Our Story
Hello everyone! I'm Alyssa, former owner and pet sitter of White Rabbit Exotic Pet Care. I have loved all sorts of creatures and critters from the very beginning and gained several years of experience as a veterinary technician/assistant, specializing in exotics. When I was not caring for your beloved pets before WREPC closed in 2022, I was studying hard at UPenn's Veterinary School where I am still currently working towards my VMD.
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WREPC began in 2016 with a dream, and ended in 2022 with the beginning of another dream. Here is our story.
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Growing up, I had all kinds of pets, including guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, dogs, hermit crabs, and a leopard gecko, and also took horse back riding lessons and leased my own horse. I constantly studied facts about animals and eventually received a degree in Zoology from North Carolina State University.
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After graduating, I worked for several years at an exotics-only veterinary clinic, Avian and Exotic Animal Care, where I learned much of what I know about husbandry and medical care of small mammals, reptiles, and birds.
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While working there, a little white and tan spotted rabbit was brought in by a local rescue group who found her wandering around outside. She was a only a few weeks old at the time, scared, and covered in ticks. I fell in love with her and named her Bailey. Bailey (and my love for Alice in Wonderland) eventually became the inspiration for the name White Rabbit Exotic Pet Care.
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I eventually moved to Pennsylvania and took a break from the veterinary field, but I still wanted to work with animals. In the fall of 2016, I decided to focus my energy into what I am passionate about and was inspired to start my own pet sitting business, with the dream to one day open an exotics-only boarding facility.
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In February 2017, we took our first pet sitting clients as an official business in our original location in Douglassville, PA, and since cared for many more pets. Shortly after, we added handmade toys for pocket pets, which we sold on Etsy and at vendor events. In October 2017, we moved to Berwyn, PA where we were located for 3 years and gained many of our favorite repeat clients.
In 2019, I decided to return to the veterinary field as a small animal veterinary technician while still running WREPC, and in 2020 I realized that I had a new, bigger dream and started working towards becoming a veterinarian. I started at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in August 2020, and WREPC remained open for weekend and holiday services through the didactic portion of my education.
After starting veterinary school in 2020, we briefly operated out of Gilbertsville, PA, and in 2021, we moved to Lansdowne, PA where we are currently located and enjoyed providing services for all types of exotics for the last year and a half we were in business.
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WREPC unfortunately closed on December 30, 2022 after a wonderful 6 years in business. With beginning the clinical portion of my veterinary education in January 2023, I no longer have the time and availability to continue running the business. While I am so sad to let go of my WREPC dream, it is a bittersweet feeling to be this much closer to my veterinarian dream. I am so grateful for all the clients, customers, and pets I've met along the way, and I hope to see you starting in the summer of 2024 as a VMD!
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As for now, the WREPC website will live on in a new form. I am excited to provide online resources for exotic pet owners through this site in the hopes that I can continue to help improve the lives of exotic pets in any way I can.
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- Alyssa Godown Silverman
Owner & Founder of White Rabbit Exotic Pet Care
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