My name is Melissa. I work full time in the mortgage industry. The rest of my time is spent with my husband and son on our small farm in rural Yamhill Co. The ferret shelter is located on our property. We also have a dog, a cat, alpacas and chickens and plan to add more animals to the farm down the road. I received my first ferret when I was 18 as a gift for my birthday. It was love at first site. I named her Figment. The only problem was I didn’t know the first thing about caring for her. That was over 20 years ago and I have learned a lot about ferrets since then and still search for new information regularly. When the local ferret shelter moved from the area we decided to open the Willamette Valley Ferret Shelter. With the help of family, friends and fellow ferret lovers from the community we were able to open our doors in July of 2016.

My name is Lisa Harris. I am a CPA, with an MBA in Accounting and undergraduate degrees in Finance, Economics and Global Studies. I also hold a Certificate in Non Profit Fundraising from the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at UMKC. I got my first shelter ferret in 1997 from the Kansas City Ferret Rescue. I had never had ferrets before and they required that I read a specific book and pass a quiz. Shelters are great resources whether you are new to ferrets or have had them for a long time. There is always something new to learn about these fun-loving, sensitive little guys and ferret proofing is definitely an ongoing learning experience! J My husband and I currently care for ten ferrets, three cats, three tarantulas, and two fish tanks. I love all ferrets, especially ones that cause tons of chaos and perhaps nibble a bit harder than they should, and want to further the mission of finding loving, forever homes for them all!

My name is Kay Wing. I am retired and the mother of four children, three girls and one boy. I have eight grandchildren, four boys and four girls, ranging in age from nine months to twenty seven. I enjoy the outdoors in various ways, i.e. gardening, hiking in nature, walking around the block, camping, snow shoeing etc. I have always been an animal lover and so much enjoy the silliness of ferrets, the loyalty of dogs and animals in general. I like to be creative and have a project going most of the time. This can be as simple as drawing and coloring with my grandson to remodeling my home.

I have lived in Oregon for the past 17 years and love our rainy days. I currently work for Umpqua Bank as a mortgage underwriter. I am the owner of two very spoiled cats.

Dr. Katrina Ramsell was born and raised in a small Kansas town and received a Bachelor of Science in Cellular Biology in 1992 from the University of Kansas. She received a Doctorate in Neuropharmacology in 1997 and a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2000 from Michigan State University. Dr. Ramsell has had a passionate interest in ferrets since she was owned by her first ferret in 1986 and she attended veterinary school with the intention of becoming an exotic animal veterinarian. After working primarily with exotics as an associate veterinarian for seven years, Dr. Ramsell opened Northwest Exotic Pet Vet LLC in April 2008, where high quality care is provided exclusively to ferrets, rabbits, rodents, reptiles and other exotic pets. Dr. Ramsell practices clinically applied research in hopes of helping to advance exotic animal medicine. Dr. Ramsell’s articles have been published in Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, Veterinary Pathology, Journal of Neuroendocrinology, Neuroscience Letters, Journal of Neurocytology, Society of Neuroscience Abstracts, Brain Research Bulletin, Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), Exotic DVM, American Ferret Report, Rabbits USA, Ferrets magazine, and the Cascade Summit.. Dr. Ramsell is married and has three sons, Benjamin, Matthew, and Daniel. In her spare time, she enjoys reading to her children, family road trips, science fiction movies, and playing the piano and clarinet. She is currently owned by three ferrets, Rico, Toasty, and Sacajawea, and a leopard gecko named Jedi.