Hi!
I am Christine Lucas
         
Home Hello! My name is Christine!

         I am Florida native. I was born in Cocoa Beach and grew up in South Volusia County. Like most people that work with animals my interest started when I was a youngster. During my childhood and young teen years most of my experiences were limited to dogs, cats, local wildlife, and trips to the zoos and parks.

         After graduating from high school I enrolled at the Santa Fe Community College Teaching Zoo in their Biological Parks Technology program. While there were some classroom studies this program consisted mostly of applied classes.

         These applied classes included hands on experience in behavioral observation and modification, animal husbandry and management, as well as some business aspects of a zoo such as communication and customer relations. As a result I had an opportunity not only to learn to work with people but with a variety of small mammals, birds, primates, hoof stock, amphibians, non-venomous and venomous reptiles. My favorites at the time were the Dendrobates or poison arrow frogs.

          A few weeks after receiving my degree in Biological Parks Technology I moved to Dade County Florida and began working for a large exotic animal dealer and breeder.


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Dendrobates tinctorius
dying poison frog


Me and aardvarks


Me and baby Millie
A silver cheek hornbill 		          While working at this facility my animal education continued as I worked with a wide variety of species ranging from tiny pygmy mice, hummingbirds and poison frogs to large brown bears, crested eagles, giant snakes and aardvarks. I learned about their husbandry and managment requirements as well as handling and restraint techniques that kept both me and the animals safe. I learned about quarantine procedures as well as skills and techniques to help newly acquired animals acclimate to their new surroundings. I often worked closely with veterinarians and learned a great deal about veterinary care and procedures. In addition I learned about importing and exporting, packing, transporting, shipping, recieving, and wildlife laws at all levels of government.

          Compared to my experiences at the Zoo, working at this facility was very dynamic. Every day was a new experience. On Monday I might be helping the vet sex and treat 500 birds of various species. On Tuesday I might be rounding up ostriches or mutjac deer. On Wednesday I might be building new cages and then moving 300 primates from their old cages into their new cages. Friday I might be treating nonvenomous and venomous snakes for parasites. Saturday I might be rounding up wallabies and checking the females for joeys. Sundays were usually quiter more routine days which often allowed me to spend more time with some of the animals I enjoyed most.

          Aside from all of these diversions were the normal day to day activitites. Feeding baby birds and mammals. Checking incubators to see what eggs were hatching. Cleaning and feeding the animals in general. Assisting the veterinarian with checkups, treatments, and other procedures. Buying, selling, shipping and recieving animals and supplies. Maintaining records and assisting officials with inspections, Building and property maintenance and much more.
          With all the experience and skill I was gaining it did not take long before I was being solicted for part-time jobs. Pet owners were asking me to pet-sit for their exotics and domestics when they were out of town or for other reasons unable to attend to their pets. Breeders were asking me to assist them during the the peak of birthing and hatching seasons. Babies that needed full-time or at least frequent care sometimes stayed with me until weaned. Bird importers would ask me to manage their quarantines when they imported new birds.

          After several years I began to realize that what I enjoyed most was caring for and helping animals and helping other people care for their animals so I decided it was time for a career change. I found a part-time job working for a rural boarding and grooming kennel in South Dade County. This new job allowed me to have more time to pursue my pet sitting and hand-rearing jobs.

          At that time there was one thing obvious to any animal lover living in South Dade; there was always an abundance of lost, abandoned, abused and unwanted dogs that needed help. It was not even a week into my new career that I found myself picking up abandoned dogs and cats several times each week on my way to and from various jobs. Some of these I would take home, clean up, and care for myself until I could find them a home. The others I would take to the local rescue and adoption facility. After just a few months of this I found myself working fulltime at the adoption and rescue facility.
Me and Ginger
My favorite rescue

Woofer and Ginger


Scoop


Miss Piggy and Lola 		          In 1992 after Hurricane Andrew I relocated to Broward County Florida and accepted a position as manager at a well known local pet shop. This was literally a full service pet shop. In addition to the typical pet store business of selling pets, foods, and accessories they also offered grooming, boarding, pet sitting, aquarium maintenance, obedience training, house breaking, pet locating, and more. It was a very people and pets oriented store and it was a real pleasure working there. After several years the owner made the difficult decision to close the business for personal reasons.

          After that store closed I worked part-time at a veterninary clinic as a receptionist and veterinary technician. It was a nice place but I just needed more to do with my time. After just over a year I accepted a managerial position with a large national retail chain pet store.

          Initially this seemed like a great opportunity. The salary was good and the benefits were great. They even had a weekly adoption program where they worked with several welfare and rescue groups to find homes for abandoned dogs and cats. In spite of these things the position did not offer me any personal satisfaction. So after two years I accepted another managerial position with different national retail chain pet store that promised to offer more of what I wanted. But like the previous company it also lacked that family friendly atmosphere and any real opportunities to care for and help animals or pet owners. So after a few years I decided it was time for a major change.

          I guess you could say that I have come full circle in my life. I am back in North Brevard County Florida where I started my life. I am still working in a variety of animal activites but I am now an owner/partner along with my husband and son.

          If you have any questions or would like more information please feel free to contact me by email at petservices@tailsnmore.com or give me a call at 321 505 0504