Bug Boy

by Chad Haines

Gently placing a spider the size of a dessert plate onto the hands of strangers isn’t in most people’s job descriptions, but I had to start somewhere. Like many before me I found myself freshly graduated from college with the challenge of how to break into a career in my field. My particular area of interest was animals, but how can I get started and work my way up in a field swarming with unemployed animal lovers?This book details my experiences working with spiders, insects, starfish, unruly children, and a motley assortment of people who I am desperately trying to impress and gain a shred of respect from. Any opportunity I had I took. Talk show appearances? Check. Interview by a puppet on camera for PBS? Check. Want me to talk to a roomful of rich people and convince them to give us money for endangered tarantulas? Give me a drink or two and check. My journey from green college grad to legitimate zookeeper (for animals with spines anyway) was surprising and hilarious. Simply read my accounts and you’ll see - cutting your professional teeth by playing with creepy crawlies isn’t for the squeamish.

145 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2019