What’s a dream for many people has become a reality for Devin Kenney, a biology and chemistry major, and his brother Joe, both members of the class of 2015.
They’ve turned their hobby into a business.
When they were young teens, the brothers founded a company called Joe’s Craz-zy Critters.
“We do everything, snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, salamanders, alligator, scorpions, and we are starting to do mammals like hedgehogs, bunnies, cats and dogs,” Mr. Kenney said. (The pet monkey the brothers have is just that, a pet only.)
Through the business, the brothers travel to schools, libraries, and camps around the South Shore, sometimes going as far as New Hampshire, providing a hands-on educational experience for people of all ages.
It was a humble operation at first, capitalizing on the young men’s shared love of all things reptilian and the handful of scaly critters they owned. Today, there are more than 200 exotic creatures housed in the Kenney household – mostly reptiles, with a few small mammals in the mix. Nowadays, they’re all part of the show.
“Other shows don’t let you touch the animals, we usually bring 15 animals to a show and you can touch all but two of them,” said Mr. Kenney.
They get the creatures from animal shows, taking only a couple years to develop a wide diversity of reptiles and mammals.
“Before school started we drove down to North Carolina to an animal show, it was like a craft fair, excet with animals. We got ten new animals in that one day. For us to buy ten things isn’t that big of a deal,” Mr. Kenney said.
As one can imagine not all of these animals are friendly, but it’s still worth the effort of caring for them and sharing the stage with them during their events.
“I have pretty much been bitten by everything. Not at the shows, the ones brought to the shows we make sure are friendly. Out of 200 animals there is always something that is going to bite you,” said Mr. Kenney.
The Kenney brothers’ love for their animals is evident, especially as Devin talks about it being less a business than a hobby, with all the money that’s made from their shows reinvested in the upkeep of their critters.
“When we make money it usually goes to buying new animals, food and the shows,” he said.
Going to school full time and spending 20 hours a week taking care of 200 animals isn’t enough for Mr. Kenney. He also works two part time jobs. His brother is a biology major at Bridgewater, who works full time at Johnson & Johnson in Raynham.
As Mr. Kenney nears the end of his time at BSU, and he explained that he either wants to enter a medical Ph.D program or go to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. Either choice may mean leaving Joe’s Craz-zy Critters to his older brother, while he helps as much as he can on weekends.
The business has been great fun, but also has its more transcendent moments. Mr. Kenney explained the most memorable reaction he received while doing a show in front of a classroom full of students with special needs.
“The best reaction was with a young boy who asked questions during the show,” Mr. Kenney recalled. “It had been two months into school and he hadn’t spoken a word until that day. He then started talking to his teachers after.” (Story by Caitlin Seddon, University News)
