Help with the first step...

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RamonaAnne

New member
Hello Everyone...

I am 31 years old, as some of you might know...And I work part time as a special ed. substitute...I work with students from Head Start all the way uo through High School....And I work with students who are at all levels of functionality...I am sometimes blessed enough to work with this one student who is non-verbal, in a wheelchair, and has no muscle control at all...She even depends on people to feed her...The worst part about my days working with her?...Getting her dressed to meet the bus to go home...Really and truly...I love my job...

And as much as I love it, loving a per diem job doesn't always pay the bills...Especially after Christmas break when there's no paycheck...I can't fill my gas tank up and say "but I love my job!...Doesn't that count for soemthing?..." and not pay for the gas...

Also...I love animals of most sorts...(I'm not overly fond of snakes and spiders...I can appreciate someone's snake...I might even feel it's smooth, cool skin and admire how gracefully it moves...I just wouldn't want one for a pet...)

I would love to have a job where I get paid to work with animals...Whether it would be as a vet tech or whether it would be owning my own business and having a doggy day care, I really want to work with animals...Ideally, I'd love to be able to pay my bills by integrating animals and people (of all ages!) with special needs...

The only problem(s) are One -- I live in northern New Hampshire where this sort of thing probably wouldn't work very well...Two -- I don't even know where to begin my journey....Three -- I do live with my 75 year old mother...I'm not really in a position to be able to pack up & go away to college....

Granted, she does pretty well most of the time...However, she needs someone around for company as well as to do things like shovel snow, cut the grass, rake the leaves, stack the wood, make the wood fires (though she does sometimes go down cellar to do that, it's not that easy for her...so that's where I come in!...) ...

So...Here's where you might (hopefully?) come in...

Do any of you Newf Net folks have any contact info or know of anyone I could talk to who might be able to help me get to a starting place at least?....Do you know of successful doggy day cares whose owners might be willing to talk to me?...Or do you know of anyone who integrates animals with people with special needs who you could put me in touch with?...

If so, I would greatly appreciate it....

I live in a town with a population of less than 400 residents...And dial-up internet...I don't really know what's "out there" and what would be an option that would work for me....Perhaps some of you wonderful people would?...

Thank you for your time, everyone!...

Have a wonderful weekend,
-Ramona Anne
 
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wrknnwf

Active member
How close are you to larger towns/cities? What kind of community do you live in? (eg: Agricultural, industrial or residential)? In a small community, I'm sure it's a lot more difficult to find the right market for your desires. If you're not far from a bigger town, you might be able to do any of the things you mentioned. You could also think about a dog walking/pet sitting or pooper scooper service. These require little or no capital to get started.

You might also want to check into parks and recreation in you area. I work (seasonally) at a county parks and rec nature center and outdoor day camp. Kids 6 though 13. I conduct Nature related programs in the spring while school is still in session and have day camp from June 'til August. The Nature Center houses reptiles (I know, I know), amphibians and occasionally other native creatures, so I get to work with kids and animals. I give presentations on wildlife for the school programs and for day camp, I conduct arts & crafts and science programs as well as the nature related ones.
 
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RamonaAnne

New member
wrknnwf said:
How close are you to larger towns/cities? What kind of community do you live in? (eg: Agricultural, industrial or residential)? In a small community, I'm sure it's a lot more difficult to find the right market for your desires. If you're not far from a bigger town, you might be able to do any of the things you mentioned. You could also think about a dog walking/pet sitting or pooper scooper service. These require little or no capital to get started.

You might also want to check into parks and recreation in you area. I work (seasonally) at a county parks and rec nature center and outdoor day camp. Kids 6 though 13. I conduct Nature related programs in the spring while school is still in session and have day camp from June 'til August. The Nature Center houses reptiles (I know, I know), amphibians and occasionally other native creatures, so I get to work with kids and animals. I give presentations on wildlife for the school programs and for day camp, I conduct arts & crafts and science programs as well as the nature related ones.
Click to expand...
Well...In the town I live in, there are lots of farms...Some beef farms, some dairy farms...They'll also raise sheep...and lots of gardens...

So I'd say it's an agricultural area...

Here's where I live...

http://www.nh.gov/nhes/elmi/htmlprofiles/dummer.html

I am not far at all from the White Mountain National Forest...(Just a few miles) and there are plenty of state parks around...I never thought about applying there for summer jobs...

I would love to do something like you're doing, too...(I love salamanders and frogs...) every spring the yellow spotted salamanders will migrate to their breeding grounds and I have been known to travel a 1/2 to 3/4 mile stretch of road on foot, holding a flashlight, looking for salamanders...Why?...becuase the road isn't paved and it gets well sanded...and salamanders breathe through their skin...and when they're going across the road, they sometimes get too full of dirt to be able to breathe well...So...I pick them up and carry them across the road....

I also let milkweed grow around the property on purpose so that Monarch Butterflies will come lay their eggs and every summer I raise and release Monarchs....

I love nature....I am also an avid bird watcher and have had chickadees and nuthatches eat out of my hands....

I've also caught and released a few birds that somehow got stuck inside...For future reference -- one of the best ways to catch a bird (espically smaller birds) that might get insode an enclosed area is to take an open bedsheet and when the bird lands, spread the sheet out over the bird...The bird will likely fly up into the sheet, but it shouldn't break any wings or anything...as the seet settles, it will settle over the bird...then you just gather the sheet up and when you get close to where the bird is, you reach under the sheet (just lift the sheet enough for your hand to go under!) and you will be able to gently collect the bird, carry it outside, and let it go...

Sometimes, I will hold them long enough for their little hearts to slow to a more comfortable rate...They'll likely peck and nibble at you...But I have handled at least five birds and they've never bit so hard as to draw blood...

Anyhow...I do love nature and the outdoors...Of course, when you look at the information about the town of Dummer, you might understand why....I grew up here...and I just love it here...

Another thing I wouldn't mind doing is working at an animal refuge...If there was one near by...Or being a falconer...That would be cool, if there was a legitimate reason for it...I would love to handle a flacon or a hawk...I do just love nature so much...

I live in an area where we have bear, deer, foxes, moose, wild turkeys, and coyotes come through the yard...We've also had bobcats right on our porch steps a few times...

There are so many things that I would love to do...I need to refine my focus a bit more and figure out exactly what it is that I want to do...

I need to figure out which of these things would pay the bills...And also which ones would pay the bills AND give me enough left over to save up some money so we could maybe renovate the bathroom and finally have a shower installed...Then my mom wouldn't have to wash up at the bathroom sink and wash her hair over the kitchen sink any more...

Do I want a lot in life?...no, not really...What I want the most is a job I love doing that not only pays the bills but also leaves some left over so my mom can enjoy the rest of her life and not have to worry about things so much...

Oh, and I want a Newfie, too...of course...But for now, I have Nina, the very pampered cat, and Judah, the Lion Head Bunny who is also quite pampered...

Have a great day, everyone,
-Ramona Anne
 
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wrknnwf

Active member
Ha! That's the way I catch birds that get stuck in my screened porch, only I haven't used anything as large as a bedsheet. Will try that next time, since tossing a tea towel over the bird is somewhat tricky!

I did have a kingfisher, with his serrated bill, clamp down on a finger once, but I just endured the pain until I could get him to a safe place.

Check and see if there is a wildlife rehabilitation place anywhere near you. Sometimes they have paid staff and sometimes they just rely on volunteers.

Also, think about having a paid job going to various schools and giving them a nature program of some sort. You could find out what each grade level studies and present a program based on that.

Of course, I don't think you're going to get rich doing any of these things since they are usually low paid, but to give you an idea, our school programs held at the nature center cost about 125.00 for about 3 hours worth of time. They get to choose 4 programs and cycle their group through them during that time. Each program runs about 35 minutes and they take a 30 min lunch break as well. Of course we have 4 people to present the programs, but one person could do a single program, taking it to the school and probably make the equivalent. You would have to have several programs for them to choose from and have a lot of schools lined up. We do not always have live animals to display for each of our programs, but to give you an idea, we present Totally Turtles, SSSSNakes, Hanging with Bats, Who gives a Hoot, Nature Scavenger Hunt (that's a fun one), and other programs on spiders, armadillos, native mammals or really whatever they want. It doesn't take too long to develop an interesting program for kids using lots of high quality photos and other props.

We also have what we call our Humane Education program, which centers on how to be safe around dogs, how to humanely treat animals and care for pets, etc. with a few tricks at the end, thrown in for good measure. The kids love it when the Newfies come to demo for this program. And we are especially careful to respect any kids that are afraid or unsure of themselves around dogs. We get groups of disabled kids and inner city kids that don't have a lot of experience around animals. Most of the time, they end up hugging the dogs and wanting to hang around them. Of course our Newfs are well suited for this and have a great deal of experience being in crowds of adoring fans.

Anyway, just food for thought. I know you will find the right direction, wherever it may lie.
 
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sara722003

sara722003

New member
You've got some really good ideas from wknnewf; my heart goes out to you RamonaAnne. it's hard to find our way in this world; but it sounds like you do indeed live in paradise, are able to provide a wonderful service to your Mom, and just need some ideas for jobs outdoors that can earn you some money. You may want to consider delivering newspapers (always up early and out before anyone else; a pleasant time of the day to be working), or trying to get on with the Post Office. Either of those jobs get you outdoors and you can make some money doing them, though certainly not alot, but enough perhaps.

All the best, and keep us informed of what you can uncover in the next 6-9 months!
 
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