The Pipsqueakery

Audio, footage, and script by Mackenzie Lionberger

Written article by Jasmine Wright 

Alexandra Hernley, the co-owner and founder of the Pipsqueakery, got a call early in the morning about an injured rat rescued from a parking lot in downtown Bloomington. One of her volunteers had approached the rat and deemed it domesticated when the little guy crawled into her hand. 

Now, the volunteers’ cherry red Prius sits in the gravel driveway while the other co-owner and founder, Jason Minsterketter, uses various tools on the car. The rat had been spooked halfway through the drive to the rescue and rehabilitation center, climbing into the volunteer’s steering wheel. 

Hernley said there is always something, every day, at every hour. 

“Yesterday, it was a squirrel with its back legs not working,” she said. “The day before that, it was a wobbly groundhog.” 

The Pipsqueakery is a non-profit rescue and sanctuary located on the outskirts of Bloomington, Indiana. The property is home to over 350 rodents, reptiles, and small animals in need of medical attention, proper care, etc. 

Katie Law, a worker and volunteer at the Pipsqueakery tells the story of two Sulcata tortoises that came in for medical attention. They had been kept for an unknown period of time in a basement with a kiddie pool and cat litter. They didn’t have heat or proper light. They weren’t getting proper food. Law remembered taking pictures of them when they first arrived at the sanctuary. 

“I thought they were Russian tortoises because Sulcatas should be very circular, very dome-shaped,” she explained. “These were flat, like a little pancake. And when you held them in the beginning, they squished like a Subway sandwich.”

Minsterketter and Hernley got them into a vet. They both went through months of injections and recovery. Law said their health went from slow-moving to rapid improvement. 

“They’re more active, and happier generally,” she said. “I remember when the vet said they couldn’t be outside for too long because their bones might break just from walking, but now they can.”

Law also spoke about two capybaras, Milo and Vinny, who had been brought to their rescue. They had been living in a petting zoo where the owners did not bother to give them proper heating to fight northern U.S. winters. Capybaras are native to South America, and when Milo and Vinny were left outside to fend for themselves, all

of their toes on all four of their legs were frostbitten. Milo and Vinny now walk on nubs. 

“They have to walk slower than most capybaras, and they can’t get the zoomies because they can’t run,” said Law, “but they are much happier here and we make sure to take proper care of them.”

Proper care for the animals takes resources and money. Before COVID, the Pipqueakery could ask for donations and receive $60 or so. Now, they receive pennies. 

Hernley had originally graduated from law school and became a lawyer. She quit and started the Pipsqueakery with Minsterketter because she felt it was more important work. 

“I’m thinking of going back to practicing though,” she said, “to help out with our finances here.”

Upstairs, a full medical center holds supplies for all types of injuries and ailments the animals might need. Every week a vet comes on-site and checks up on those who aren’t doing well, but Hernley re

membered some months when they could only afford to get the vet in once or twice. 

“We really need people to donate and volunteer,” Hernley said. “We want to keep this place running, but I don’t know how long we will be able to without the public’s help.”

Minsterketter had finally gotten the rat out of the volunteer’s car. He put it in a cage where it sits now in the medical center, waiting to be examined by their on-call vet. They decided to name the rat Prius.