I never lied about anything. People just don't know how to read and comprehend things that I've written, or get everything confused and then make ASSumptions. There were 3 separate vets involved with this case over the last year, and people just ASSumed that the information I was basing decisions on came from Dr. Jacobson every single time. When I clarified that Dr. J. wasn't answering e-mails/phone calls and that my info was coming from the other two exotics veterinarians that were working on it, I was called a liar.
DAMN ME FOR TRUSTING A VET THAT WENT TO 8 YEARS OF MEDICAL SCHOOL AND SPECIALIZED IN EXOTICS AND VIRUSES. I guess I should just live in paranoid fear and assume all doctors and vets are idiots and don't know anything and can never be trusted. Remind me next time I bring my daughter to her pediatrician that I should tell her she's wrong about everything and doesn't know jack.
So now people are doubting that the other victims that were mentioned bought from Wyatt? How about the fact that THEY STATED THAT THEY DID, and Wyatt responded to both complaints, verifying that he did sell to them. How about the fact that I copied and pasted the e-mails between myself and them where they state the deaths they endured after recieving said animals from Wyatt? I can forward them to anyone that wants to read them for themselves.
Robert, ONE snake left my collection since this whole mess began -- ONE. He was adopted out before I or anyone else had any inkling of what was about to happen with my collection...before I or any of my vets had any thought that this wasn't just a regular bacterial RI. And when we did realize what we were possibly facing, I e-mailed the guy immediately to tell him what was going on so he could be sure to keep the animal in quarantine for longer and watch it closely. In regard to my marriage -- there were a lot of factors that led to our split. This virus thing was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
The racks went to someone with an auto shop that has never owned snakes, and are being used as parts storage. That's a hell of a lot better than taking up space in a landfill. It's bad enough that I sent 75 plastic tubs and all sorts of hides and water cup holders there because they were not recycleable -- and they're going to spend the next 500 years in that dump. And I'm sorry, but I'm not putting Spoon down. He was never sick at any point during this whole mess -- and still isn't. Could he be a carrier? Possibly. If you think that puts my mailman at risk (this made me laugh), then that's your own neurotic problem. Maybe I should start wearing a bio-suit when I go to work every day because some of my residents have hepatitis C and other very communicable diseases? Maybe I shouldn't drive my car ever again because there's a risk of someone nailing me at an intersection? Or maybe my cats, my dog, my rabbits, my daughter, and myself are all carriers since we've been living in this house day in and day out ever since the virus epidemic started? Maybe we should all be euthanized too and have our bodies burned?
I don't care if some of you still think I'm a bad guy. I really don't. After everything I've gone through over the last year, and the fact that I am DONE in this hobby, it really doesn't matter any more. I'll never see or meet any of you, I don't participate on any forums related to reptiles any more (other than TSK because I am still the admin there), I never go to shows, and I'll never be doing business with anyone again. I asked people to try to help out my friends, because I didn't see any difference between me recieving an animal for free and it going to them instead. They lost out on animals and it wasn't fair, so I was trying to make things right. It had nothing to do with "covering my personal debt" because neither of them ever made me feel like I was indebted to them in the first place. But now I see that people only offered to donate animals because they knew I didn't want them and they wouldn't have to actually come through, but yet making the offer made them look good and earned them brownie points. No one actually wants to follow through. I originally asked that people sell the animals and put the money up to help out the cause as this virus affects everybody, or donate whatever amount of cash they could come up with -- and all sorts of people promised that they would, even moreso after I put down my collection as they "felt better" about it. But when it came down to it, NO ONE came through. Two have been extremely gracious enough to donate a little bit to me personally to help me out(Alicia and Lee,
THANK YOU), but so many others made empty promises to get involved in finding answers. I don't care about my vet bills or my personal problems -- that's my issue to deal with, and while I gratefully accept help from whoever wants to give it, it isn't anyone's responsibility other than my own. BUT the research on this virus NEEDS to get done -- and regardless of what I do, or what has happened in this house, or whether you agree/disagree with my decisions/course of action, one fact remains: I got the ball rolling when no one else had yet, and we're farther along now than we ever were before. The virus still exists out there with an unknown number of other people. Considering that Wyatt had a very large collection and has since sold off everything he owned as well as all the racks and equipment, that number could be pretty damn high. These people still have animals, or have the racks and are housing their breeders in them, and have no intentions of putting them down or closing off their collections. Sooner or later, it is going to pop up again, and again, and again, and start spreading as animals are bred and babies that could be carriers are produced and sold. And you know what? There won't be a damn thing any of you can do to test for it or stop it, because all you did was make empty promises. Without the funds to pay for the research, the samples will just sit in a lab and no one will be working toward identifying it or developing a cure. So instead of continuing to attack me and nitpick crap that cannot be changed, put your money where your mouth is and help get this virus nailed down. If you don't, then you can't feel sorry for yourself if it pops up in your collection and you wind up exactly where I am right now.
??????
.