The Education Department is made up of a diverse team of individuals, including more than 60 animal ambassadors! The Education Department strives to provide hands-on humane education with the help of these animal ambassadors. Many on the ambassador team are animals that have been domesticated or are commonly kept as exotic pets, with the mission that by teaching about the proper pet care of these animals, we can then inspire compassion for them, their wild counterparts, and ultimately all living things.
Animals join our team in a few different ways: they are either rescued from other facilities, leased to us for various times from their owner, or occasionally someone will surrender us an animal that fits the program well. We do not breed our animals, and we strive to bring in rescues as much as possible in the hopes that this will inspire our program participants to adopt and not shop for their pets. Our animal ambassadors must pass a temperament test before becoming part of the program and even participate in a rotating usage schedule to ensure they are not overworked. We have a dedicated and hardworking animal care team that ensure all the animals’ needs are met, from a proper diet, to exercise, and enrichment.
Get to know our animal ambassador team below!
These animals have been a wonderful part of the team, but are now retired and no longer participate in programs. If interested in adopting one of them, please contact our Associate Director of Education, Haylee Blake, at hayleeb@animalcenter.org.
For more information:
Please contact us at education@animalcenter.org or 858-756-4117 ext. 318
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