Dixie: 00:00:00

Welcome back, everybody.

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Today we are gonna be taking a deep

dive into the world of exotic animal

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welfare and sanctuaries, and what it

takes to build a lifelong haven for

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animals that have nowhere else to turn.

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My guest today is Kati Krouse, the founder

and executive director of Bears Etc.,

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The nation's very first bear-centric

sanctuary . Kati journey with animals

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started long before Bears Etc.

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From working at a veterinary clinic

as a teenager and studying as a

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vet tech at Purdue University to

volunteering with sanctuaries and

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seeing firsthand the overwhelming

need for exotic animal placements.

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Kati has dedicated her life to

rescue, education, and advocacy.

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Today we're talking about her

journey, the harsh realities of the

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exotic pet trade, and how Bears Etc.

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is providing captive wildlife

with a true piece of the wild.

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Kati, welcome to the show.

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Kati: Hey, thanks.

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Dixie: I didn't know anything about

Bears Etc until you reached out to

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me, and I went and checked out your

Facebook page, and it is just amazing.

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I would like to know if you could take

it all the way back to the beginning

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before you had a sanctuary and before,

like, all your vet tech studies.

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What was young Kati like with animals?

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Did you always know you were gonna

dedicate your career to animal welfare?

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Kati: Oh, yes.

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I grew up on a farm in Northeast

Indiana, and I was fortunate enough to

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know my, some of my great-grandparents,

and I was always trying to tame

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my great-grandfather's barn cats.

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And so growing up on the farm,

also we had a lot of dogs and cats

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dumped on our property, and stuff.

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And so it was, My grandfather

he milked cows until he was in

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a tractor accident, and so then

we just farmed crops from there.

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But there were always animals in our

life, and so I was always catching snakes

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and frogs and, walking in the woods and,

do- doing stuff outside being up there.

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Growing up in the, late '70s, '80s, we

didn't have cable, we didn't have…

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we were farm kids, and so we were

outside doing stuff all the time.

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And so either, playing in the

snow in the winter or, back in

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the woods during the summer.

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My cousin had horses, so

sometimes we would ride horses.

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And all the neighbors really had

cattle both dairy and beef cattle.

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And so I was around animals

basically all of the time.

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And so yeah went into high school

where I could work half a day and go

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to school half a day my senior year,

and I worked for a veterinary clinic,

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and that really solidified it that I

wanted to help save animals, right?

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I wanted to do exotics and wildlife

is really what I wanted to do.

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Little did I know until then

that there was more than becoming

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a veterinarian available.

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We didn't have Google then.

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We didn't have, we didn't

have any of that there then.

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It was, research through books in

the library and stuff like that.

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And so until I went to college

did we really have more of that.

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And so through working for this

veterinarian, I found out about the

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vet tech program at Purdue University.

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And so then, I decided I was gonna

go to vet school or vet tech school.

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So in the meantime, this gal brought

in this Amazon parrot that the

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chimpanzee had broken its wing.

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And I was like, "What?"

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And so then I went and became a

high school intern at what was

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then the Black Pine Animal Park.

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And they were breeding tiger cubs and had

baby monkeys and things of that nature.

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And I was a high school intern

there, still volunteered through

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my freshman year of college.

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And then when I got into the vet tech

program, I wanted to really track

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wildlife and exotics and created my own

internships, went and did an internship

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at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

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I was a wildlife rehabber volunteer

through the Wildcat Wildlife Center

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there in Delphi, Indiana, which

is about an hour from Purdue.

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And I also worked as a zookeeper during

the summer at the Columbian Park Zoo.

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So really started to get into it

and learning everything I could

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about exotics and wildlife, both,

captive and the wild wildlife.

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And so it really solidified I wanted

to have my own center one day, not

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knowing what it would be at that time.

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And so then I started working for

PetSmart and working in their pet

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care area, so the hamsters, guinea

pigs, fish, all of that stuff, and

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learning all, everything I could there.

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But then I got passed up for a

management position, and I was

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like I can't continue to do this.

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I need something else."

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And so I became a dog groomer, but that

gave me the financial financial ability

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to become a wildlife rehabber again.

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And so I was in Texas at the

time, so I started doing a little

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bit of wildlife rehab again.

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And I was really good at management,

and so I came back to Indiana when my

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sister had my nephew, and I was like,

"I really wanna get back into wildlife."

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And I left PetSmart and started

my own shop and went back to

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volunteering at what had now become

the Black Pine Animal Sanctuary.

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So no longer buying, selling,

breeding, trading, or using

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animals for entertainment.

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And so really learning the plight

of exotic wi- and wild animals in

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captivity, and the amount of animals

that needed placement and what

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the exotic pet trade was and just

everything that encompasses that.

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And I said, "Okay, this is my

niche," specifically bears, because

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I collected teddy bears growing up.

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I had bears all over the place.

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And when I had first started at the

Black Pine Animal Park, I met these

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two retired circus bears, and I learned

about what happens to circus bears.

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And so I was like, "Okay."

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And then coming back and becoming

the manager at the Black Pine Animal

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Sanctuary, no one wants to do bears.

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They dig, they climb they are

smarter than tigers and lions.

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They're smart like primates and

elephants, and they really became my

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favorite animal once again, basically.

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And I said, "I'm gonna start a sanctuary

for bears," because so many sanctuaries

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across the country, they're big cat

focused, they are reptile focused, they

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are parrot focused wolf dog focused.

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Nobody is focusing on bears

out of the exotic pet trade.

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So these are pets living

in people's backyards.

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These are from roadside zoos that are

closing down or being closed down.

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They are retired circus animals.

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Th- They're, they run the gamut.

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And in 2017, I found out that there was

1,000 bears currently needing placement,

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and so that's when we started Bears Etc.

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That's when we got our nonprofit status.

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So we'll be celebrating our 10th

birthday, or our 10th bearthday, our

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10-year bearthday in February of 2027.

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So we're gonna have a bearthday bash,

so we're pretty excited about that.

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So that's where we are today with

everything we've been doing and helping

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pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act,

and just advocating and fundraising and

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everything we can to make this happen.

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Dixie: That's amazing.

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When you first started, you got

into doing the wildlife rehab.

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What made you focus more on just exotics

and the wildlife in general, as opposed

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to going into helping cats and dogs,

since you did train as a vet tech?

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Kati: Really the wildlife that

I grew up seeing in the wild and

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the difference between the two.

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Wildlife rehab and release, yes, that

is great, but working in the veterinary

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hospital, it really opened my eyes to

the number of people that have exotic as

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pets and don't know anything about having

them except for they saw it on YouTube

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or saw it on Instagram or saw it on…

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they're like, "Oh, I got it because

of this," and then they were coming

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in sick on their deathbed because

they knew nothing about them.

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And when wild animals show that

they're sick, that means they're

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really sick, because wildlife

doesn't show that they're sick until

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they're on death's door, basically.

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So trying to save them and do more

education and, when people need help with

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them because they are sick or building a

ha- a proper habitat for them so they can

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thrive, they don't just live, they thrive.

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Like, all of that encompasses

everything that I wanted to do,

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and that's what we're doing.

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Dixie: You said that your eyes

became open to the bears when you

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came across these two circus bears.

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Can we go back to that and

discuss that a little bit?

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Because I don't think a lot of people

understand what's going on with this

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whole, circus, roadside zoo type thing.

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You know- Yeah … I'm not talking about

the animals that are in sanctuaries or

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that are in these zoos that- Yeah, ACC

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Kati: accredited

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Dixie: zoos.

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Kati: Yeah.

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And even then, each one has its- problems,

or just because they're accredited

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doesn't mean that their management are

the best in putting the animals first.

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The zookeepers put the animals first,

obviously but not always is management

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the best at putting the animals first.

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But back to the circus bears bears

will live 30 years in captivity.

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And so when they're performing and they're

sitting for long hours and traveling long

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hours, it just takes a toll on their body.

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There was a study done many years

ago, and I can't remember when,

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but they showed that a bear raised

on concrete or hard surfaces ha-

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has arthritis by the age of nine.

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And so they will live 20 years,

if quality of life is there,

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with arthritis and live in pain.

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What kind of quality of life is that?

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Th- it's not.

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And so traveling, their

bodies aren't used to bumps.

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They're not made for all that.

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If you've ever traveled long

distances, we travel all the time

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doing rescues and, a 24-hour ride in

the car is not always comfortable,

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even if you have comfortable seats.

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So riding on a hard surface in a cage

transported from here to there for,

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eight, nine months out of the year, one,

hurts after a while and the arthritis.

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Number two I saw a fifth generation

wild animal trainer beat one of

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his bears, and I was just like…

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Because he wouldn't do what he

wanted him to do, and he was doing it

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behind the scenes where nobody saw.

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And I was just like, "Oh my

gosh, I can't even believe this."

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And then being, not necessarily some

places starving animals in order

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for them to perform for the food.

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The the elephant, the hooks that they use

on, the bullhooks they use on elephants

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and the pain that causes, intimidating

them when they're little in order for

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them to listen once they're big and tying

them, when they're little so they can't

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move, so that way when they're big they

think they're tied, tight and don't move.

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And just the actual enrichment

of it all and what they

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receive when they're back home.

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They're just fed and put away, right?

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They aren't enriched like they are in

zoos, and they aren't there are things

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that happen behind the scenes that

nobody ever sees while they're on tour.

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Like, how are they treated once

they get back on the property?

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Are they just stuck in the backyard

until next year and just thrown food?

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It just…

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Yeah, there's a lot that goes on behind

the scenes that nobody knows about

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for those animals in those circuses Or

even those roadside attractions when

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you do pay-to-plays at these roadside

attractions when you're, thank goodness

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for the Big Cat Public Safety Act stopping

the, photo prop industry for big cats.

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But they still do it with bears.

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They still do it with wolves.

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They still do it with monkeys.

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They s- they still do it with

other animals, but, they're

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only fed when somebody pays to

have a picture taken with them.

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One of the worst last meal syndromes

I've ever seen was in a Syrian brown bear

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cub that was a part of that photo trade.

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And so they're on- they never get

satiated, especially, in the fall when

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they're going into their hyperphagia

when they're supposed to eat a lot.

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She just act like she was just starving

all of the time, and I just felt so

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bad because of where she came from

because they don't get full meals

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unless somebody is feeding them and

there's a lot of people in line to

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feed them that they get their full

bottles that they need for nutrition.

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And we also see a lot of they don't

feed them enough for them to grow, so

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they can lie about their age and use

them for longer to earn that money.

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We saw that with some white tigers that

Turpentine Creek rescued out of Colorado.

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They couldn't even walk because they

had metabolic bone disease so bad, and

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they lied about the age of the cubs.

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And so it's just really sad

what's happening out there

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for the almighty dollar.

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I won't go to circuses or roadside zoos

or if they offer any animal interaction

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I don't go to them because it's about

the money that animal brings in.

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It's not about the

well-being of that animal.

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Dixie: Yeah, absolutely.

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And when I was a teenager,

I didn't know all that.

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Kati: I didn't either

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… Dixie: I thought it was like,

"Oh, look at these animals.

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These animals love these people.

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They're so well taken care of."

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And so I have to say that is one

good thing about the internet is that

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you got to see all that stuff that's

happening behind closed doors, and it

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really opens your eyes to it and you

realize, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe

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that I took a picture with a cub," or

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Kati: yeah.

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Yeah.

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Dixie: It's really insane.

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How do you come about

the bears that you get?

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Do people contact you?

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Are they rescued?

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Kati: It really runs the gamut.

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Sometimes we have private owners contact

us, they just can't do it anymore.

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One gentleman was dying of cancer and

so we got a phone call from his sister.

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We get USDA, US Fish and

Wildlife, Texas Parks and

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Wildlife, animal control agencies.

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And we actually, Some of the

animals that we take in, there's

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an et cetera part of Bears Etc.

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While our focus is bears, some of

the et cetera animals, we had to stop

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taking in from the public and put

a basically, we will not take from

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the public person unless it's, large

carnivores, so bears, tigers, lion- or

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if it's from a gov- governmental agency.

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We because we were just getting so

many calls for snakes, bearded dragons,

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kinkajous, coati mundis, like all

of these animals that were needing

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placement, and we couldn't sustain that.

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We can't say yes to every animal.

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We have to stay focused, and so

we are not their backup plan.

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"Oh, I'm gonna get this animal,

and if it doesn't work out,

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I'm just gonna call Bears Etc.,

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and they'll take it."

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We are not people's backup plan.

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We have to pick and choose, who we're

gonna take in and or who, how are

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we gonna help find placement for the

animals and things of that nature,

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because we can't say yes to everything.

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But we get a lot of calls, and

it's just increasing as more and

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more places are closing down.

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More and more places are getting

shut down by governmental agencies.

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And yeah, we j- we can help

transport, like our four fo- fox

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that we have, the Fox-Tastic Four.

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We helped with the transport

and networking of the animals

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from an Ashtabula fur farm,

and so we can help transport.

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We've helped several organizations

transport primates and fox and

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skunks and wolf dogs and y- you

know, all of that we can do.

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But we can't always say yes to placement.

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But we can definitely

network and help transport.

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Dixie: How many residents do

you have at the sanctuary?

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And also, since you did mention the et

cetera part of your name, Bears Etc.,

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what are the other resident

species that you have?

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Kati: So our four fur farm foxes,

we have exotic birds and reptiles.

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So we have small and medium parrots.

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We have tortoises.

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W- we have about 70 animals currently.

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Dixie: And how many of those are bears?

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Kati: So we actually have

zero bears right now.

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Dixie: Okay.

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And can I ask

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Kati: why-

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Dixie: So- … there's no bears right now?

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Kati: Yeah.

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The reason being is, one, we started

on a half acre and we now have

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three acres, so we're growing.

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That doesn't mean the bears aren't coming.

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But we also had to make sure

that we had enough volunteers

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when we moved to our three acres.

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We moved an hour away from where

we were before and lost all of

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our volunteers, so we had to start

all over again with volunteers.

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We have to have trained volunteers.

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You can't just have someone

go take care of bears, right?

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So they start taking care

of our birds and reptiles.

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We have five levels of caretakers.

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So we have our, level one, which

are our parakeets and our tortoises.

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Level two are our smaller parrots.

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It's based on how bad can they harm you.

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So some of our parrots, they bite,

and especially if they have multiple

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housed, because they've come

from bad, neglectful situations.

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So then we have our level

three, which are our fox.

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They're multi-housed fox or

single-housed small carnivores, so such

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as bobcats and things of that nature.

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And then we have our level four, which

is our multi-housed small carnivores

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or singly housed large carnivores.

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And then our level five would be

our multi-housed large carnivores.

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And we had to make sure that

we have volunteers trained up

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in order to take care of them.

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That's the first thing.

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We have enough volunteers to

take care of them at that level.

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So are they getting, two

to three meals a day?

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Are they getting enrichment

two to three times a day?

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Are they getting everything

they need to thrive?

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That's the goal.

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: 00:18:59

We want them to thrive.

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: 00:19:00

We w- don't want them

to just rescue and live.

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We want them to be able to thrive.

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: 00:19:05

And we now are to a

place where we have that.

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And the last thing is donations.

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: 00:19:12

Bears are really expensive to keep.

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They require a lot of enrichment.

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: 00:19:17

They destroy stuff.

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: 00:19:19

They're…

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: 00:19:20

They don't sleep 20 out of 24

hours a day like big cats do.

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: 00:19:24

They're awake a lot and

very active and very strong.

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: 00:19:27

Their muscles are nine

times denser than ours.

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: 00:19:30

And so we have to make sure that things

are secure in order to house them.

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: 00:19:35

So all that to say they're a problem.

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: 00:19:38

And we wanted to make sure that

we could be successful with them

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and in order for them to thrive.

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: 00:19:47

So now that we have appropriate donations

coming in both food-wise and dollar-wise

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we have a partnership with Walmart.

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We get produce and meat

from Walmart every Friday.

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: 00:20:00

So we have that coming in.

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: 00:20:01

We have a vendor that we can

get wholesale produce and meat

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: 00:20:06

from as well that's close by.

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: 00:20:09

So we have that.

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: 00:20:10

So it takes planning in order

to take in this type of animal.

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: 00:20:16

It's not just something you can, you

know, throw in an enclosure and it'll

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: 00:20:19

thrive like some of your prey species,

your hoofstock and stuff like that.

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: 00:20:24

Even the tortoises, they require some

sort of enrichment in order to thrive.

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: 00:20:28

They have digging areas.

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: 00:20:29

There, there needs to be a whole

plan that people miss out on.

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: 00:20:34

Sorry, my dog is reverse

sneezing right now.

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: 00:20:37

There needs to be a whole plan if

you're going to have these animals

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: 00:20:40

in order for them to thrive.

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: 00:20:41

You can't just throw a

tortoise in a backyard.

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: 00:20:43

So every time we think about taking

in an animal we have those plans.

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: 00:20:49

And to take in bears, we have to

have those plans as well, and we do.

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: 00:20:54

We have everything available that

we can start taking in bears now.

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: 00:20:59

Dixie: You mentioned the

different levels of the animals

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: 00:21:02

and the, for the volunteers.

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: 00:21:05

When somebody comes to you and they

wanna volunteer, do you train them

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: 00:21:10

or do you require that they go to

some kind of outside training first?

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: 00:21:14

Kati: We train them up, and we actually

prefer that you have no experience.

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: 00:21:20

So that way you don't come with bad

habits or, everybody wants to touch

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: 00:21:24

and pet and stuff like that, and wild

animals don't necessarily like that.

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: 00:21:29

And so the expectations of we are pr-

protected contact, that means that there

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: 00:21:35

is a enclosure wall between you and

carnivores, and so we don't pet the fox.

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: 00:21:41

And so I interview them

just like job interview.

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: 00:21:44

We'll do a phone interview, and

we'll bring them out, and I watch

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: 00:21:47

their body language, and I watch

how they react around the animals.

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: 00:21:52

And then if they are a good

fit, then we train them up.

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: 00:21:57

You start by doing diets

and doing the small animals.

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: 00:21:59

The expectation is you start from square

one with your training no matter what

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: 00:22:05

experience you have because everybody

has to start there in order to be fair.

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: 00:22:10

And then some people that come with

experience, they move up quickly.

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: 00:22:14

Other people that have zero

experience don't move up as quickly.

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: 00:22:18

Some people will never be out here

enough to build relationships with

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: 00:22:22

the fox in order to shift them.

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: 00:22:24

Same with, when we get bears

there'll be special training.

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: 00:22:27

And some people I won't be able

to not necessarily trust, but it

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: 00:22:33

takes a special person to be able

to build those relationships in

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: 00:22:36

order to get them to shift safely.

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: 00:22:39

And it takes two people on the

same shift in order to shift

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: 00:22:42

them safely and double-checking

locks and, having a backup.

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: 00:22:46

There, there's a lot of

things that go into that.

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: 00:22:49

But yeah, not everybody makes it

there at the same amount of time.

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: 00:22:54

We have different structures

of things you need to meet.

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: 00:22:58

Are you grabbing everything

you need to go into enclosure?

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: 00:23:02

Because the more times you have to

open and close that door, the more

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: 00:23:06

likely you are to have an incident.

377

: 00:23:08

So do you have all your food?

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: 00:23:10

Do you have all of your buckets?

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: 00:23:11

Do you have all your cleaning utensils?

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: 00:23:14

And then on the way out, did you

bring everything back out with you

381

: 00:23:17

that you needed to bring out, or,

did you leave stuff in there that

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: 00:23:20

you're gonna have to go back in

and open and close that door again?

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: 00:23:23

We want the least amount

of times possible, and we

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: 00:23:25

train that from square one…

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: 00:23:27

from day one.

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: 00:23:28

We have double entries on our aviary and

that's where you start learning about

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: 00:23:32

those double door systems and double

locking systems and all of that stuff, so

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: 00:23:38

that way, as you move up, you already have

that muscle memory that, "Okay, do I have

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: 00:23:44

everything I need to go into the first

door and then go into the second door?"

390

: 00:23:48

And they're used to doing

that double entry system.

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: 00:23:51

So yeah.

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: 00:23:51

So it's based on the person and

their skills as to how quickly

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: 00:23:56

they move up and if they move up.

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: 00:23:59

And if they're gonna leave us in a

year, like we have some senior students

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: 00:24:04

right here at the Sam Houston State

University, they're gonna leave us

396

: 00:24:08

in six months, and so can I really

take the time to train them up if

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: 00:24:14

they're just going to be leaving?

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: 00:24:15

Unless I have a c- a, long-term

commitment, that is taken

399

: 00:24:19

into consideration too.

400

: 00:24:22

Dixie: Yeah.

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: 00:24:22

And it's funny you mention the whole,

double locked doors and having all

402

: 00:24:25

of your supplies and stuff like that

because, like I know it's hard enough

403

: 00:24:30

for me to train somebody to clean the

cat habitat at our adoption center and-

404

: 00:24:37

so I can't imagine like the level of

training that's involved with that.

405

: 00:24:41

And another thing too is do you get

a lot of requests for volunteers?

406

: 00:24:45

'Cause I would imagine it's like we see

in cat rescue all the time is like people

407

: 00:24:50

will come to us thinking like, "Oh, I

just get to play with cats all day."

408

: 00:24:54

And we're like- Yes … "No,

it's scooping litter boxes and

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: 00:24:57

it's cleaning up after the cats."

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: 00:24:59

And so-

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: 00:25:00

Kati: It is … it's like- they

come to the interview and sometimes

412

: 00:25:02

I'm like hair on fire and just like

I look so disheveled and they pr-

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: 00:25:06

may not want to come work for me.

414

: 00:25:08

But I've been out cleaning

enclosures, and this is what it takes.

415

: 00:25:12

I may have like stuff all over the

front of me, but this is what's

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: 00:25:16

gonna happen when you work here.

417

: 00:25:19

Dixie: Yeah.

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: 00:25:19

That's funny.

419

: 00:25:20

A huge pillar of your mission

is connecting people with

420

: 00:25:24

nature through education.

421

: 00:25:25

So how do you approach- Yes … educating

the public about the exotic pet trade

422

: 00:25:29

without shaming them, but rather inviting

them to become part of the solution?

423

: 00:25:35

Kati: I do a lot of outreach.

424

: 00:25:37

I do…

425

: 00:25:39

I have both like grade school,

middle school, high school programs.

426

: 00:25:46

I do rotaries and things of that nature.

427

: 00:25:49

And I talk about, if you were to go out

to, the woods and go hiking or, I talk

428

: 00:25:57

to people about being out in nature.

429

: 00:26:00

Have they ever been to a

park and sat on a park bench?

430

: 00:26:03

Have they ever hiked a trail?

431

: 00:26:05

Have they ever…

432

: 00:26:06

And get that sense of how do they

feel after they've been out there.

433

: 00:26:12

That's what we want people to feel after

they've been here, in the quiet, in the…

434

: 00:26:17

We talk about this a lot,

435

: 00:26:19

the growth that the Houston area

has and the amount of time and the

436

: 00:26:24

frustration that it takes to get to

the Houston Zoo, and that it takes an

437

: 00:26:29

hour to find a parking spot once they

even get to the zoo, and how unhappy

438

: 00:26:34

they are even walking into the zoo with

their kids and stuff because it's so

439

: 00:26:40

stressful going there and doing all of

the things to even get into the zoo.

440

: 00:26:47

Whereas we're like, if you travel

north, you're going against traffic.

441

: 00:26:52

You come out here, it's quiet.

442

: 00:26:54

We only allow so many people on site.

443

: 00:26:56

We only allow, certain things, and

we wanna keep it quiet and peaceful

444

: 00:27:00

because all of the animals that we take

in are neglected and abused by people.

445

: 00:27:05

So we don't want them to have a bad

experience, and we don't want the people

446

: 00:27:08

to have a bad experience, and that's the

peace with what comes by coming out here.

447

: 00:27:15

Even having a work day, people leave

here with smiles after a long day of

448

: 00:27:20

volunteering and it's just because that's

the culture that we've built, that's the

449

: 00:27:27

energy that we want to have out here.

450

: 00:27:29

That's what we want people to experience

either through our programs or, by being

451

: 00:27:35

out here volunteering and what nature

has to offer when you put down the cell

452

: 00:27:40

phones and get away from the electronics

and just sit and watch animals be animals.

453

: 00:27:45

And they get that P-E-A-C-E, the peace of

the wild that we want them to experience.

454

: 00:27:52

Dixie: That sounds amazing.

455

: 00:27:54

For listeners who are moved by your

story and wanna help support Bears Etc.,

456

: 00:27:58

what are the biggest needs right

now, and how can the community get

457

: 00:28:01

involved and learn more about you?

458

: 00:28:05

Kati: Our biggest need is always, like

every nonprofit, is gonna be donations.

459

: 00:28:10

In order for us to continue to

take care of these animals, the

460

: 00:28:13

prices of everything is going up.

461

: 00:28:15

A box of romaine a week, goes

from anywhere from $25 to $30.

462

: 00:28:21

Now it's 30 to $35.

463

: 00:28:23

The cost of everything has gone up.

464

: 00:28:25

We can always use gas

cards to use on rescues.

465

: 00:28:29

We can always use hotel points and

flight miles in order to fly to

466

: 00:28:35

destinations, rescue the animals,

rent a van, bring them back.

467

: 00:28:39

So there are different

opportunities there for those items.

468

: 00:28:43

We're always needing volunteers.

469

: 00:28:45

We have several shifts a week and actually

two shifts every day, five-hour shifts.

470

: 00:28:49

If someone's interested in coming

out and helping animal care, you…

471

: 00:28:54

It's required a one five-hour shift a

week in order to build the relationships

472

: 00:28:59

with animals and to understand how each

animal's, quirks and everything like

473

: 00:29:03

that are, and learning their diets.

474

: 00:29:06

It really takes a consistent being here

in order to do that since we have so

475

: 00:29:11

many different species word of mouth

is always amazing, and that's free.

476

: 00:29:17

Sharing us on your social media follow.

477

: 00:29:19

We're on X, Facebook, Instagram,

TikTok LinkedIn, sharing our story.

478

: 00:29:26

If you work at an organization, if

you go to our website, bearsetc.org

479

: 00:29:31

you can go to our How You Can

Help page and see if your or

480

: 00:29:36

your company you work for matches

donations or pays our organization

481

: 00:29:42

for you to come out and volunteer.

482

: 00:29:43

So organizations like Exxon and some other

companies Kohl's, for the amount of hours

483

: 00:29:50

that you come out and donate, they'll

pay us $12 an hour in donations for the

484

: 00:29:55

day for them coming out and donating.

485

: 00:29:58

Or some businesses, I have a friend's

business that they will pay you t-

486

: 00:30:03

for the day, an eight-hour shift

to go out and work at a nonprofit.

487

: 00:30:07

And so there's different ways like that

you can do, or just matching funds.

488

: 00:30:12

Lindy, Dell a lot of the companies

have donor matching, so if you

489

: 00:30:16

donate through your business,

they will match it 100% up to I…

490

: 00:30:24

like Lindy is up to $15,000 a year

they'll match that you receive then

491

: 00:30:29

a donation match from that business.

492

: 00:30:32

So there's different ways to do it.

493

: 00:30:35

We have a Amazon wish list.

494

: 00:30:37

We have a Chewy wish list.

495

: 00:30:38

We have a Walmart wish list.

496

: 00:30:41

Different things that we're always

in need of for the animals are

497

: 00:30:46

right there at your fingertips if

you're there shopping on Amazon.

498

: 00:30:49

And then we use the box and the packing

paper for enrichment for the animals.

499

: 00:30:53

So even better if you ship us

supplies because it really is

500

: 00:30:57

double duty when you do that.

501

: 00:30:59

So there's all different

ways of hel- to help.

502

: 00:31:01

But spreading the word

liking our organization.

503

: 00:31:04

Every on Facebook, our page is

monetized, and so every like, share,

504

: 00:31:09

comment gets us a penny, and all of

that adds up at the end of the month

505

: 00:31:14

when they send us our donation check.

506

: 00:31:15

So every little bit helps, and so we're

just really appreciative of all the likes,

507

: 00:31:21

comments, shares on Facebook as well.

508

: 00:31:24

Dixie: Kati, thank you so much for

sharing your journey and for the

509

: 00:31:27

incredible uncrom- uncompromising

work that you're doing for animals

510

: 00:31:30

that so desperately need a voice.

511

: 00:31:34

Kati: I'm glad that people support

it so we can do it, because if people

512

: 00:31:38

didn't support us, we wouldn't be here.

513

: 00:31:41

And so their support means

I can do more of this.

514

: 00:31:44

So I really appreciate everybody

that makes this happen.

515

: 00:31:47

It's not just me.

516

: 00:31:48

I just have the hands and feet that do it.

517

: 00:31:50

But I have lots of people

that support this organization

518

: 00:31:54

that keep us moving forward.

519

: 00:31:56

So thank you to them for making this

happen because I couldn't do it alone.

520

: 00:32:01

Dixie: Great.

521

: 00:32:01

Thank you so much for joining me today.

522

: 00:32:03

I really appreciate it.

523

: 00:32:05

Kati: Thank you for having me on.

524

: 00:32:06

I really appreciate it.

525

: 00:32:10

Speaker: To everyone listening, you

can learn more about Kati's work,

526

: 00:32:12

support the sanctuary, and follow

their progress at bearsetc.org.

527

: 00:32:17

Be sure to check out the

show notes for all the links.

528

: 00:32:19

Thank you for tuning in, and remember

to keep fighting for the animals.

529

: 00:32:24

See you next time