A Nanaimo woman who has been taking in animals that are ‘unadoptable’ has gone viral on social media for how she cares for them.
Marley Daviduk’s farm in Cedar, Nanaimo is full of animals; at first glance, it might appear just like any other farm.
But this farm is unique.
“I realize that every time I go to a shelter or a rescue I ask, 'Who do you have that is unadoptable? Who has been here the longest? Who has health issues? Who has been adopted out and returned?” says Daviduk.
She works full-time as a welder and calls her farm a micro-sanctuary for unwanted animals. Horses, cats, chickens, goats and mules all call this their forever home now.
“I just get a lot of pleasure in giving these animals a retirement when no one else is really interested in them,” she tells Glacier Media.
At her property, she has adopted animals that are senior, at risk, badly behaved and have special needs.
“There’s a huge need for a permanent resting place for special needs animals, they have nowhere else to go.”
Daviduk created a TikTok account called ‘The Unadoptables,’ which rapidly gained attention and drew more than a half-million views.
During B.C.'s heat wave last week, Daviduk created a viral video showing how she was keeping her animals hydrated.
“A lot of our animals are seniors and they were really struggling,” she says.
She was using buckets of water to cool down the chickens; in some cases, she hosed animals down and even ran cables from the home to allow for fans.
“They were extremely distressed,” says Daviduk. “That heat was horrific. It felt like we were breathing right in front of the oven. It was terrible.”
Temperatures continued to soar with many places in B.C. reaching 45 C. That's when Daviduk decided to try something different to ensure her furry family members didn't overheat.
“We went to the store and bought out all their popsicles, Gatorade and freezies,” she says.
By adding a small bit of Gatorade to the animals' water, she says it helped them drink more water.
“We didn’t end up losing any, which was a miracle because they were really struggling.”
Daviduk also used a syringe to get water into the animals' mouth and gave them watermelon.
“My sister and I worked 18 hours that day from morning till night keeping the animals alive and we were absolutely shattered tired,” she says.
Through her viral TikTok videos, she was able to receive donations for her farm to help with their care.
“The thing that limits us the most when we take on special needs animals is vet bills because a lot of them are on medication. A lot of them have need surgeries,” she says.
The donations, which come through an online membership platform called Patreon, have helped her cover the bills.
Daviduk says the barn does not have electricity or running water and she hopes as her TikTok grows she’ll be able to do upgrades and give more unwanted animals a home.
