If you want to know what Dr. Debbie Cottrell (formerly Kemmerer) has
been up to since she married a younger man, which "I highly recommend,"
she says, you just need to visit her website
( http://weah4.tripod.com/index.html ).  By the way, the younger man,
Iaon, "he says I'm running him into the ground."
 
Since we first met Iaon in Atlanta, he has become the Practice Manager,
IT Guy, Handyman and General Go-To Guy at the West End Veterinary
Hospital.  It is important you know that he enjoys poker, composing
electronic music, digital filmmaking, fencing, paintball and windsurfing,
because these are the things that Dr. Cottrell also enjoys -- except for
the filmmaking.  Dr. C instead finds herself on the other side of the
camera, having appeared in PBS' "The Gentle Doctor" series on veterinary
medicine.
 
Dr. Cottrell had her first ferret dumped on her while working in
Galveston, TX nearly 25 years ago.  She saved this little life and
learned as much as she could.  Now she is recognized as one of the
outstanding ferret vets in the United States.  Known for her work in
ferret cardiology, Dr. C treats about 1600 ferrets a year and sees many
ferret patients from all over Florida and the southeastern U.S.  She
has performed and pioneered several unusual surgeries and led a team that
performed the first-ever successful pacemaker implantation in a ferret.
 
Her interest in ferrets grew after that and she decided to pursue her
interest in small mammals, including BATS!  This past February Iaon (an
experienced Bat Anesthetist) and Dr. C were flown to Costa Rico to neuter
some Jamaican Fruit Bats.  This was necessary so so they could go into a
sanctuary/eco-exhibit.  "Their caretakers didn't trust any local vets to
do it right, so they flew us down there.  They even paid for Iaon to go
since he's an experienced Bat Anesthetist (not many of those around)...
we did surgery for one afternoon and spent the rest of the week being
tourists.  It was wonderful!"
 
There's a relatively new publication on ferret heartworms on the
website--go to the Doctors page, click on Articles and Presentations.
Other than ferrets, Dr. C continues to educate people about bats.  Her
March presentation to the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association
can also be found on the website.  Her practice in Florida is 20 years
old now and "we're doing some remodeling and improvements for our 20th
anniversary.  Our hospital was founded in 1986, and we're going to have
a big open house soon."
 
For Christmas Dr. C and Iaon got new motorcycles.  "I have a Yamaha R6
(600 cc) and Iaon has a Suzuki GSXR 750 cc.  I am definitely getting
addicted.  Iaon used to race "when he was young" according to him--like
he's OLD now," said Dr. Cottrell.
 
When asked how things changed since the hurricanes hit Florida, Dr.
Cottrell stated that the "most important thing was our time in New
Orleans after Katrina.  Any damage (to their practice) from the
hurricanes the previous year just paled in comparison."
 
If you would like to read about their time in New Orleans, check out
her Katrina blogs on the website.  "Out of everything I've ever done
involving animals, that was without a doubt the most significant to me.
It was a life-changing experience.  We ended up with quite a few Katrina
animals, including six ferrets."
 
Dr. C is excited about her upcoming trip to Canada.  Granted there has
not been much time for planning, but there is one thing that caught her
eye.  "I do remember seeing some special on TV about two strippers from
Toronto who were competing in the National Stripper Contest or whatever
it was exactly."
[Posted in FML issue 5229]