D&M REPTILE RESCUE

Draft

My Experience With D&M’s Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation

Needing a place to board Kona for a month while I am visiting family in Europe, I began searching the internet for options. Searching the term “tucson reptile rescue” on google yielded me two main results. One option was Tucson Reptile Rescue and the other was D & M’s Reptile Rescue. Tucson reptile rescue does not charge anything (only donations) and stated on their website that they quarantine their reptiles for at least two weeks. I misinterpreted this statement as them voicing that they give the animals two weeks to be adopted before they are put down. This is far from the actual case as I found out later after contacting Charlotte from Tucson Reptile Rescue.


Unfortunately, I made an impulsive decision to go with D&M’s Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation solely because of this misinterpretation. I made up my mind in a matter of an hour that I was going to drop my iguana off at D&M to surrender her to them since the website (dmreptilerecue.com) appeared to be what I was looking for. The cost for a surrender is $100 and the website states that it covers a veterinary check-up and food for the iguana. I then made the 30 minute drive to his facility.


Upon arriving there I took a short tour of his facility. As we walked around the house, there were a couple dozen cages around the perimeter of his house. As he pointed to the cages and told me what animal was in there I noticed that a majority of the reptiles were not visible since they were hiding under things. The cages were kept outdoors in 116°f Arizona heat which must have something to do with the animals all looking for shade.


I then took a look at the iguana enclosure which actually impressed me a bit to be honest. The vegetables looked slightly old and the water tub was a bit dirty. I inquired about how fresh the vegetables were and when he last changed to water to which he replied “This morning!” which was reassuring and quite believable since vegetables must rot fast in this type of weather and iguanas do like to poop when they go for a dip in water. I asked if I could put my iguana in the iguana enclosure with the three others to see how she would react and watched for about 15 minutes and chatted before paying, signing the paperwork, handing Dave a couple cage accessories, and leaving.


The next night both me and my girlfriend couldn’t sleep and we both had the Kona on our minds and both felt as though there was something wrong with what we did. I then recalled a portion of a conversation Dave and I had. The conversation started when I brought up the Tucson Reptile Rescue and how chose D&M because I didn’t want my pet to be put down. Dave did not correct me on that misinterpretation I had about TRR (TRR does not put down their recue reptiles) and instead made Tucson Reptile Rescue out to be a bad rescue. He then ranted to me about how the person who runs TRR tried to get him shut down once over a video of dirty cages on his cleaning day. I believed him at the time but it did sound fishy which is why I then did search of D&M reptile rescue on google which came up with the bad history of D&M. I assume a lot you are familiar with the situation already. The fact that no vets in Tucson have heard from him in years made me very upset and felt like I had been lied to because he told me that she would be checked out at the vet that week. Needless to say I couldn’t fall asleep for a while that night.


I called Dave first thing in the morning and left a message. I finally got a call at 6:06 pm from Dave. I told Dave that I made a mistake dropping her off, changed my situation so that I could keep her, and that I just really wanted my pet back. I told him that I am a working college student studying animal science who does not have a lot of cash flow. I explained to him that I do not have the expendable cash to spend on the $95 readopting her. I also told him that I did not expect the $100 surrender fee back, and that I would be happy knowing that he will be putting it towards the other animals there. Dave did not show any empathy and instead referred to the contract, which states that it costs $95 to reclaim your pet. I further pleaded and made it clear to him why I feel as though I should not have to pay $95 to get my pet back when he hasn’t any money on her and I already gave him $100 and it had only been one day. He did not budge so I told him that I would pick her up first thing in the morning before he goes to work at 5am.


I then made a call to Tucson Reptile Rescue and spoke to Charlotte about her rescue and told her about what was going on. Charlotte told me that she would do whatever she can do to help and that she just made a new cage for an iguana with a humidifier and everything else an iguana needs. A few hours later she sent me a text saying she raised the money to help get Kona out of D&M’s reptile rescue.


Kona is now back in my possession and I am bringing her to Charlotte at Tucson Reptile Rescue tomorrow afternoon. I plan on taking some sort of action against D&M to prevent this from happening to other people. I visited a legal advisor at my University and found out that I can file a complaint in small claims court against him for misrepresentation. He states that surrender fee goes toward a vet check yet as I read on here he hasn't seen his vet in years.


This whole experience has been an emotional roller coaster for me and has taught me some lessons on life. Before making a big decision in life (in this case surrendering your reptile), you should always do research and sleep on it before making a decision. The main thing I regret is not taking more time to research and call Tucson Reptile Rescue or D&M before making my choice. I can’t describe the feeling I felt when I got a text from Charlotte saying “We got the money together to get your lizard out of there”. It just makes me feel good that there are generous people out there that really care about the well being of animals that they do not even own. Its just awesome. Well that’s my story and I will keep you guys updated as much as I can and as soon as I can.

-Max

contact the arizona humane society and show them the pictures. If it is still as bad as the pictures they will take the animals.

The AZ humane society animal cruelty hot line for surrender and neglect is 602.997.7585 Ext. 2073 They are there 8 0 clock to 7 0clock every day. Tell them everything and they will help. I have worked with them before.

If that is the wrong number go to their website at www.azhumane.org/ and you can get the right information.

Humane society wouldn't do anything. They wouldn't even return my calls at the time. I'm not sure of the conditions now but with winter approaching I fear many will freeze

If its okay with you I can call them. They will respond to me. I have delt with them before. If you could give me your phone number, I could have them call/ contact you. If you can email me the pictures at my email at seangofish@gmail.com it would help for them to know what they are dealing with.

Maybe you can give them the link to this entire thread? There is a LOT of information here.