I'm always fascinated when there is a story in the news about some dude who at his house

has a tiger and a lion and 42 snakes and a rhino and he's just killed somebody and he's got

an exotic car and he has chains around his neck and he's a wacko and it turns out his neighbors

say he's a complete and utter nut. So what happens to these animals when they're recovered? Somebody

has to take them in and the local zoo can't do it. So we saw a story that caught our attention

because these types of personalities and, of course, exotic animals hold our interest. This is a

story from K-H-O-U. Inside this Houston storefront it's a walk on the wild side. This is Houston

underground animals. Nick Lewis independently funded rescue takes in creatures. Is he making

it? He's on the line. That's him doing it one more time. I don't know if that's a real deal or

not. That's kind of impressive. All right, play the story again. Inside this Houston storefront

it's a walk on the wild side. This is Houston underground animals. Nick Lewis independently

funded rescue takes in creatures of all shapes and sizes. Some of them are 20, 30-foot snakes.

We get exotic animals like monkeys and lemurs. We get crocodiles and more common reptiles. Beared

at dragons, but just like the dog and cat influx and shelters space here has become a premium. We

typically rescue five maybe 10 animals a month. Then ever since about November of last year,

we average anywhere from 30 to 40. A problem, he says that's exploded in the last six months,

but can be traced back to the spike in the pet market during the pandemic. The new toy kind of

thing wears off and then they have an animal of responsibility that they're taking care of, which can

require more time. Bugs, three days a week, salads, three days a week, research, two different types of

light. They need heat and they need UVB. Room, this cage is four foot by two foot and resources. Who wants

to go in and spend $700 when you could spend 300 on quote-unquote the same thing? Then some new

owners are willing to commit to. There's no one to take them in, so they will literally take them and put them

...