LEWISTON, Maine — For years Mr. Drew has been taking in surrendered, lost, or abused animals. He has a studio in Lewiston, where kids can come by and hold snakes and spiders, or feed turtles and lizards, and learn more about the different species he has helped.
Of course, the pandemic has dramatically changed the way his operation works. While he's been offering free virtual education shows, no visitors means no funding to keep his operation afloat and as you can imagine, taking care of those animals costs a lot. "It hasn't affected the animals, it's affected the people because we are getting more and more animals. I just took in a snake yesterday and there was this incredibly sad letter written as if the snake wrote the letter about how mom and dad couldn't afford to care for him anymore. We're getting a lot of that," says Mr. Drew, who is taking care of close to 200 animals right now, including more than 40 tarantulas and scorpions rescued from a motel room in Norway.
Mr. Drew has been able to do some events outside with kids, who miss coming into his studio to hold or feed some of the most interesting creatures he's given a home to. He's also been offering virtual events for school groups, but he's lost a lot of his income through the pandemic. To learn more about how you can help support Mr. Drew and his animals too, click here.
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