June 20, 2025
Provided images/ACCT Philly
The exotic animals that ACCT Philly rescued this week include Ferdinand the alligator (left) and an unnamed skink (right).
The staffers at ACCT Philly are used to the odd turtle or rabbit rescue. But they got a lot more than they bargained for this past week, when three birds, two horses, a lizard and an alligator all landed in the shelter's care.
The gator, whom ACCT Philly dubbed Ferdinand, came as a package deal. The rescue was called Tuesday to a home where the landlord had recently served an eviction. The tenants had left behind a husky and an alligator spanning roughly 2-3 feet in length. While Ferdinand departed Thursday for his new home at JAWS Florida — the same sanctuary that took in an 8-foot alligator ACCT Philly rescued years earlier — the husky, Gia, is available for adoption at the organization's North Philly facility. Mikayla Allen, communications coordinator for ACCT Philly, estimates that she is about a year old.
Phisy the pheasant also arrived at the shelter earlier this week. Allen said his owner surrendered the bird after falling ill and being unable to care for him. His bright plumage caught the eye of an avian veterinarian on Instagram, who offered to adopt him.
Phisy's bird buddies Will and Bill — a pair of quails — are still looking for homes. According to Allen, they were found in a park but "have obviously been around people because they're really social." They are now living at the North Philly shelter.
An ACCT Philly employee also spotted a skink, a small type of lizard, roaming the city this week. He was not quite as social as Will and Bill.
"He's a little feral," Allen said. "He's definitely not been handled a lot."
Still, despite his wild nature and a leg infection, the skink also left ACCT Philly for a new home.
The two horses found in an East Germantown tennis court Thursday were another unusual case. According to Allen, staffers initially found the pair tied up to a court at Waterview Recreation Center, right behind a sign reading, "No animals."
The rescue had a horse trailer to transport the animals and some hay to feed them. But they were a little too big for accommodation at the ACCT Philly facilities. Sarah Barnett, the organization's executive director, managed to find someone to shelter the animals until their owner came forward to reclaim them. A relative had apparently taken the horses on a joyride.
While the rescue often gets calls about goats, sheep and pigs, horse calls are much rarer; Allen couldn't recall a similar incident in her four years at the shelter. This week also marked her first encounter with a skink.
"Having them all in one week is kind of insane," Allen said of the shelter's unexpected menagerie. "(But) the staff's great and they learn to adapt really fast. They're kind of just like, alright, there's a pheasant."
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