Rescue zoo began in bet shop and home to mini-reptile that grew into alligator
A zoo owner has created a "tropical paradise" in the UK that's become a rescue home for 400 animals - including a huge alligator that was sold as a cayman - but her passion to save the creatures has left her "heavily in debt".
Donna Rose, from Woodford Green, opened her petting zoo and animal experience centre, Get To Know Animals in Epping, Essex, in February this year. Donna, who works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, has poured all of her love into her sanctuary, which includes monkeys, reptiles and more.
The 41-year-old often finds animals on her doorstep and has transformed the lives of "battered" pets. But now the selfless business owner is facing eviction. "We're heavily in debt just to try and keep them alive. But what I could never do is give up on my animals. I'd go down with that ship," she told The Mirror.
Donna Rose quit recruitment to pursue her dream (Humphrey Nemar)Donna, who explained that her mission is to "spread the love of animals", says it is "not a job, it's a lifestyle". Much like Princess Giselle, the main character of the Disney movie, Enchanted, the love is mutual between Donna and her furry friends and it all started when she was a child. "My mum and dad had a Labrador dog and the day they brought me home from the hospital the dog thought I was its puppy, so it sort of half brought me up," she said.
Despite always having a warmth for animals, Donna's admiration became even stronger after she fell ill with Fibromyalgia, which is a long-term condition that can cause debilitating pain all over the body. She was forced to "make the hard decision" to close her recruitment company because she couldn't "physically do it anymore."
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The zoo is home to hundreds of animals including Rhino Iguanas (Humphrey Nemar)Describing the condition, she said: "Some days I can't talk or even lift my arm to use a cup. You get really bad brain fog so you can't think or spell. Energy levels are just below zero. So that's a struggle for anyone, just to be alive." But whilst she was searching for what to do next with her career, Donna's friend gifted her a 20l fish tank because they thought it would be "relaxing".
Donna soon became "obsessed" with fish after she went to an aquatics shop and purchased a guppy fish. "I used to go to the aquarium shop all the time and got really friendly with them in there," she explained. "One of them was starting a pet shop so I started volunteering. Then I started running it and we started taking the animals out from the pet shop to places like care homes and nurseries. That's where I formed Get to Know Animals."
Donna and Rob have dedicated their life to the zoo (Humphrey Nemar)After several years of mobile work, Donna decided to launch a massive mission to convert a betting shop into an indoor zoo in 2019. The pop-up managed to overcome the impact of the coronavirus lockdown and Donna eventually started to build GTKA in Epping, which took 15 months. "Now, we have 400 animals all rescued including an alligator, monkeys, skunks and just everything you can imagine. It is ridiculous. It's like an indoor tropical paradise inside. It is nothing like you've ever seen," she said.
One of Donna's favourite members is their alligator Lacoste which was originally sold to someone as a Cayman (a tiny crocodile), but when it outgrew its fish tank, it was dumped at a pet shop. The store asked her to take him in. "When we got her she had only ever been kept in like a six-foot fish tank with a few inches of water, " she recalled. "So it took us nearly a year to custom build her enclosure, but she'd never ever been swimming before."
Lacoste the alligator is a fan favourite (Humphrey Nemar)Describing the moment she watched the huge American alligator dip into the pool for the first time, she said: "You know when you're in a swimming pool and it's a bit too deep and you sort of tiptoe, keeping your head above, she was a bit like that. And then she took one leg off and then she took another leg off the ground and sort of wobbled a bit and then suddenly she was just up and down swimming away.
"She had a massive smile on her face and that was for me one of the best moments I've had, seeing her so happy. Since then, she's almost four times the size now, she obviously needed to grow but couldn't." However, Donna suspects the owners might have been aware of what the alligator truly was. She believes they might have dumped it after they realised it was a "bad idea." Donna added: "I'd rather they did that than throw them into the lake or dump them onto the street."
Donna has grown close to squirrell monkey, Malcolm (Humphrey Nemar)Donna explained that animals have helped her during her mental health battle which included severe depression. "An animal can comfort you in a way that a human never could. Animal therapy is just so powerful, that's really my main focus," she said. The animal lover shared how some of her staff members, who work as volunteers at the zoo, initially were visitors and joined after they had "major breakthroughs" after having contact with the animals.
Harry has grown leaps and bounds since being introduced to GTKA (Nicola Holmes)One of the volunteers, named Harry, started visiting the zoo with his dad after he suffered from mutism. The 11-year-old, who has autism, struggled to step outside. But on one occasion, his father was left stunned after he caught Harry speaking to the rangers and was "almost immediately a changed child." Speaking about the special moment, Donna said: "Harry used to really freak out and he was completely mute. But Harry just felt really comfortable there and Andy, Harry's dad, said he'd never ever seen him behave like that in his life."
Meanwhile, another volunteer, who is home-schooled due to his behavioural needs, suffered from suicidal thoughts. The nine-year-old, who has autism, asperger's and tourettes, "used to get quite violent, smash the house and threaten his parents with knives," said Donna. However, his mum started to bring him in once a week. "She started to see her sweet little boy come back to his normal self. He stopped being suicidal, it's giving him a reason to live," Donna continued.
Turtles can also be found inside the 'tropical paradise' (Humphrey Nemar)The business owner said it is an "incredible" feeling to see how her sanctuary has helped first-hand. "You couldn't ask for anything more to do with your life," she said. "Not only have you rescued and saved these animals and given them so much love, you've changed people's lives in the process. It's quite overwhelming really."
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Speaking about the mixture of emotions she experiences in her work, Donna said it can be "heartbreaking" to see the animals delivered to her in a "bad state" but said, "It's more of a determination and relief because we know that their suffering is over and that they are going to have a beautiful life". Together, Donna has worked with the police and pet charities such as the RSPCA to bring animals to safety. She continued: "It's absolutely not a job. It's a lifestyle. There is no cut-off from it."
Donna and her amazing staff have close bonds to the animals (Humphrey Nemar)Altogether, Donna has fifteen members of staff, which includes some volunteers, as well as her partner Rob Baxter, 44, who massively helps with the day-to-day runnings. The high school sweethearts, who re-connected during the pandemic, have been forced to move back in with her parents due to the "financial burden" of the zoo. Donna revealed she gave up her "lovely three-bedroom home" to save on costs as they spend around £40,000 each month on the upkeep of the zoo and the specialist creatures.
The local zoo offers handling experiences (Humphrey Nemar)"Every penny just goes towards the animals because it's so expensive to run. We don't get any funding or support and our overheads are around 40 grand a month," explained Donna. "Every month we're getting loans just to cover costs. So it's really tough." Donna admitted that despite her love for animals, "most days are hell due to the stress of it."
"At the moment our only source of income is when people visit us," she said. "So door entry, animal handling packages, gift vouchers, parties on site. We are now registered as a charitable company but it takes a long time to receive funding. We are even facing eviction. That would mean all the animals would be homeless and staff would lose their jobs. The struggle is real."
Lacoste has grown four times his size since being built his special enclosure (Humphrey Nemar)For now, Donna will continue to snack on "pot noodles" whilst she ensures the animals are well-fed on organic food. "We go to the supermarket and we have a massive trolley of organic kale and I have a pot noodle at the bottom of the trolley," she said. "I can't give up. It's like giving up on your kids," she said. "They'll always come first no matter what."
General entry tickets to visit the zoo start from as little as £8.50, while animal handling experiences are listed at £15. GTKA has also opened its santa's grotto. To book a ticket visit the website here. If you would like to donate visit here.
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