Authored by Jaela Horton
“I held a chickadee in my hand,” was Chelsea Thibeault’s immediate thought after being asked about her fondest memories. “ I fed it and it was very happy, and cute, and I had three others surrounding me, and I was like ‘ahh.’” In the midst of her memory, Chelsea abruptly switched to the many times at the pond when she would, “ chase geese so that they could be [her] friends. I wanted them all,’ she deadpanned, “ I would try to befriend every animal from those flying to the little borrowers, like worms.”
Because of this worldly insight at an early age, Chelsea would mimic the ‘Crocodile Hunter’s good deeds. She hasn’t done anything quite as extreme as examining crocodiles ( not yet, at least), but she has copied the little things, such as moving helpless animals out of harm’s way, whenever she saw the opportunity. Performing these small acts of kindness, Chelsea learned, can sometimes go a long way for the animal itself.
She became solemn when recalling a memory where she was thrust into a situation and her dedication towards animals was put to the test. One day, while returning to her house, on the hard driveway writhed a chipmunk. Upon further inspection, Chelsea saw that its legs were moving in circles and its eyes were frantic. After convincing her mother, Chelsea was able to get gloves, and move it into a little patch of grass to take care of it while she could. With hawks circling around the spot she was crouched in, all she could do was stay with the chipmunk and make sure he was alive. “I was with him for a good two hours making sure he was okay, trying to give him some water… “ she says, “If it weren’t for me being there, I don’t think it would’ve made it at all.”
A recent event that encouraged her dream of working with nature was a trip down to the Dominican Republic. It was a school trip that she went on in February vacation and, despite the undoubtedly beautiful landscape it had to offer, what really made her want to return was the work she did. There, Chelsea and her classmates worked with a conservation group to look at the coral reefs. They focused on trees called Mangroves and, to get a closer look, they traveled to an island littered with them. They were enlightened to the simple things, as simple as certain types of sunscreen, that humans create and that disrupt – eventually kill off- the coral reefs.
Just when it seemed as if there was little hope, the tour guides not only reminded people that measures are being taken to restore the reef, but told the class that they would be assisting in doing so. Mangrove trees had the ability to absorb waste so towards the end of the trip, they grabbed some of their seedlings and replanted them closer to the reefs to prevent pollution.
Chelsea’s take away from the experience was that human intervention in nature isn’t always a bad thing; the least we can do is assist nature in their already armed fight against the grime we’ve created.“ The whole experience was actually life changing,” Chelsea sighed.
“Probably the best time I’ve ever had in my whole life.”
It’s these experiences that Chelsea keeps in mind at all times. Even with both her college and work career rapidly approaching, she uses the little time she has towards helping animals and the planet. The JM Pet Resort is clinic and daycare in Brockton where Chelsea is applying to work at, and she hopes to be able to volunteer at an animal shelter Mansfield. It’s at these places where Chelsea hopes to find her first official animal care job and boost her status in the veterinarian world.
“I want to be a vet tech,” she affirms. “ And every action I’ve taken up to now has been my own unique steps towards my goal; a goal that I will never give up on.”