ARLEE — There are a lot of animals out there that need a loving home. We often hear about the dogs and cats, but what about all the others?
A new exotic animal rescue is taking flight in Arlee to help out the rest.
Second Chances Exotics Rescue has everything from birds to ferrets to bearded dragons.
They opened in November to give animals like Sissy, a thirty-year-old macaw, a fresh start.
“It’s taken a long time, a lot of trust building with her,” said Lauren Gydas, president and co-founder of the rescue. “She showed some signs of not being very well treated in her past.”
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Gydas said the hard work has paid off. Sissy has transformed from not going near people to a whole new bird.
“We found kind of through trial and error that she loves music, like she’ll just sit here and dance,” she said. “She definitely loves attention. She loves music. She loves pistachios, those are her favorite nut.”
When not dancing to country music or the one rap song she likes, Sissy is training to be an ambassador for the rescue. In addition to caring for the animals, they aim to kick off an afterschool education program.
“Our primary focus is providing safe places, safe haven for these guys, a lot of them come from really bad backgrounds, and then adopt those that we can out,” Gydas said. “We kind of just wanna look at breaking the cycle of going to the pet store and buying this cute little baby thing and then getting bored of it.”
Even in rural Western Montana, there are many exotic animals in need.
Often, exotic animals get adopted when they are young, by people who do not always consider their care needs or lifespan. Some can live for several decades.
“When you think about it, you know, that's a commitment that your kid is gonna be making for, or that you are going to be making after your kid gets into college,” said vice president and co-founder Jamie Wallace.
They want to give the public a chance to see the animals up close. The rescue plans to start this education with youth programs. The founders know first-hand how influential that can be.
"I was the one who held the big python out of the tote that the demonstrator brought him in,” Wallace remembered about attending a program as a teenager.
This connection with animals at a young age inspired what is now Second Chances.
“I grew up in a children's home that had a bunch of dogs and horses, and stuff like that and goats and things,” Gydas said. “So, for me, animals were kind of like my safe haven.”
Now, they hope to help people and animals help each other.
“One of my biggest goals is to someday be able to combine animal work with people dealing with trauma,” Gydas said. “While people think that lizards aren't cute and cuddly and fuzzy and stuff, they're very intelligent. They'll sit there, you know, you can hold them, you can love on them. And, sometimes, that's what people need to heal as well.”
While they opened just a few months ago, the rescue is already looking forward. Right now, they are primarily self-funded and run by a team of four.
They are in the process of becoming a non-profit, building new enclosures and looking into a move to Missoula.
“Sometimes we're out here till like midnight getting things done and stuff,” Gydas said. “So, we are always looking for volunteers."
They have all sorts of opportunities to help out, from animal care to building enclosures to donations. The rescue's message is summed up by the names of two of their tortoises, Hope and Perseverance.
“Our rescue resides on pretty much hope, perseverance — that's our [purpose] — and our community,” Gydas said.
