Bob Kite & Odyssey Reptiles (BAD GUYS)

When minimum-wage workers do not read labels, and animals die as a result

Marcia,

I'd just like to add ... since we've gone off on a semi-related tangent apparently...

Having looked into the employment opportunities as a package handler, driver or desk clerk with the larger package transport companies or institutions... (UPS, USPS, FedEx, Airborne), I can attest to the fact that nobody within those companies is a minimum wage worker.

Admittedly they're not salaried $60K a year workers either, but even their brand new hires who do nothing but load trucks make about twice minimum wage with a fairly quick increase as they pass employee reviews.

Further... And this is just my personal opinion... The fact that you are essentially making a moral judgment and deciding to question the competence of someone who you believe makes minimum wage, placing someone in a negative light because of their income... That's simply shallow minded and fairly rude.

To illustrate the point that income has nothing whatsoever to do with intelligence, I propose that YOU ... assuming of course that you must make LOADS of money since you can so freely make nasty spiteful comments implying anyone who doesn't is incompetent... Enter the Java chat some time, we can arrange it beforehand... And take on ME, a man who made less than 22 thousand dollars last year... In reptile (Or just about any other subject you like) related trivia, just to prove that those of us who choose employment that we enjoy and allows us to eat and pay rent setting aside monetary gain for whatever reasons, are all morons who can't carry a box of snakes properly.

After the fact, I'll expect an apology to be made, in public, to every person who might have read this and doesn't happen to make a lot of money. And I will apologize for asking you what the most common inorganic ion in crotalid venom is by mass.

While I agree with your comments about shipper responsibility in finding a safe and legal method to send animals, including the importance of proper labeling and I believe your post was well intentioned... Deciding someone is unable to read a label because of the amount of money they make is simply ignorant of available facts and a biased mentality affiliating worth with income, which is obviously an inaccurate way to judge an individual.

After the fact, I'll expect an apology to be made, in public, to every person who might have read this and doesn't happen to make a lot of money. And I will apologize for asking you what the most common inorganic ion in crotalid venom is by mass.

Seamus,

I publicly apologize for assuming that the workers at UPS, USPS, FedEx, and Airborne were paid minimum wage. I also apologize that you took my statement literally as a judgement upon people who do not make much money. If that is the case, then I also owe myself an apology.

FYI, I am permanently disabled and live on Social Security at age 48. I live in the SF Bay area where the average cost of a 1,200 sq/ft. 3/brm family home is about $480,000, and the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is over $1,800/mo. Our gas prices are now at $2.45/gallon and rising at a rate of .05 daily. Our state has the national LOWEST minimum wage rate in the USA. Does this make me a moron?

The fact, as you stated, that the workers at the carrier companies make even more than minimum wage makes me even more spiteful when they don't read shipping lables, and confirms your statement that that they are lacking in intelligence. My contempt has absolutely NOTHING to do with anyone's I.Q. or income. It has everything to do with breeders/shippers like Bob Kite who knowingly misrepresent the contents of their boxes, and workers who don't care about the health and safety of live animals who's lives are dependent upon them. Bob Kite is a Bad Guy. The "morons" at Airborne are Bad Guys.

Since your post was totally off subject, and I responded, I would also like to apologize to Rich and the forum for doing so. Heck, I guess I'm just a sorry person.

Marcia McGuiness
"The LIzard Lady"
www.thelizardlady.net

Seamus,

I forgot to anwer your question that you apologized for:

And I will apologize for asking you what the most common inorganic ion in crotalid venom is by mass.

Since an ion is simply an atom with an excess or deficiency of electrons, it is a charged particle seeking to bind with another ion thus creating a molecule. The most common inorganic ion in rattlesnake venom is Calcium which has a mass (based on mass/atomic mass) of 0.040078 kg.

Bob Kite is still a Bad Guy. The overpaid worker at Airborne is, too.


Marcia McGuiness
"The Lizard Lady"
www.thelizardlady.net

Zinc is present in far larger quantities and the total mass of the zinc ions will be greater than the total mass of any other inorganic material.

Commendable effort however in thinking about the question logically.

With all of the other forums on this site, I think that some of you could find at least one of them to continue your off topic discussion.

[Note: This is a subtle hint to STOP the off topic discussion NOW.]

Well, I don't know that this is legitimate or not (due to the nature of how I was informed- via e-mail signed with no name), but I was linked last night to a "police report" regarding Bob Kite's care of his own reptiles and mammals. It is supposedly from the Newton, Iowa newspaper, "The Informer." Here is the link I was sent:

http://www.hometowninformer.com/papers/police.html

If for some reason, it doesn't work, the link states the following:

Robert E Kite, 21, of 5911 S 36th Ave W, was charged Wednesday for an incident that happened on Friday the 7th in which 2 snakes, 4 rabbits and 1 turtle were found dead at 909 S 13th Ave E He was charged with 11 counts of Animal Neglect Simple (negligently or intentionally failing to supply animals in confinement with food and water) and 6 counts of Animal Neglect Serious (resulting in death).

I debated on whether to post this, because I am not familiar with the Iowa newspaper system and I also wondered why I was sent this privately instead of the sender posting it here publicly. However, *part* of the goal of the BOI, from what I understand, is to help prevent future scams, bad shipments, etc., from taking place due to prior warning about an individual or business. I finally decided to go ahead and let everyone know of this information, because of this very reason.

If this particular report is legitimate, then it is very important to those that are still considering purchasing from Odyssey Reptiles and Bob Kite, even after knowing what I went through to get my own transaction with them resolved.

Regards,

Lauren Rost

Thank you for posting this. IMO the name and address from the Police report is much more than coincidental. I believe it's legitimate. I wonder how the police got tipped off?

the police were tipped off PROBABLY the same way this was sent to Lauren. Probably by the same person. I would have had more respect for them if they would have posted it themselves.

just my thing I guess.

Well i think its about time that i got on here and settled a few matters, And on this matter i think i would have to agree with Ritchie on this, i beleive the same person(s) that have been in contact with Lauren is the same person(s) that, if any tipping off occured, is the ones who did this, i have been deaing with this matter for almost a month now, and would like to say that much of it will be stettled next week, I am being charged with several accusations of animal neglect, all of which i beleive charges will be dropped, I along with many others order and/or buy rodents, rabbits, and other food sources for my animals already packaged and dead from the supplier, Also along with many others out there, freeze dead animals when they die. After the humane society was "tipped off" they came to my house to do a routine checkup on any animals that i had, they seen the frozen rabbits, and snakes, they took them along with much of my collection, and said they would be in contact, for over two weeks i had been in contact with them and they were waiting on the conclusion of post mortem on the dead animals, when they came back, all hell broke loose, i was arrested and takin in for questioning on 17 charges of animal neglect, 11 being on the live animals that were seized, and 5 on the dead, as far as the 11 go those charges were made because the animals just happened to be in my home when the humane society came, and it is routine when other alligations are made but NONE of these live animals were found to be in a neglectful state, they were all healthy, caged securly, and had plenty of heat and water which can be proven from the pictures that the humane society took themselves, as far as the dead ones go, those rabbits were food for these animals which i have gotten signed and written paperwork from the supplier stating that they were meat rabbits for human or animal consumption and for the 2 dead snakes, no hardcore conclusive evidence came from the necropsys that were performed that any kind of neglectfulness had occured, but they were found to have neumonia, mouth rot and IBD, wich most of you can agree with me on this, there is nothing you can do to save the life of a snake that has IBD, in which i will have professors from Iowa State University to verify that to the judge, i will keep everyone who cares informed on this matter, but know this Whoever, and i think i know who, has made my life a hardship will face a lawsiut that is already underway for the defamation and slander that has occured not only on me but on my LEGAL buisness throughout this, I make no threats here, only the promise that this will not just be brushed under a rug, as for lauren, i am sorry for what has happened in the rest of this thread, but as you can see i have been a bit preoccupied and was told by our attrny not to say anything as this all came around the same time that the transaction went sour...

thanks to all who have read,
Bob Kite