SEAN CASEY ANIMAL RESCUE
Brooklyn, NY ~ (917)734-0442
SUSAN SCOFIELD, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
"Why reptiles?" It's a question Susan Scofield gets asked all the time, usually asked with a shudder or a sneer. Susan blames - or rather, credits - her childhood upbringing. As a child, she lived for 6-1/2 years on the Pacific Island of Guam, followed by 4 years in Panama, Central America. In both instances she had almost daily contact with wild and unusual animals, and often these critters were reptiles or amphibians. On Guam, she regularly accompanied her USO Program Director Dad on "boonie stomps" through the island jungles and participated in several frog jumping contests sponsored by the USO. In Panama, she rode through rain forest jungles on horseback many an afternoon, ran a sloth-sitting business, and often encountered snakes, iguanas, peccaries and coati mundis right in her backyard. Her parents were always good sports, patiently tolerating the strange animals she would bring home. Through these experiences Susan cultivated a fondness for the animals she grew up with.
This passion for the "less-appreciated" animals would follow her throughout her life. Her fascination with them grew into a concern for the welfare of these creatures. She was disappointed at the treatment of exotics at pet stores, and the mis-information people were given regarding the care and needs of their herps. Finally she had a chance to do something about it, at least on a small level. During a 2-year stint as the Manager of the Reptile Department of a large, privately-owned pet store chain she initiated a program focusing on husbandry education for both employees and customers, offering free care sheets, a variety of support materials, and personal support for customers needing help with their exotic pets. She also initiated an in-store "open-door" policy for exotic animals who needed homes. But she wanted to do more.
Susan met Sean Casey in 2000, while attending a meeting of the New York Herpetological Society, of which she was a member. Sean was there and gave a short announcement that he was looking for adoption homes for some snakes. After the meeting, Susan approached him, asking about the rescue project he had mentioned. He invited her to come see what it was about, and she did. Little did she know of the impact that meeting would have on her future.
Two weeks after their first meeting, Sean called Susan requesting help. The CACC was bringing over 30 bullfrogs confiscated from Chinatown, and he needed help sorting, sexing, and medicating these large frogs. 30 frogs turned out to be 52 frogs, and as she bent over the tubs - literally up to her elbows in squirming amphibians - she knew that this was something she wanted to be involved in. In the following years, Susan would assist with handling, cleaning, sorting, medicating, fostering & general wrangling of reptiles and other exotics. She had a soft spot for the "special needs" animals - including herps with missing limbs, MBD deformities, feeding difficulties and general malnourishment, frogs with throat injury, and animals needing post-surgical care. She has handled table management and public relations at reptile expos in various states, and created and manages the Sean Casey Animal Rescue website: www.nyanimalrescue.org.
Some of Susan's other animal-related experiences include: Teaching at Riverdale Country Day School's after-school nature program; Completion of "Project Wild" and "Project Wild Wet" Nature Educators Seminars, through Staten Island Zoo, with Harry Strano, Director of Education; Participation in over 42 reptile expos in the past 7 years, including IRBA in San Diego, CA; White Plains, NY; Long Island, NY; Staten Island, NY; Pottstown, PA; Hamburg, PA; Lancaster, PA; and Havre de Grace, MD; Herp photography as a hobby, which, in addition to the actual shooting of the photos, includes calming, handling, and posing exotic species during the process; Animal wrangling for, and appearing on, the Maury Povitch Show; Auditioning for the Discovery Channel's "Croc Hunter Challenge" and although she was excused for being "too experienced," she was chosen for publicity photos with Steve Irwin.
Susan has worked for T-Rex Products, one of the top reptile supply manufacturers in the world, most famous for Calci-Sand bedding; and was a New York Metro sales representative for Central Pet Distribution, the largest pet supply distributor in the US. She is the author of the monthly Exotic Animal articles in Retail Advantage Monthly Magazine, an educational trade publication for the Pet Industry.
<-- Back to "Who Are We?"
Home | Adoptions | Contact Us | Events | Feedback | Thanks to Our Supporters
Most Gracious Thanks to Those Great Guys at Google Analytics,
Our Generous Web Hosting Benefactors
Copyright © Sean Casey, 2003. All Rights Reserved.