Dr. Deborah Cottrell
Dr. Deborah Cottrell (formerly Kemmerer) graduated with Bachelor's
degrees in Zoology and Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. While working on a post-graduate degree in Molecular
Genetics, she was accepted to Texas A & M College of Veterinary Medicine and left UT to pursue her first love, a career
in veterinary medicine. She obtained her veterinary medical degree in 1980 from Texas A & M. She has been in private
practice ever since, and has acquired extensive experience in canine and feline medicine as well as pursuing a special interest
in small mammals. This includes medicine and surgery of exotic pets such as rodents, prairie dogs, and rabbits; she is a nationally
recognized authority on ferrets and has a special place in her heart for these lovable creatures. She has also acquired a
love of bats and the good things they do for our environment.
After acquiring her first ferret in 1982 in Galveston, Texas she moved
to Gainesville, Florida and began learning as much as possible about these little beasts, applying what she already knew about
dogs and cats. Word of Dr. K's interest in ferrets spread rapidly in the ferret community and before long she was being referred
to as a "ferret specialist." She now 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.
Dr. Cottrell has authored several medical publications and presentations, has been a speaker at the North American Veterinary Conference,
the National Conference of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the National Small Mammal Conference. She has
been interviewed on national television and is featured in an episode of PBS' "The Gentle Doctor" series on veterinary medicine.
Dr. C's personal interests are music and science fiction. Her hobbies
are paintball, which she plays as part of Team Ronin, windsurfing, and fencing. In Feb 2004 she married Iaon
Cottrell and embarked on a new life adventure. They have one Miniature Pinscher named Katie and a full-sized
Doberman named Ramona.
