PEOPLE OF INTEREST
The CRITTER RESCUER
KERRY FIRTH PHOTOS
Gary Brady, the executive director and founder of Critter Haven, doesn’t mind sharing his cramped office space with some of his exotic friends.
BY KERRY FIRTH
Gary Brady’s executive office is a cramped corner of
an overflowing herpetarium-aquarium building.
He is comfortable seated in his worn leather chair
at his desk wedged between massive saltwater
aquariums teeming with colorful tropical fish and temperature
controlled herpetariums accommodating exotic reptiles’
special needs for light and heat.
Outside, boas and pythons sun themselves in their cages
with tree trunks to climb and burrows to hide in. Just behind
Brady’s area is a medical lab where staffers prepare the
animals’ specialized food and administer medical attention
when necessary. It’s safe to say that Brady is a no-frills,
hands-on director who deeply loves all the creatures he
rescues and houses at Critter Haven in Vero Beach.
It all started about 20 years ago when Brady’s wife wanted
a pet and he bought her a hermit crab so she wouldn’t become
too attached. The plan didn’t work very well. Before
long, their home was bursting with birds, reptiles and mammals
that needed care. They decided to commit themselves to
saving abused and unwanted exotic animals and moved to a
10-acre property west of town. He built a beautiful home and
devoted the rest of the estate to the animal sanctuary. Using
all his own money, he built different buildings designed specifically
for the comfort of the species they housed. A 26-yearold
lemur lives in a 13-by-13-foot enclosure with a tree trunk
and enrichment objects to play on. The aviary building
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