It’s springtime, and that means outreach season! Please see page 8 for outreaches in the next week or so, and contact Dave to get the ex- tended schedule! Dave Alverson Outreach Coordinator [email protected]Photo courtesy wikipedia Pacific Northwest Pacific Northwest Pacific Northwest Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society Herpetological Society Herpetological Society Herpetological Society Next Meeting Sunday, March 20th, 2011 Highline Community College 2400 S. 240th St, Des Moines, WA Building 12, Room 101 Board Meeting: 4:00 pm General Meeting: 6:00 pm (doors @ 5:30 pm) Speaker Presentation Dr Thomas Kleinteich will be giving a talk on the Biology of Caecilians. Herp of the Month: Herps of Europe and the Middle East This category includes favorites such as Leop- ard Geckos and Uromastyx lizards, as well as Greek Tortoises and more obscure species such as the Laughing Frog, pictured below. In This Issue Letter from the President PNHS Reaches Out Supplemental Board Mtg Minutes ECRE Volunteers Events & Suggested Vets Classifieds & Adoptions Info & Guidelines PNHS Contact List April Newsletter Deadline 12:00 pm April 5th Please send submissions to: [email protected]K 3 5 8 9 10 11 12 13 March 2011
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Volunteers with Dave Colburn’s gator All photos by Aimee Kenoyer
Page 2 Volume 26, issue 3
What a great ECRE! I can’t believe how busy we were, and how wonderful were all
the new faces who came by the show. I can’t begin to thank all the vivacious volun-
teers, our supporters, and our faithful vendors who all made the ECRE possible this
year. It was a ton of work, but loads of fun!
I do not have final numbers yet, they’ll be published in the April NL next month; how-
ever, we can all be proud that we more than doubled the number of people through
the door in this second show. We also made considerably more money this year.
Maybe the rack I’ve been fantasizing about after 4 1/2 years of ball python and colu-
brid fostering will finally become a reality!
That’s what this is really all about. A successful show isn’t just about getting our name
out into the community, laughing when a Crestie leaps onto Christie Johnson of King 5
news (most memorable publicity this year, for sure!), or getting the most fabulous
purple STAFF T-shirt ever to be made...it’s about increasing resources for our group.
While this allows us to improve activities and events for our members, the bottom line
is that increased revenue for the group helps expand the resources of our adoptions
program as well as our abilities to reach out to the public. And as the show continues
to grow...taking PNHS with it...who knows where we’ll be in five years?
Volume 26, issue 3
Letter from the President By Aimee Kenoyer (*photos by A Kenoyer unless otherwise indicated)
Page 3 Volume 26, issue 3
Page 4 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
I’d also like to personally thank every herptile at
the show, if I had a way to do it, including this
little trooper on the Seattle Turtle and Tortoise
Club’s table...can’t recall his species, sadly, but
it’s impossible to forget his story. This turtle, be-
fore coming to the STTC, had been coated in ac-
celerant and set on fire. The pink shade you see
is bony growth in the underlayers of his shell
(pink because of dye in his turtle pellets). The dark blotchy stuff is actually where new
scales are forming into healthy scutes. It may be a few years before the bone is fully
covered, but he’s well on his way to good health. And THAT, my friends, is what it’s all
about for me. Whether through our Outreach program, our Adoptions program,
meetings, emails, our forum and Facebook pages—I put my time into PNHS in the
hopes that advocating responsible ownership and proper education will help prevent
situations like the turtle, or like this boa (below). She came into PNHS Adoptions with
such a terrible case of mouthrot, extensive scarring from rat bites, and scar tissue en-
casing her teeth that it wasn’t possible for her to recover and we had to make the ter-
rible decision to euthanize her and end her suffering. When the inevitable act of cru-
elty or neglect occurs, I want a group like ours here to help pick up the pieces and
find the victims a good new home, or at least to give the animal peace and an escape
from pain. Fortunately most herps that come into our group are not this badly off!
The more PNHS continues to grow, the
more we are able to serve as a commu-
nity resource. Our growth depends on
events like the ECRE, and I’m so pleased
and proud at how many volunteers we
had there and much each and every per-
son gave of their time to PNHS’ cause.
*photo courtesy Rachel Shirk, PNHS Adoptions
It is no secret that public outreaches are, without equal, my favorite part of being a
member of PNHS. The two main reasons this is true. First, it gives me a great
opportunity to stand as an ambassador to the public on behalf of those who own, breed
and care for reptiles. Secondly, I get to stand shoulder to the shoulder with a wide
range or talented and passionate member-experts. The 2011 Emerald City Reptile Expo
in Lake City Community Center provide both of these in spades.
The media coverage we received throughout the weekend was phenomenal. In the
outreach room alone we had both a Seattle Times photographer and the Komo 4 news
that presented us in a very positive and exciting light. What a great way to open the
door to the public and introduce the hobby of amateur herpetology. It may not counter
balance all of the other fear based news and “educational entertainment” (an oxymoron
if ever I wrote one) out there but it’s a start and it happened in our back yard.
It was a wildly busy weekend. Both days saw the outreach room packed wall to wall the
entire day. We had a decent variety so it was not just the snake room. There were
bearded dragons, pythons, boas, at one point a mata mata turtle which has never been
in on of our outreaches to the best of my knowledge, Russian tortoises and a host of
other wonderful animals. This gave the public a chance to interact and learn about
different creatures and what we have to do to provide for the welfare of our animals.
Page 5 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society The Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society
reaches outreaches outreaches outreaches out
Dave Alverson *all photos in Dave’s article courtesy of Eyes of the Wolf Photography
Page 6 Vo lume 26, issue 3 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
Continued from Page 5
I was excited to see some faces of members that I haven’t seen at outreaches in the
past. I know that outreaches are old hat to some of us but it was great seeing the
excitement replace the panic in the faces of those that stepped out of their comfort
zone to represent the society and hobby. I was very proud of everyone who set aside
time, whether it was a partial day or the entire weekend, to participate in the program.
While we’re on the topic of comfort zones, I want to give a nod to the members who
faced their fears by letting tarantulas climb up their arm. We’re in the “business” of
helping others overcome their fears of snakes, and it was great watching my friends
and peers doing the same thing.
Page 7 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
“Ladies and
gentlemen, THAT
is why I do this!”
-Dave Alverson
Continued from Page 6
My favorite story is the quick turn around between attending as a spectator and par-
ticipating as an exhibitor. A little girl and her dad wandered through as so many did
on Saturday. I confess, I do not remember seeing them their first time through but
who ever they talked to must have did an excellent job of promoting our society be-
cause they signed up for a membership that day. Not wanting to waste any time, they
returned to the outreach room and were directed to me. It seems that the girl was al-
ready a herper and she wanted to know if she could bring her baby corn snake in on
Sunday to display. I don’t think I could have agreed fast enough. Her and her father
came in Sunday and within an hour she was teaching kids her age and older how to
drape a boa as long as she was over their shoulder. Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is
why I do this!
Let me not forget to mention the tireless efforts of the volunteers, young and…um,
younger…who made sure everyone was sanitized, relieved people at lunch and breaks
and generally made this way less crazy than it could have been. We also had people
who brought no animals but made themselves available to help handle the animals
there were there. Without the dedication and willingness to serve, this would have
been way more problems than solutions.
Continued from Page 5
So I say in closing this short report, I was thrilled and excited to work with each of
those who participated in bringing our hearts and passions out for the public. This ex-
tends to the families that support us from behind the scenes and the animals them-
selves who allow us to interact with them.
If this has sparked anyone into taking part of more outreaches, please keep your eye
on the outreach forum, http://forums.pnwhs.org/forums/26-Outreaches, our facebook
page, Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society, or contact me at
Page 8 Vo lume 26, issue 3 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
Supplemental Board Meeting Minutes
March 12th, 2011. 2 pm—4 pm
In attendance: Dale Drexler, Brenda Huber, Heather Shipway, Rachel Shirk, Geoff
Sweet, Julie Sharkey, Aimee Kenoyer, Norm Hill.
7 members of 11 were in presence, thus constituting a voting quotum.
- A motion was moved by Aimee Kenoyer (President) to address the location of the
2012 Emerald City Reptile Expo. The motion was Seconded by Geoff Sweet (Member at
Large). Motion was voted unanimously in favor. Motion passed.
- A motion was moved by Geoff Sweet (Member at Large) to form an Ad-Hoc commit-
tee called the Emerald City Reptile Expo Committee whose sole purpose is to coordinate
the business of the Emerald City Reptile Expo on behalf of the PNHS Board. The motion
was seconded by Heather Shipway (Member at Large). Motion was voted unanimously
in favor. Motion passed.
- A motion was moved by Geoff Sweet (Member at Large) to designate the chairperson
for the Emerald City Reptile Expo Committee as Aimee Kenoyer. The motion was sec-
onded by Heather Shipway (Member at Large). Motion was voted unanimously in fa-
vor. Motion passed.
ECRE VolunteersECRE VolunteersECRE VolunteersECRE Volunteers By Geoff Sweet
For the last two years it has been my pleasure to be head of security and assistant volunteer coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Herpeto-logical Societ y's awesome new fundraising event - The Emerald City
Reptile Expo. It was 48 hours of hard work for a great cause. At both shows, one of the most repeated comments I heard from the vendors and our partner The Bean Farm was that the volunteers made the differ-ence. PNHS volunteers ran errands, emptied trash, assisted vendors,
and did all the other little jobs that normally our vendors would have to do themselves. For those of you that had the honor of wearing the STAFF shirts, we thank you!
Volunteer work in the Society is what fuels this organization. When the Pacific Science show stopped, many in the Society wondered where
our yearly funding would come from to support our adoptions, rescue, and other programs. We were greatly relieved when the idea blos-somed to do a small show in the Seattle city limits with long-time Soci-
ety supporters The Bean Farm. The Emerald City Reptile Expo was born in 2010 at the Lake City Community Center with good response. The vendors liked the location and, even though it was Father's Day weekend, we had good turnout. This year, with a weekend clear of holi-
days, we had an even better turnout! You will read in this newsletter elsewhere that we had a very successful year indeed. That means we don't have to worry about supporting our core responsibilities of animal rescue and adoption, and public education.
The Society knew, that to pull off a great show, we had to get our
membership to step up to the plate to provide much needed volunteer work. This year we had volunteers providing great support in the Out-reach Area of the show. Many people passed through this area and had the chance to touch and hold reptiles, some for the very first time! On
the vendor floor, vendors thanked us for the volunteer team because of the hard work they did. Our vendors come from all over, and when they arrive at our show, they know that they can count on our team of volun-
teers to lend assistance to whatever they need. Did you know that at some shows, that lent assistance has to be paid for? At many vendor shows I have worked at, a helping hand can cost you $15 for 15 min-utes! Our volunteers are what really help set our show apart from others
on the West Coast.
I hope you will consider volunteering for the 2012 show. The Emerald City Reptile Expo is now the primary source of funding for PNHS. This show is your opportunity to spend a single weekend directly impacting the future of PNHS. Your help over those two days makes the Emerald
City Reptile Expo the best it can be! That means vendors come back the following year, and in turn people return to see a great show. Every paid admission to our show is another animal that gets to see a vet, or
gets a bigger cage in the halfway house program, or gets fed without having to ask for donations. That, my friends, is a very noble use of 48 hours.
Our volunteers are what really help set our show apart from others
on the West Coast.
-Geoff Sweet
Page 9 Volume 26 , issue 3 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
Even experienced herpers like
Doug Taylor were excited to
get their photo taken with an
alligator. Dave Colburn’s 3-
year-old gator was a rockstar
and put up with all the people
pretty well.
*photo by Aimee Kenoyer
Page 10 V o l u m e 2 6 , i s s u e 3
PNHS MEETINGS
March 20th Speaker: Thomas Kleinteich, Caecilian Biology
HotM: Herps of Europe and the Middle East
April 17th Speaker: Barbara Clucas, on Prey Behavior / Predator-Prey Interactions
HotM: Herps of Indonesia and Malaysia
May 15th Speaker: Rockstar Reptiles, on Breeding & Genetics of Ball Pythons
HotM: Varanus spp.
June 12th: MOVED UP ONE WEEK DUE TO FATHER’S DAY
Speaker: Dr Adolf Maas, topic TBA
HotM: TBA
PNHS OUTREACHES
3/30 Kennydale Elementary (evening, Renton area)
3/31 Seaview Elementary (evening, Edmonds area)
Upcoming Events
PNHS’ Suggested Vets List
Eastside Avian & Exotic
Dr. Johnson-Delaney
13603 100th Ave NE
Kirkland, Wa. 98304
425-821-6165 or 888-821-6165
www.eastsideavianandexotic.com
Bird & Exotic Clinic of Seattle
Drs. Bennett & Lejnieks
4019 Aurora Avenue
Seattle, Wa. 98107
206-783-4538
http://www.birdandexotic.com
Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital
Dr. Adolf Maas
10137 Main Street #6
Bothell, Wa. 98011
425-486-9000
http://www.avianexoticanimalhospital.com
Kamaka Exotic Animal Veterinary
Services
Dr. Elizabeth Kamaka
23914 56th Ave W #3
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043
425-361-2183
http://www.kamakaexoticvet.com/
Classifieds
Join the Global Gecko Association Today!
The GGA is a six year old international organization dedicated to the needs of all people
interested in geckos. Members receive the twice-yearly, full-color journal, “Gekko”, plus
To join PNHS, please print & complete the following application,
enclose your yearly or multi-yearly membership fee and return to:
PNHS Membership Secretary
PO Box 66147
Burien, Wa. 98166
Membership applications and fees may also be received at the monthly meet-
ings by the Membership Secretary. With your yearly or multi-year member-ship fee you will receive the monthly PNHS newsletter, access to membership pricing for adoption animals, and the opportunity to participate in the many outreaches and events held throughout the year.