What Happens if Devin Gets Hit by a Bus?

Devin Dombrowski

As much as I don't like the thought of getting hit by a bus, it's something that I have to think about as Wildlife Rehabilitation MD grows. What happens if I really do get hit by a bus? What happens if I decide I've had enough of this and I move to Belize permanently? What happens if California falls into the ocean? What happens if...

Basically, What is the Backup Plan?

First of all, I don't have any plans to run away or get hit by a bus. That said, life is unpredictable and Wildlife Rehabilitation MD is becoming a really big deal, so a backup plan has become more and more relevant. When we first started envisioning Wildlife Rehabilitation MD there were three guiding rules that we wanted to always adhere by. The first rule is that we wanted the database to be as user-friendly as possible. From the feedback we are getting it sounds like we're doing well on that front. The second rule is to ensure the integrity of the data, which includes the integrity and longevity of the entire service. Since day one, I have been planting seeds and documenting things that could be used in the event of my demise. For example all of the code that is used to create Wildlife Rehabilitation MD is documented and version controlled. In other words it can always be re-created, redeployed or rolled back in the event that any of those are needed. Also, the entire database is backed up twice a day and could be easily restored if there was a catastrophic failure.

But Who Would Do This If Devin Really Was Hit by a Bus?

Many of the seeds that I've been planting are the people I/we've brought in to help do all the work that's needed. For example, we now have another developer and a designer working with us. We also have a couple of people doing some customer support and tutorial writings. We've also given a confidential document with all of the passwords and authentication for all the services we use, to a lawyer.

What About the Financial Longevity?

Another good and common question, since we are offering a free service to a community that is not known for its financial abundance. The simple answer is that right now we are fortunate that our expenses are not too much and we have been very fortunate with our donations received. It's true that as we grow our expenses will likely increase, so we are exploring alternative ways to help fund our cause and welcome the chance to speak with potential investors. Ultimately our most valuable assets are the users, so as we grow and our expense increase we are also becoming more relevant and catching the attention of agencies and universities that want to help us.

I Believe That We Are Here to Stay

Like any fledgling start-up we are as fragile as a baby. But the truth is that we are achieving great growth and actually developing a solution to a worldwide problem. The people that have joined us and are supporting us financially all believe in our cause. We are not only helping the wildlife rehabilitation community but can also make a true impact in wildlife conservation.Wildlife Rehabilitation MD is stable and if from this point on we never made any changes then all would be well. But life demands changes and if I do get hit by a bus, I feel confident that the WRMD team as well as the WRMD users will join together and continue this service.Devin DombrowskiWildlife Rehabilitation MD co-founder