It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea on iHeartRadio. Welcome to
Maria's Mutts and Stuff and with me, I'm very excited. Is Pete Lillow
of? And hopefully I'm going to get this correct because it's a big long
name. It's bear Brook Feather Friend Rescue and Sanctuary. Is that correct?
You hit it right on the head, yes, so, and you're located
in Newton, New Jersey. Is that correct? I am yes, Sussex
County, New Jersey. Correct. Okay, Well tell me how did this
all begin? Where did this start? And how for you? So?
I've always loved animal and I've always loved birds, you know, ducks,
geese and chickens. When I was younger, I grew up in Passaic and
Bergen County. And since i'm we had we had farms by us, and
uh, there was a farmer next door to us who had was a dairy
farm, and he had chickens and some ducks and stuff, and he used
to let me feed the ducks and the chickens, and so I was always
I was always interested. Yeah, of course, even though even though I
grew up in Patterson, then kind of made my way out here. Then
I moved to Hunting County and then up to Trush County here, which is
God's country and and it's beautiful, but looking up in New York City and
we uh, you know, I had a couple of chickens and ducks,
and then I adopted a little duck from a friend of mine who was he
wasn't doing well and he couldn't walk and everything, and his name was Tippy
and here, yeah, I and I think I might have mentioned this in
one of my emails to you, that I used to carry him around,
used to come around with me all the time, and I made a little
walker worm so he could have a little you know freedom as far as like
hanging out. It's amazing. What what did you make the walker out of?
Because that's pretty clever on your part, being young and picular to make
a walker. So I'm pretty handy, even though that's not my my My
father was a construction guy. So I made it out of TVC typing sure
and little castor wheel and a I got an old baby carriage where you know,
you sit like kid's in the you know, with their legs through sure,
and I did his size and he did pretty well for a while,
but I knew he was not doing well, and he really was touched my
heart and it was so sweet. And then he passed and I said,
you know what a lot of these animals, and I heard a lot of
stories about you know, ducks, chickens, and people buy them at tractor
supply and other places because their kids think they're really cute at Easter time.
I'm just going to say that, yep, at like rabbits, yep,
yep. You have no idea how I've gotten back and forth with tractors supply
about they need to ask people do you have somewhere to have them? Sure
you have the right food, you have, you know, So it's it's
a whole Yeah. So I thought to myself, you know what, I've
heard so many stories. I have the land up here. I think I'm
going to start a rescue. So what turned into a couple of geese and
a couple of chickens and a couple of ducks turned into over probably one hundred
and fifty birds. Now, wow, that's how many you have. Now
that's amazing. Do you do You don't do this all by yourself. You
have others to help you. Workers, or no volunteers. No, no,
I do it all by myself. Really. I had some volunteers,
and you know, they're very helpful and everything, and but I understand their
time is that's just to them. Usually older people have retired people, and
every once in a while I'll get folks to come over. I do have
folks who have you know, I've adopted their animals and they come to visit
every once in a while, which is nice. I always encourage people to
come and visit their animals, and a couple have I did have a couple
of employees that I hired in the summer, college kids and stuff, but
they weren't really interested in I really want somebody who takes an interest in the
animals, of course, So I think that's important. That's that's a basic
kind of empathy that not everybody has, no you know what. And I
I love the animals, always have loved the animals. I had dogs.
I don't have any more. I don't have dogs anymore, but I do
have inside birds, right, and a couple of cats, and I don't
know, they're just they're different and they're very good listeners. They don't Oh
my goodness, any pet is a great listener, are you kidding? And
the great companion, And you know I have some kind of bond with with
my my animals out here. I've gotten it here for now probably. I've
lived here for seven years and we've and I've grown. I should say we've
grown, but I've grown. Sure. You know. The people say to
me, well, when do you take off? I'm like, I don't,
you don't. Yeah, it's a twenty four to seven job. Twenty
four seven, three sixty five. I've taken one vacation in the last I
don't know, fifteen twenty years. I had a friend who actually watched them
for five days and I was a basket case. You were worried. Yeah,
of course there are my babies, and you know what they know me.
Yeah, I'm sure they do. Yeah, creatures a habit like some
of us human beings are. And yeah, you know, I hate the
winners up here, but it is what it is, and they don't care,
right, I mean, I got to be out there every day,
and but it's something I enjoy, right, so that the days are long,
and you know, and I have my own business that I do when
I get up, when I get up at two thirty in the morning,
and then I do that, right, and then and then I come out
here till they go to sleep. Right. But you love this, so
this isn't really work. It is work, but because yeah, because you
love it. Yeah, yeah, I would never give it up, right,
right, But I wish you had some help. I feel bad for
you that you're doing you see, do all this on top of your job.
And and I know that the animals appreciate that, but I feel like
I wish you had some help, you know, like some even like a
high school kid who's about to graduate or something, or you know, home
in the summer, just to help you out. No. No, And
like I said, I I did every once in a while, but I'm
worunate. Since I'm a little older this generation now, I find they lose
interest really quick. Well yeah, well that's I think, yes, yes,
yeah, yeah, yeah, very And I've had volunteers saying, oh,
well it's muddy or smells, it's a bond. Yeah, yeah,
exactly. I can't get my hands dirty. Yeah, I know everybody's different.
I get it too. It's just funny though to me, I can't
get my hands dirty. Okay, oh yeah, but then your parents didn't
feel that way raising you as a baby. But you know now, my
father was in the army and he's like, you want money, you go
out and work exactly right, So I you know, I have a work
ethic. My older kids did as well. So even though they were not
very interested in my animals either, they liked them, right, but they
didn't want to help. And I get it, you know, no,
of course, of course, and you love it and these are all your
animals and you take a very very good care of them. So what's something
about I guess that you know, because I guess when you hear about when
you hear a sanctuary, it's usually you know, for horses or you know,
it's not for birds. So what's something that probably you've learned or is
like if there's an one answer to this, it might not be at all.
I'm just thinking something that people probably wouldn't realize that, you know,
because you're with them all the time. Well, when when you say sanctuary,
you're right. The last thing folks would play probably think about is ducks
and geese. Sure, yeah they do. They think about horses, They
think about sheep up here, pigs, that type of thing. So you
know, I think it were different. There's not. You know, I'm
on a lot of Facebook pages with folks who have similar refues for birds around
the country, a couple of friends up here that that do similar things.
But you know, it's nobody thinks about. So these are domesticated birds,
which means that they don't fly correct, meaning that they couldn't. Yeah,
they don't fly and they wouldn't survive on their own if you put them out
in the wild, not even one night. So the sterms sitting ducks is
yeah literally, yeah, yeah. So they have you know, they have
food, they have shelter, they have everything they need. So yeah,
I mean it's what's the shame to me is and I think why I got
into this is besides my love for animals, is they do need so many
needs to take care of these There's a you know a lot of cats,
a lot of dogs to meet adoptions. But you know there's hundreds and hundreds
of birds that folks just leave by the by the side of the road.
I get called a lot from our town animal control people who find way were
birds and I'm like, yeah, okay them sure, now wayward birds.
Would that be someone who had a bird and just got rid of it,
or a bird that was out in the wild and was injured or both.
No, no, no, no, I can't so in New Jersey,
we can't take wild animals. So if I found so, I get closed
every once in a while, which is funny, not funny. We found
a squirrel, baby squirrel, right, you can't take that, Yeah,
no, no, no no. So I call animal control and they I
put them in touch with the animals, right, right, right, people
don't know better. The stores or wherever they get them from, don't tell
them. Right. If you put one of these ducks on the side of
the road, or a goose, or they don't they won't survive. Yeah,
of course, but people think that, and I guess, like everything
else, when they realize it takes work and they decide I want to get
rid of it now, and so they just put it out out in the
road, which is terrible. Yeah, yeah, and I know. So
I always tell people when they have animals, you could be an animal lover,
but if you're not going to put in the commitment, that's right.
It takes of an animal. Don't get an animal, exactly, get a
stuffed animal. You're absolutely right, or go to the zoo. Correct,
No, you're it makes me nuts because I know with dogs and cats,
people give them as holiday gifts, and then the shelters in January, you
know, tenth, January thirtieth are loaded with all of the Christmas gifts Hanaga
gifts that oh you know, it's starting to get older. I don't really
like it anymore, or it's not so cute, or oh it's hard to
take care of it. Well, it's a living thing. It's a lot
of work, of course, No, especially for folks who live in the
city, right, who don't work. Sure, and I understand that you
don't have to work, you know, every you know, two family folks
are not home during the day, walkers are e bensive, right, I
understand that, But so then you know, you just be responsible. I'm
huge for spae and neutering. Yes, yep, I always have been that
way. Unfortunately I can't really get my bird spade neutered. But I don't
have a lot. I say, I don't have a lot who lay and
have babies, But huh, I just did have one of my females,
and I think I sent you a picture. She just has thirteen babies.
That's right, you did. You did send me, you know, and
if you let me, I will post that when I when I post this,
yeah, oh yeah, she send me. Yeah. Now, he's
a great mom. And it's amazing that after a day or two she brings
them out and I have a big fenced in area by my barn, and
she watches them, like you know, she watches them very well, and
they all follow her around. But I'm always I'm always counting. It was
a lot, But I tell you what, they are adorable, don't you
know. It's it's nature and stuff. But it's I find it very rewarding.
I don't do it for anything, but they need somebody to take care
of them. And people think I do love it. People think I'm crazy
sometimes and everything. But that's okay. I'm my own kind of crazy.
Well it's okay exactly. You know what, you are good kind of crazy.
I think more people in the world need to be your kind of crazy.
So it's okay if they call you crazy, it's a compliment. That's
how I look at it. So do you have names for all of them?
I do. I love it. Here's a funny thing too, I
know most of their voices, especially the geese. I know when they want
something. I could tell when they're not feeling well or want something from me.
I don't consider myself for any kind of bird whisper, but I do
because of what I do for a living. I'm very observant, so I
pay attention to you know, their needs. I i'm you know, since
I work out of my home, I'm able to. Most of my time
is spent in my remote office, which is my truck buck by the barn.
I have everything I need here, so if I have the book clients
or whatever I have to do, like, I watch them sure, and
I you know, I make my time. I've done it for years.
No, it's worked, right, It's worked for me, so well,
that's all that matters. I think it's I think it's terrific. I love
that when you've reached out to me weeks ago, and you know, I
was like, oh, I want to talk to him because this is so
cool. You know, it's it's like you said, like we mentioned,
it's different. And of course there would be bird sanctuaries, but you don't
hear about them as much as you would say pigs or horses or whatever.
So you know, no, No, most most of them are bird sanctuaries.
A lot of a lot of folks have like indoor birds like parakeets and
African grains and you know indoor right, Yeah, as far as the outdoor
wins, not so much. And I, like I said, I've always
for some reason and like birds, they're they're they're much more intelligent than people
saying yes, that's true. And they're they're also flock animals, which means
they have partners. Mostly they get very and they get very you know,
they get very upsetive a partner dies, especially the geese. Sure, so
it's yeah, I've done a lot of I'm not a vet obviously, and
I've done but I've done a lot of first aid and shaved the couple on
my own. And so yeah, again I don't do it for any other
reason, but yeah, Algy, I appreciate it, and I think what
you do is wonderful too. I somebody told me so, you've always been
one of my favorite d days. Well sure, you're like in my top
five. Okay, I'll take it. Oh of all time. That's awesome.
Well, you know, I grew up so music, sports, animals
not in any order are like my three favorite and so so any w Scottso
was like, my guy, you know, I love Carol uh Dennetz House's
you got your voice, and I love your show. So I listened to
sports radio a lot. Okay, but but but from ten till when you're
off, I listened to you. Thank you. I'm a big Beatles guy,
and I love your workforce blocks and you played the Dead to day,
but I love the Dead. So I'm like, you know what, woman
after my own heart to play with all the great stuff. So and I
love you know, and I listened to some of your your previous podcast and
you know the that and some of the other folks, and yeah, I
find it very interesting. And I think, you know, I've always people
always used to start one for what you do? You should? Yeah,
you could you educate people because I'm sure you know, people again don't really
know as much about ducks and geese and birds as they do about dogs and
cats. And yeah you should, No, probably not. And there's folks,
I mean, there there's a lot around, you know. So I'm
trying to get my oldest son to teach me how to im not a very
I know a little about a lot, but I'm not very technologically advanced.
Right, well, I get it, but you know what, you know
a podcast for me? Right, I was gonna say, we could teach
you that, So that's not to worry. So but what I what I
do want to ask you is because I know living things don't live on air.
So can people send you donations to help you with the care of you
know, ducks in the case, yes, okay, people have I never
set up so this is you know, and my sontimes he goes, We're
you're ful, he's as you should ask for donations. I can. I
don't like asking people for money. Well you're not asking, I'm asking for
you. If someone who's listening right now and thinks, wow, that's amazing.
This man does so much for all of all of these birds and ducks
and geese, and I have some extra bucks, I can you know,
no, as we always say, like no donation is too large or small,
somebody has an extra five dollars and sends it to you that could feed
a duck or something. So can they? Are you open for donations if
people feel yes, And I've had folks, some folks you know, in
the past, have given me bags of feed or you know water, you
know, supply for their water bowls or you know I've gotten some. So
basically, you know myself, you know, the money I make in my
own business, as I would say, eighty percent of it goes to my
farm. I figured it was something like that, of course, yeah,
I don't. My accountant said to me, have you ever added up how
much to spend a week? I said no, because it would depressed me.
Yeah, and I said, I don't go. You don't want to
do that, right right? No, So you know, my business obviously
is a for profit. My farm is non Yeah, well yeah, of
course which helped which which you know, uh, somebody who works with the
state, and I work with the state a lot. But you should do
that only because it will take you for money tax exempt wise right right?
Right? When? Why? So that's why I did it, and for
no other reason but to save some money on that end. So yeah,
listen, I would I would appreciate that. I mean, if and you're
not asking, I'm asking, So don't feel bad. Yeah yeah, yeah,
okay, all right, I don't you know, my fathers to always
say, don't ever ask anybody for anything. Well, I get it.
I get it, and you're not. You're not. I'm asking for you
because I want my listeners to be aware of you and be aware of your
sanctuary. And if they have some extra money, whatever it could be ten
dollars, five dollars, I would, they could help you. So what's
the best What is the best way? Is it to go to bearbrook ff
dot com or through your Facebook page? What's the best way? Uh?
They could actually send uh here I am with my technology, so they could
send it a check or the bear Brook Rescue. So so I won't have
my guy. I have a guy who like if my Facebook page updated?
And I think I also have an Instagram page? Yes you do because I
follow you? Okay, So people can donate on Facebook, Yes, and
I follow your Instagram, Yes I do, thank you. Yeah, well
I follow you too, but I know so well. So people can go
to bear Brook Rescue either through your Facebook page or your Instagram and they can
make a donation that way, yes they can, or they can inquire how
to I'm going to have my guy okay say how to? Yeah, that's
important. Who is actually very artistic and he does this for me. But
he has a he has a band too, so he's really oh great,
Yeah that I can haven't set up I don't know what, is it a
venmo or something like that. Yes, he can do a venmo or he
can just put an address in the bio so people know where to send a
check or something. So to do that, I do believe on my Facebook
it has that. Okay, the US people have gotten touch about squirrels and
you're like, no, thank you, no squirrels. Well you know,
I'm like, wow, not a while life, thank story. But right,
well, I mean you'res that's a very good d doer, Pete.
You know that we need more people like you in the world. We do
well and and you as well, with all your stuff you do. You
have you have this platform that which I think is a great thing as well
to get the word out. Well true, yes, true, yes,
that's very important. No, absolutely, you know, it's like giving a
voice to the voiceless. That's what I always said. You know. It's
great. And you got to be some cool rockers, which is well,
which is good too. Awesome, Yeah, it's good. But it's to
me it's awesome, man, Yeah, all right, it's awesome. Cool.
So my cousin, my older cousin. I'll pay you a quick story.
Basically raised me because my my father, you know, worked and my
mother worked. He told me so I was a big Beatles person, says
she turned me onto the Beatles, you know, in the sixties, and
then I was always you know, the Stones and oh yeah. The music
thing to me is so I'm an old rocker. So the music you guys
plays, you know, Choke Cocker, Crouchestals and Nash, I like all
that kind of stuff. So it's that's kind of an outlet for me.
And the Birds listen to you guys. I love that the Birds are classic
rockers too. You can't beat that. They get to eat your voice,
you know, every day. It's it's a it's a great thing. And
I do appreciate what you do and I appreciate the time that you provided me
today. It was great talking to you. Well. Same here. So
Pete Lillo, have you made any other Yes, you got me everything.
I just want people to come find you so they can help you out.
It's Pete Lil Hello at bear Brook feather Friend Rescue and Sanctuary. And they
can find you on Facebook, and they can find you on Instagram, and
they can tell their friends and if they're in New New Jersey they can visit
you. Right. Well, yeah, I do encourage people to visit me.
I've had a lot of groups come. I love that during the year.
Yeah, it's with disabilities school group. I have a lot of friends
around here who have farms of horse farms that teach disabled kids and adults to
ride, and they go there and they come here, and I love having
I love having visitors. I love and they all get a little rubber ducky
if they come. Ah, that's a great I know you're a city person,
and you ever make your way up to Sussex County, I will just
so I can come see I want to see you, and I want to
see all the birds. I definitely will. Well, Pete, thank you.
Love that, Thanks for all your time. Keep doing what you're doing.
We need more people like you. Thank you, Maria, and keep
rocking. S never been a greater operator. And do not see you Rader Varmigator