rec.pets.herp "Frequent Posters"

I'm the youngest of 9 children. Growing up, my older siblings kept chameleons, frogs, toads, and tortoises but I was only permitted to have cats. My first volunteer job at age 14 was at Washington Park Zoo in Portland, OR. working in the petting zoo and the herp house. I got my first exposure to large snakes and lizards then, as I assisted with the weekend gigs of showing herps to crowds and letting them touch. We also distributed care sheets. I was proud to help share with children and adults the interest and joy of herps!

I have always been a frog lover, I began collecting live frogs at a very young age but never tried to keep them. It was always a short capture and release relationship for me until the couple of years of actually keeping them.  I've only kept herps as pets since 2001.

I am a member of the Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society (http://www.pnhs.net) and sit on their newsletter committee, adoption committee, halfway-housing committee, community outreach team, and political change team.  I am also the webmistress.  I halfway-house and rescue reptiles and amphibians, which range from 5-20 additional herps in my home all the time.

I'm a new employee of Petco (as of August 2003) and am there to Make A Difference until my schooling is complete and I can move into the veterinary field.