We have a USDA Class C license to have certain exotics and to use them for educational programs.  We've had our license for about ten years now, it is a difficult license to obtain and even harder to maintain.  It is not meant for the average person to have animals that would normally be illegal for them have without it.  Also it does not make one exempt from their local ordinances, for example if it is illegal in your town to have wolves or any wildcat in your city or town, then a USDA license will not make it legal then to have them, you will still be illegal.  If however you choose to move to an unincorporated area which is also zoned AG then certain animals may be legal if you also have a federal license.  However we could not go out and just buy for instance an elephant. First we would have to prove that we know how to work with them and care for them, then we would have to build a proper, legal enclosure and have it approved, then we have to prove that we can provide proper vet care, etc.  I'm sure you get the point.  Many people ask me about our federal license with the hopes that they can just run out and buy a tiger for instance and magically be legal to own it, it does not work that way and it shouldn't. 

Kiwi is a kinkajou.  She is about 16 years old but she is only considered middle aged.  Kinkajous can be expected to live about 25 in captivity.  She loves fig neutons, fresh fruit and cottage cheese and climbing me like Mount Everest!   One look at those long sharp nails should let you know how painful that can be-

 This is Charlie, who is also a kinkajou.  There are about 13 subspecies of kinkajous that's why he doesn't look exactly like Kiwi.  This photo was taken this spring at a forum hosted by AHA this spring (08).  Charlie is 12 years old now ('10).  Charlie's first human mom couldn't keep him any longer so we were asked to take him in and we are very happy that he has come to live with us.

We now have a wonderful red fur fox we have named Dallas.   He hardly ever sits still for very long so this is the best picture I could come up with for now.  Dallas was given to us by DNR after he was taken away from his previous owner who was not legal to have a fox. 

This is our fox enclosure, it is about 8 feet wide, 6 feet high and 23 feet long.  He is a very happy little fox with all the room and toys he can handle.  Poor Dallas had four homes before he was even 16 weeks old.  He eventually wound up being confiscated by Illinois DNR and they asked us to adopt him.  His previous owner has been fined heavily and got into a lot of trouble.  She was not legal to buy him, own him or sell him when he became unpleasant.  Please learn about your local and state laws before buying any exotic animal.  Dallas is one of the lucky ones, most fur foxes who wind up in this situation have to be put down because there just aren't enough legally licensed homes for them.  Fur foxes are bred for one thing, their fur, not their personality and they stink to high heaves too!  They smell a lot like a skunk, they pee everywhere, nip and scream so they really are not a good house pet.   

Meet tiny Joey!  He is an arctic fox who was bred for his fur but wound up winning the life lottery instead.  He is only about 9 days old in this photo and his eyes aren't even open yet.  We don't know for sure yet if he will be white or blue (grey) but it doesn't matter to us either way.  We will try to keep the website updated with current photos as he grows. 

Can you handle one more picture of Joey?  Here he is at one month old, eyes are fully open now, he hears and sees everything!  He is also much more active.  Now we have do something about those tiny sharp nails or I'll have to keep explaining why my neck and chest are covered with bloody scratches all the time.  Can you see the white coming out now?  His eyes, ears, chin and belly are slowly turning from grey to white. 

Joey is pure white now, he loves to chew on my shoes like any young canine does.  But he also loves to pee in his food dish, scream and play fight with Dallas, and of course nip me whenever he has a chance to.  He is definately not a domestic dog!  But he is wonderful for a fox, which we are letting him be.  He is a very happy little boy now that winter is coming. 

Hannah in her summer coat.

Hannah in her winter colored coat. She not only puts on about ten pounds every fall in preparation for winter but her colors also fade a little when her thick, winter coat comes in. 

This is Hannah, our bobcat.  Bobcats are difficult cats, they are very intelligent, stubborn and moody.  Hannah loves Brad but often uses me as a playtoy and her way of playing is to jump on my head and chew on my ears.  We hoped that by bringing her in as a kitten we could one day take her to educational programs but she gets car sick and has decided that she does not like strangers so that put an end to that idea.  She is a very contented and happy cat and we spend as much time with her as we can every day, she rubs against us, purrs and then often turns and sprays us, her aim is unfortunetly for us, very accurate.  Bobcats have a strong need to spray in order to make them feel more secure, they are not house pets.   

This is Hannah's new enclosure, it is about 7 1/2 feet high, 18 feet long and about 8 feet wide.  She spends much of her time on the ledge we built for her just above the child's climber and just under the black shade cover.  With so many things to climb in and on, it is so wonderful to see her enjoying every nook and cranny.  We build double entrances to our outdoor enclosures for our safety and for theirs. 

This next section is dedicated to the mink in our life.

Many years ago I spent a couple of summers with my oldest brother and his family in Streamwood IL.  Like most teenagers I felt misunderstood and awkward most of the time but I found solice in riding my brothers ten speed bike at the nearby bike trails.  There was this steep hill that I would go flying down as fast as the wind and then I would ride over a small creek and spend hours riding the rest of the trails.  One of those near perfect summer days I aimed the bike down the hill as I had done many times before but on this particular day I would have company.  When I was at full speed a sleek black mink ran directly in front of my front wheel, I braked hard and then skidded to a stop, the mink was of course safe and I spent the better part of the next hour trying to find him or her again.  I never saw hide nor hair of the mink again but from that moment on I was fascinated by them. 

As I mentioned on our homepage, we volunteered with a couple of animal rescues over the years and whenever a mink would come into the shelter we'd take them home.  I want to make very clear that mink do not make good pets, they are bred for their fur not their temperament.  Mink often have very short tempers and can bite to the bone and not let go, after all in the wild if a mink just let go of its dinner when it struggled then they wouldn't eat very often.  So it is instinct for them to hang on for dear life when provoked and it takes very little to provoke a mink!  They also scream, express their anal glands, swim in the toilet, harass all your other pets and just plain get into mischief.  So if after all of this you still want information on mink as pets or if you already have one and just want to swap stories I'd love to talk with you, just send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.  I have roughly 10 years with mink in my life and have placed numerous mink over the years with other like minded people.  However if you do not love mink they will know and they have the ability to make your life completely miserable. Children and some husbands who act like kids are not a good combination with a mink in the house!   We don't leave children alone in a room with the mink when they are visiting and we hold that policy for some adults too. 

Sonya is one of the two mink that currently own us.  She was found about a quarter of a mile from the mink farm that bred her, she literally escaped and then found a person who would take her in.  Of course they promptly called animal control who then called us to take her.  It is possible to keep a mink but they are not like a ferret, they bite, they scream and they may never let you touch them but they are fun to watch and they enjoy the same toys that ferrets do.  They just can't be housed with any other animal, including another mink, and they need more room than a ferret would, because frankly you do not want to corner them when you're changing their bedding or refilling their food dish.  They are not a typical pet but they enjoy life as long as their human caretakers understand their needs.  It may not be legal to have a mink, but I have yet to find someone who would care if you had one or not, as long as you properly contained them and did not allow someone to be hurt by your mink.  Vet care may be a problem as well so check with your vet before considering taking in a mink. 

I used to think that having an exotic like a mink is something that only someone with a lot of experience with problem animals but I've met a lot of people over the years who did not have young children in their home and wanted something a bit more unusual to share their life.  They weren't into reptiles and wanted more of a challange than a hamster or guinea pig or an aquarium would give them.  Mink are relatively quiet, clean animals, yes they shed, and no they may never use a litter box but they tend to "go" in corners, they eat a normal, high quality cat food, drink from a water bottle and are happy with a few toys and whatever attention you can give them.  They don't crave your every free moment, don't require a ton of vet care, since most mink farms just let the sick ones die, only the strongest survive to breed the next generation and are fun to watch.  Yes they bite, but only if provoked, don't corner them or try to touch them and you'll be just fine.  There is a yahoo egroup called PetMink for the few who dare to share their lives with a mink, so if you're curious, join up and learn more about them.