Animal Person
Taking on an Institution

Posted: 16 Nov 2008 10:55 AM CST

The Backstory
I was invited (read: invited to pay $95) to a luncheon on Wednesday about TNR by an organization on Palm Beach that's not exactly friendly to outsiders. (I used to live there, and few people and fewer organizations there are friendly to outsiders.) Going in with a bang, I have RSVP'd that I assume lunch will be vegan (can you say No chance?). I look forward to the response I get, if any, in addition to the welcoming I get.

At mere weeks from turning 42, I will be the youngest person in attendance, probably by two decades. The organizer, who is a man, will likely be the only man in the room. There will be at least one other outsider, Dr. Julie Levy of the University of Florida.

Dr. Levy's clinical interests center on feline infectious diseases, neonatal kitten health, humane alternatives for cat population control, and immunocontraceptive vaccines for cats. She is the founder of two university-based feral cat spay/neuter programs which have sterilized more than 40,000 cats since 1994 (Operation Catnip). Dr. Levy’s accomplishments include publication of more than 100 journal articles and textbook chapters.

Fabulous.