Sinking savings to save them: See how this Miami local rehabilitates animals in the Everglades

When Martha Frassica-Rivera steps out her front door, fueled by two cups of coffee, she’s already at work. She lives and works at the Everglades Outpost, located in Homestead with her husband, two children, seven goats, three American crocodiles, five wolves, two panthers, one lion, one camel, one zebra and many other animals.

Frassica-Rivera, along with her husband, Jeff, is curator of the outpost. With the help of her general manager and volunteers, she rescues and rehabilitates animals in the hopes of eventually releasing them or finding them good homes.

“There’s nothing like seeing an animal go back to where it belongs,” she said.

Frassica-Rivera says the outpost incurs more than $200,000 in costs every year, from feed, medicine and enrichment to electricity bills and property maintenance.

The outpost has relied on membership fees and tours from visitors to sustain itself. However, their visitor numbers have not returned to their pre-COVID-19 level.

“Animals still needed help,” Frassica-Rivera said.

Recently, Frassica-Rivera says the couple has had to cut into Jeff’s construction salary or their personal savings, which they were hoping to use to buy a greater portion of land up north for the outpost.

They have researched and applied for grants, which they are waiting to hear back on, and are discussing funding options with Miami-Dade Animal Services.

If funding does not happen at the county level, the outpost’s foot traffic needs to pick up, or Frassica-Rivera will need to find new options. They may have to consider focusing on their permanent residents and ceasing rescues. Regardless, she is determined to keep the outpost going.

“Is someone gonna starve? No, absolutely not,” Frassica-Rivera said. “Their quality of life is not gonna go down, but we need something more sustainable besides sinking our savings.”