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Home Divine Feline News About Divine Feline Bequests |
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The Mobile Surgical Unit affectionately known as "The Beast" |
Our Story Susanna Russo and Erica Rambus met during their first year of veterinary medical school at Colorado State University in 1992. As each continued her quest to improve the well being of animals, they eventually decided to join their efforts on the issue of feral cat overpopulation. In 2003 with a donated RV renovated to serve as a MobileAnimal Surgical Hospital, Divine Feline came into being. On a long-awaited day in April 2003, we drove to the feral colony and with the help of Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance, trapped, vaccinated, and spayed/neutered 10 feral cats. The cats were transported from their colony to a donated location in Denver where they were fed and cared for overnight before being released back to their colony. Today Divine Feline is the only organization in the Denver metro area solely dedicated to spay/neuter of feral cats at their colonies. Trap, neuter, return (TNR) is the most effective, humane program for the reduction of feral cat populations and spay/neuter prevents the perpetuation of future generations of feral cats (In the absence of the TNR humane method, many cats continue to be trapped and killed). With the generous support of our volunteers and donors, we can spay and neuter over 100 cats a month.
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Our Advisory Board |
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| Gregory J. Fasing |
Greg Fasing graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Economics. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder with a Juris Doctor degree. He was admitted to the Colorado Bar in October 1976 and was appointed a Deputy District Attorney on November 1, 1976 and was a Special Assistant Attorney General. He was admitted to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in 1976; the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in 1984; and to the United States Supreme Court in 1985. Mr. Fasing is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Colorado Trial Lawyer's Association, the Colorado Bar Association and the Denver Bar Association. He was appointed by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Luis Rovira to the Denver District Court Commission on Judicial Performance from 1992 through 1999. In 1994 Mr. Fasing was appointed by the Foreign Minister of the Slovak Republic to represent Slovakia as its honorary consul in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. Greg is married to attorney Suzanne Fasing and they have two children. |
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| Karen Herndon |
Karen Herndon received her B.S. from The University of Nebraska and an M.S. and Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University. She served as the Director of Teacher Education at the University of Colorado at Denver; Director of Staff Development for Cherry Creek Schools in Denver, CO, and retired from the University of Denver where she served as the Dean for Academic Affairs at University College. Karen published four books and
many articles on American Indian history
and Cultures with a focus on not only the education of American Indian
students, but also teaching about American Indians with historical and
cultural accuracy. She recently completed a book
for children on American Indians in Colorado for Fulcrum Publishers.
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Paula Laprise
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Paula LaPrise has worked in the commercial banking industry for over 20 years in various lending and credit underwriting positions. She joined Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in 1997 and is currently a Vice President in the Credit Management Group in Denver CO. Before entering the banking profession, Paula served as a Staff Assistant for Senator Byron Dorgan in Washington, D.C. Paula's love for cats began as a child growing up on a farm in North Dakota where there were many cats, both tame and feral. Today, she and her husband, Kevin, are guardians for Sam and Sheba, two beautiful feral cats. In addition to being a Divine Feline Board Member, she is a member of The Cherry Creek Chorale and a volunteer for the “Meals on Wheels” program sponsored by Volunteers of America. Paula holds a B.S. in University Studies/Business from North Dakota State University.
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Erica Rambus, DVM
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Dr. Erica Rambus is a 1996 graduate of Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She practiced for 7 years at Harrison Memorial Animal Hospital, a nonprofit hospital for indigent clients and their pets, in Denver, Colorado. In 2003 Dr. Rambus left Harrison to collaborate with her friend and classmate, Dr. Susanna Russo, in helping Colorado's feral cats by creating Divine Feline. Dr. Rambus also runs a house call practice, Vagabond Vet, which now consists mainly of in-home euthanasia for her clients' beloved, dying pets. She also continues to provide spay and neuter services on a relief basis for Harrison and The Denver Dumb Friend's League. Erica's hobbies include running 1/2 marathons with her sister, vegan cooking, reading, organic gardening, and cross-country skiing. She shares her home, and heart, with a number of 4-legged animals, one of whom is a paraplegic orange tabby named Iggy |
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Mark Reinhardt
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Mark Reinhardt has been writing and lecturing on vegetarianism and animal rights issues for more than 20 years. As a businessman and attorney he has served in senior management for a number of high-tech companies, maintained a successful corporate law practice, and served on the boards of various nonprofit and for-profit corporations. He is currently the chairman of the board of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, an organization founded in 1994 to help eliminate the human-imposed suffering of animals in the Rocky Mountain region. Mark's popular column, On or Off the Mark, has been published by the Vegetarian Society of Colorado for more than two decades, and has been reprinted online and in numerous U.S. and international publications. His book, The Perfectly Contented Meat-Eater's Guide to Vegetarianism, was published by Continuum in 1998. Mark holds degrees in engineering and law from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Chicago. |
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David Robinson, D.V.M.
" Special friends, Tillie and Lacey, adopted from my aunt’s 'special ladies' after my aunt passed away".
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Dr. David Robinson has been an associate veterinarian, a relief veterinarian, the owner/manager of a small animal practice, and an employee of several corporations. Originally from a farm community in Kansas, David's life has always been filled and structured around animals: "I have strong feelings and respect for animals and now have developed a strong sense of concern and compassion for strays, feral cats, and pet overpopulation." Dr. Robinson is employed by the Denver Dumb Friends League for whom he operates the LuLu Mobile spay/neuter clinic in underserved and low-income areas of Metro-Denver where he performs spay/neuter procedures on 12-15 pets a day. In addition, Dr. Robinson volunteers his surgery skills with Divine Feline at the mobile weekly trap-neuter-release program in Metro-Denver. He lives in the mountains of Northern Colorado, 25 miles west of Loveland. He and his wife have several pets of their own and also care for multiple foster pets. |
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Susanna Russo, D.V.M.
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Dr. Susanna Russo graduated from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences in 1996. During the ensuing years, she moved back to Denver and traveled to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico with her friend and classmate, Dr. Erica Rambus, where they and other veterinarians in the Yucatan Animal Rescue Foundation performed free spay/neuter on local dogs and cats. Dr. Russo’s love of cats, both small and large led her to Kenya and Tanzania where she realized her dream of watching wild cats in their natural environment. After returning from Africa, Dr. Russo traveled with a group of American veterinarians to China and met with local veterinarians to exchange ideas on current practices of disease prevention. In 2000 she began focusing on the needs of feral cats with the enthusiastic support of Dr. Rambus. The end result of three years of brainstorming and collaboration was the development of Divine Feline. Dr. Russo pursued another dream of moving to San Francisco in 2003. Once there she became involved with two Bay area feral cat spay neuter programs in addition to continuing her work with Divine Feline. |
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Dwight Smith
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Dwight Smith is the Administrative Manager for Divine Feline. He started his career as an auto mechanic and has worked in various fields of his interest including auto sales, farming, construction, and outdoor recreation/education. He has served on numerous committees for different organizations over the years and currently serves, on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Choral Society and the Board of Directors for the Cats’ Meow Foundation. He studied religious education and music in college and earned a Masters of Divinity degree in 1989 from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver with interests in History and Philosophy. |
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We value your support for this project as the organization relies heavily on donations to cover operating costs. To make a donation click on the button below. |
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To schedule a mobile visit to your area, please call RMACA at 303.623.0765
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| For information on how you can get involved! | ||
| Please Call | Dr. Erica Rambus at 303.777.1723 | |
| Or send donations to: | Dr.
Erica Rambus Make checks payable to "Divine Feline" |
