Date: 05-30-2017
The finches are chirping again — a sound that didn’t seem likely days earlier when the birds were apparently abandoned along with dozens of other exotic animals at Backwoods Pets on Louisville Road in Frankfort.
“When the finches cluster like that and chirp, that’s a happy sound,” said Jean Unglaub, volunteer coordinator at the Franklin County Humane Society.
Humane Society workers confiscated the animals on Saturday after a customer of Backwoods Pets alerted authorities upon finding the store’s door locked and seeing animals inside without food or water, said Shelter Manager Nancy Benton.
The birds — 45 in all — are now being housed in an upstairs room away from the barks and meows of animals that might stress them. The Humane Society, which is not typically equipped to deal with feathered visitors, is soliciting donations of perches for birds.
Some 49 rats as well as various rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, a chinchilla and a brown basilisk — which Benton likens to the Geico mascot — are also being temporarily housed at the Franklin County Humane Society, which has been overwhelmed by the influx of nontraditional pets. Other animals confiscated in the raid, including tropical fish and assorted reptiles, are being temporarily fostered at Petco and other partners of the Humane Society.
“It’s a matter of moving them into safety and getting them there as soon as possible,” said Unglaub, who is also soliciting donations of small rodent cages.
By Alfred Miller
The State Journal
