Lisa DeSisto
House Manager

I have been here at Destiny since it opened several years ago. Little did I know when I answered an ad for "house manager wanted, MUST love animals" what I was about to get into, and what an interesting twist my life was about to take!

The simple, little ad that changed my life as I knew it was so "innocent looking." One would normally think this lady must have a lot of cats and dogs, possibly horses since she lives in a rural area, maybe a bird or two that she needs help with, you know, the usual house pets, but no, nothing that tame for my employer.

Imagine being asked during a job interview questions such as: how would you feel about starting your day bottle feeding two Bengal tiger cubs that live in the house? Or what are your thoughts about trying to sweep the floor, answer the phones and find a way to settle a "toy dispute" between a lion and a lynx who both lay claim to the same teddy bear?

I knew right then and there that although my previous job as a nurse's aid would probably come in handy - to help mend the cuts and bruises one is bound to encounter when trying to "toilet train" a 90lb tiger cub - I was about to receive the most unique "on the job training" in my work history.

I grew up in Naples Florida, where a relative of mine was involved in taking care of exotics for his job. One of my earliest memories of him was when he would stop by our house on his way home with one of his charges, which was usually a young chimpanzee, so I could play with it. I remember thinking back then at age eight, how cool it would be to have these exotic animals running around the house.
Well, you know what they say, be careful for what you ask, for you just might get it!

Looking back on my history with Destiny, it still amazes me what my "typical" workday consist of now and how I came to be here from one innocent looking newspaper ad.

So you might ask, what exactly is a house manager's typical day like on a big cat compound? Well, first of all, there is no such a thing for there can never be a set routine here. When you have animals to look after, just like small children, your whole world revolves around them and their needs. While I may have planned on starting my day doing laundry and making beds, the lynx may have other plans for me. He may want me to sit on the couch with him and watch Animal Planet while I feed him his favorite treat, almond coffee creamer.

When the cubs are young, they stay in the house until they are about six months old and at 150 lbs or so. When they get older, they are moved outside to live in custom-built ¼ acre habitats with swimming pools and jungle gyms. Now, this does not mean that as adults they do not stop by the house to say hi to me.
Once again, my routine may have to be reworked to fit into the agenda for a house visit from Baja, an 800lb. Siberian male tiger who likes to eat his bone hanging off the futon couch that now groans under his weight!

Now, I don't want you to get the idea that I treat all these animals as if they were house pets because they're not! These animals will always be wild and I am in the position, as their "surrogate mom," to be able to interact with them in the house if they come to us as cubs. But as all of us know here, this is a serious business of life and death. These animals will always retain their wild instincts, and the very same cubs I bottled-fed two years earlier are now full grown adults with a very real sense of who they are, Kings and Queens of the Jungle, and they expect to be treated accordingly.

Also, my position here involves some very serious moments and tremendous responsibility. Since the compound has to be staffed 24/7, it is my job to keep up and operational two houses, two offices and meet the needs of five other staff members.

As Victoria's Personal Assistant, along with my house managing duties, I am directly responsible for keeping her on track, on target and on time! It is not an easy job trying to keep up with a woman who considers a 14 hour workday a light load. It is my job to keep her world running smoothly so that when she is out working hands-on with these majestic albeit, lethal animals, her total concentration is focused on keeping herself and her partner alive and safe, and not wondering whether or not her clothes are clean.

Here at Destiny, we have a lot of different people with skills that contribute to a safe, healthy and fun working environment. For my part, being the head "zookeeper" here for the human resident has been a fascinating journey. In my world, there is no such thing as a ho-hum day. Knowing that I am doing my part to save these awesome animals from extinction for generations to come leaves me with a sense of pride and accomplishment on a daily basis. I am proud of my contributions to Destiny Big Cat Sanctuary, and look forward to a lasting career here with both my 2-legged and 4-legged charges.