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Teri Sue Wright, DVM
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Dr. Wright grew up in New Jersey watching her mother rescue wild animals among the menagerie of their pets. Her horse became her main focus during junior high and high school as she trained and showed in 3-day eventing. That passion took her to a private college in Virginia, where she studied horsemanship and business. She then transferred to Old Dominion University and completed a biology degree in 1991. Her long-term career with animals began with her first job at a veterinary hospital in South Carolina. Seeing a need in the community, she quit to start a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation organization. The seed was planted to become a vet during that project. After moving to Oregon in 1995, she worked at the local humane society in Corvallis for 2 ½ years, then started veterinary school at Oregon State University, graduating in 2001.
While working in a conventional clinic for several years, Teri Sue felt that the medicine she was practicing wasn't quite right, as her patients just didn't seem to be getting well. In 2005, she left the clinic she was working for to focus on her new son who was born with disabilities. His needs led her to research alternative medical practices and changed her whole lifestyle. She began seeing clients in their homes and experimented with putting dogs and cats on raw diets and whole food supplements. Finally she began to feel good about the results she was seeing! She continues to study nutrition and herbal medicine while expanding her mobile practice. Teri Sue is a single mom of two children, ages 12 and 14, with a new addition of her recently adopted puppy from our local shelter and a few rescued cats. She spends her time volunteering for RideAble, preparing nutrient dense meals, reading, dancing, and being outdoors. |
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Ryann Haworth, BA, RMT
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Ryann has a passion for animals and holistic care. She has been enjoying the presence of animals in her life since she can remember. She grew up with a household of pets and she rode horses for recreation and show. Ryann bred and showed Chinese Shar Peis and administered vaccines to her puppies and horses. She ensured each puppy found the perfect home and the new pet parents had her trainers' information. Ryann believes it's important to begin training right from the start.
Ryann’s holistic experience stems from her adolescent years. She began studying what people and pets eat when she was diagnosed with digestive issues. She learned that gut health isn’t just about what you eat but about how you are handling your emotions as well. Ryann lives by the guide that the body is one unit and every part needs to be cared for in order for the body to function at its fullest potential. In 2006, Ryann earned her BA in Psychology, in 2007 she opened Not For Dogs Only, a grain-free organic dog treat company and in 2008, she became a certified Reiki Master and opened her business, Lovelight Reiki. Ryann has over 20 years of Administrative experience with 15 of those years being in management. Ryann brings her achievements to BVC as our Office Manger. She joined our team at the end of October 2019. When Ryann isn’t at BVC, she is playing with her toddler son, Bodhi and pup, Kaya Rose. The three of them enjoy exploring the outdoors, cooking, crafting, singing, meditating, performing Reiki, and simply, just spending time together. Ryann also enjoys giving back to the community. Currently she is the Board Treasurer for The Forrest Initiative, a non-profit that provides CBD medication to children with epilepsy. |
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Brittany Weidmann
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Brittany has always loved animals since she was very young. Her passion for animals and their well-being is something that has driven her to become active in pursuing ways to help animals in her community. She is a Lane County area native, and has 6 dogs at home, 5 of them being rescues from kill shelters. She loves to take her dogs on hikes and long walks, and especially loves to see them enjoying the coastal areas and the local waterfalls and hiking trails.
Brittany has spent time working in veterinary offices as a veterinary assistant, and she has also worked in a dog day care facility. She has spent a few years fostering dogs that are rescued from shelters, as well as donating her time to help with the foster organization. Brittany has provided pet sitting at her home or at her clients’ houses, and she loves getting to know the dogs and cats she watches. In addition to her involvement in fostering and pet sitting, Brittany is a skilled pet portrait artist. She loves being able to capture other people’s beloved pets and provide them with a portrait they can enjoy. Brittany believes in providing animals with a complete and preventative method of care, and while some situations may require more traditional methods, she feels that giving our animals love, care, activity and quality food goes a long way to letting them have a long and healthy life. Her passion and genuine care for animals is something that shines though in everything Brittany does. |
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Jack Arguello
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Jack is a self-taught herbalist who has always loved animals and plant medicine. He grew up in Sacramento, California tending to stray cats that would rest in his front yard. He then went on to start a pet-sitting service for his community, providing in-home care for cats, dogs, and other small animals. Jack has 4 years of experience working as an administrative assistant. He joined the Balance team in October 2020 as a receptionist, later moving up to a clinic assistant.
His interest in plants started when he was young, as he would help his grandmother collect herbs from her garden to create salves and tinctures. In 2018 he enrolled in the Herbal Academy, and has been a student since. In 2020 he opened Honest Herbals Apothecary, a small-batch herbal goods shop focusing on sustainability and organic ingredients. Today, he is working on obtaining his degree in animal behavior and plans to study veterinary medicine at Oregon State University. Jack likes to hang out with his rescue cat, Oliver and his partner, Chloe. Jack has been a drummer for 8 years, and often enjoys his spare time practicing his chops and listening to music. When he’s not making charcuterie boards with his girlfriend and cat, they like to meditate, create art, and watch movies together. |
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Ray Jackson
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Ray grew up on a small self-sustaining farm in North Carolina where she grew to love and care for animals from goats, chickens, and horses, to barn cats, farm dogs, and occasional orphaned birds, squirrels or raccoons. As a child, Ray loved to experiment with different types of soils and patches of sunlight to see which helped plants grow best. Her mother was constantly finding surprise plants all over the farm. As she grew older, she became more and more interested in the deeper layers of science, like the consciousness of plants, animals, and humans. She went on to attain a bachelor’s degree double majoring in Biology and Philosophy and began traveling around the country as a primitive survival therapy instructor.
Landing in Oregon marked a major shift in her life, such that she discovered holistic approaches as commonplace treatments for many of the disorders that she had been helping to address as a primitive survival instructor. Inspired by these practices, Ray’s thirst for knowledge pushed her to return to school at the University of Oregon where she attained her degree in cognitive neuroscience, focusing on research in meditation practices and where she has begun work towards her doctorate at the Neuromeditation Institute and Oregon Research Institute. Ray joined our team to assist in scheduling and administrative duties, and plans to aid Dr. Wright in tracking and evaluating for further exploration the benefits of her holistic approaches to animal health. Ray has a young daughter who loves animals, science, and art, and two kitties, Artemis and Gazy, who she recently adopted. In her free time, Ray enjoys performing vaudeville and juggling alongside her husband, as well as canoeing, juggling, and playing music. |
