Little Ray’s Reptiles ready for the future after barely surviving pandemic closures
Posted Mar 29, 2022 09:12:00 PM.
There's no question the COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for many small businesses, especially those that rely on public events for a large portion of their income.
That has been the case for Little Ray's Reptiles, the largest exotic animal rescue in Canada, owned by Paul Goulet and his wife, Sheri Goulet.
Although the once small business has grown into a large company that travels across Canada and the United States, the pandemic brought on challenges that resulted in a loss of approximately $80,000 per month.
Paul Goulet joined The Sam Laprade Show on March 29 to discuss what he and his wife went through over the last two years, and how grateful he was to have survived the financial shortfalls they endured.
“We were absolutely pushed to our limits. I mean, we were doing bottle drives to get bottles when we were down to tens of thousands of dollars,” said Goulet. “The amount of generosity that we received from the community, from people… we brought in well over $450,000.”
Goulet said that without the support from the community, Little Ray's Reptiles would have never survived over the last two years.
Little Ray's Reptiles has one of the most extensive and diverse animal education and outreach programs in North America, and has an award winning live animal travelling museum exhibit program. The organization relied heavily on that program along with zoo tours, birthday parties, and other in-person events for income since they began the zoo back in the year 2000.
The number of animals in their care has fluctuated during the pandemic, but Goulet says the number has hovered around 900. They have reptiles and animals like scorpions, turtles, bearded dragons, snakes and more.
Goulet said looking back, he would have never believed the organization could grow to what it is today. He believes they are finally past the worst of the pandemic, and is excited for what the future holds for Little Ray's Reptiles.
Listen to the full interview with Goulet below:
