Creativity
MICE, CHINCHILLAS AND RATS. OH MY! Hope Ranch Animal Rescue takes in unconventional pets
BY|DYLAN DROBET PHOTOGRAPHY | PHIL WHEEKER
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MICHELLE TERUEL stands in her dining room holding a python she rescued while her roommate’s dog, Rags, sits close by. Below, her pet rat, Kit Kat.
Watch a video interview with Michelle in her dining room online
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or most people, rodents and snakes could put a damper on a dinner party. But Michelle Teruel’s dining room is a full-on critter cafeteria. Teruel is a 21-year-old UCF senior psychology major who fosters dozens of animals, ranging from rats and mice to chinchillas and bearded dragons, in her two-bedroom apartment near campus. “I saw more of a need for exotics. There’s dozens of rescues that deal with cats and dogs. But when I started, there were only two rescues in the area that dealt with exotics and one of them just shut down,” Teruel said. Teruel, founder of Hope Ranch Animal Rescue, said most of the animals she gets in are rats, and she has adopted out more than 57 since March 2013. It all started with a rat named Petunia in fall 2012. Teruel came across a Craigslist ad that mentioned a rat would be released into the wild if not picked up that evening. Teruel rushed to the rescue. “It just snowballed after that. Once my friends heard about how I saved Petunia, they would ask for my help whenever there was an animal in need,” Teruel said. “At first I would just place the animals with my friends or with fellow members of UCF’s pre-veterinary society but there came a point that everyone I knew who could have pets was at their limit. By creating an official rescue, I could reach a wider audience and keep everyone posted on what was going on,” Teruel said. Teruel has also worked with Amanda Trompeta, sophomore biology major and founder of Don’t Shop, Adopt UCF, an organization that connects knights with homeless animals. “We see the amazing work that she does for so many animals and we know that she needs the financial help,” Trompeta said. Teruel gets most of her funding from selling donated animal food, toys, wheels and housing from people who surrender their pets. How many pets does Teruel have in her apartment? She thought for a moment and laughed. “I should actually count them up,” she said.
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