It's the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for one of Maine's most well-known and well-loved animal attractions.

The History:

Families across Maine have come to know the name Mr. Drew, as the man with all the cool animals.

Mr. Drew and his animals, Cori Skall

Aside from the hundreds of talks he's done with his exotic critters to school kids across the Pine Tree State, Drew Desjardins, (know to most of us now as Mr. Drew) has also operated his "Natural Science Hands-on Museum and Exotic Rescue/Reptile Zoo" out of a few different locations in Maine over the last decade.

For years, he was set up in the Lewiston Mall. Most recently, this past January, he and his many volunteers moved the entire operation of the Mr. Drew and His Animals Too Education Center to their latest location of Poland, Maine. 

Mr. Drew and His Animals Too via Facebook

Mr. Drew has not only been educating the public on the animals he has, but he's been rescuing them as well, often taking in animals that humane societies will not.

What's Happening Now?

With his new facility up and running this year, and Mr. Drew appearing at speaking engagements around the state, things seemed to chugging right along.

But, as is often the case in life, sometimes challenges arise and force you to change your focus.

This year has been a tough one for many, economically, and that is certainly affecting many small businesses and nonprofits throughout Maine.

Mr. Drew and His Animals Too via Facebook

Another thing that often has an impact on people is when a loved one unexpectedly becomes ill. And when it's your child, and they end up in the hospital for an extended period of time, the world just stops, and your priorities shift, as they should.

It is this combination of recent challenges that led Mr. Drew and his team to make the very difficult decision to close the doors to their new facility, permanently.

He made the announcement over the Mr. Drew and His Animals Too Facebook Page earlier this week.

Mr. Drew and His Animals Too via Facebook

"Mr. Drew and His Animals Too Education Center in Beautiful Poland, Maine is OFFICIALLY CLOSING OUR DOORS FOREVER ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 31st. Please know Mrs. Drew and I have accepted this decision and we are NOT seeking a 'Hail Mary', any public financial support or a GoFundMe...Many of you will suggest other locations like the Auburn Mall but we do not have the finances for another move nor do we have the mental capacity to start over again...With everything going on in our lives, Mrs. Drew and I are getting older and stretched way too thin to continue at this pace."

How Will The Closure Work?

Drew says for the remainder of the month, the facility will stay open from 10 AM to 4 PM, 7 days a week, so that those who have purchased passes can use them, as they will not be able to offer refunds. They will also be open on Indigenous Peoples Day and are planning to go ahead with the Pokemon Event they had planned in advance of the decision to close. They are also in the process of reaching out to those schools and individuals who had book out for parties and field trips past the October 31st date.

What's next for Mr. Drew and His Animals Too?

The Drews sold their home of 20 years to make the move to Poland, so they don't plan to leave the community, especially after all the community did to welcome them in the first place. But they cannot sustain maintaining the facility, all of the animals and their duties to their family all at the same time.

Mr. Drew says that they plan to return to their roots of animal education and outreach, and will continue to book out traveling exhibits for birthday parties, homeschool or scouting functions and community events.

Mr. Drew and his animals, Cori Skall

For those who had already booked Mr. Drew for the rest of this year, 2027 or 2028, he plans to honor those engagements, as well.

As for the animals, Mr. Drew says his team is working on that right now, but assures everyone that they will all end up in safe places.

Mr. Drew and His Animals Too via Facebook

"We cannot move all my animals into my home but many will come with me as I continue to do my outreach, the remaining will be move to educational facilities or sanctuaries that I fully trust. No animal will be euthanized and we are NOT adopting animals out publicly nor taking animals it but you email, I may be able to direct you to other resources."

Mr. Drew says he will be taking a step back from social media for a while, to focus on family and rebrand in a simpler way. If you wish to book him for an event, you can email a request to mr.drewsanimals2@yahoo.com.

Mr. Drew and his animals, Cori Skall

We wish Mr. Drew, his family, his crew and all the animals all the best in this next chapter they will write.