that I have to be in class at 7:00am. Instead of wondering what to wear I just have to worry about which color to wear we have 3 to choose from green, burgandy & blue not my most flattering colors but I make it work. There also are days that I have to wear my Lab Coat and all my lab gear. Yep you guessed it googles and all but at least they have my faorite color PINK! Now only if we were allowed to wear PINK scrubs that would make my day.


This quarter is almost done and I can't wait I will be going home for spring break YIPPEEEEEE I miss everyone sooooooooo much. I included a picture of my note cards for my Med Term class and mind you this is not even have of them. Yep this is a really hard class but I studied my butt off and got an "A" on my mid-term so I am hoping to get an "A" on my final exam next week. Keep your fingers crossed I know I am.