Boarding/Grooming
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Admin Assistant / Cat Boarding
Marsha James's Roommate
1 of 2 »Kennel Supervisor
Marsha James
Marsha has been in the veterinary field for 17 years. After a year of chemotherapy and recovery she wanted something physical to do and veterinary medicine was the perfect fit. Marsha shares her home with 15 cats, 6 dogs and Nibblet the little pot-bellied pig. Almost all of her pets are rescues and Marsha loves to snuggle with them at night. Once, Marsha had to leave work twice in one hour because Bertikam, her Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig that weighs 150 pounds, got out and was taking tours of the neighborhood. Thankfully, it is hard to miss a pig that size (not to mention a PIG) so, the story had a happy ending.
In Marsha’s down time, she loves to go to Common Wealth Park, which is full of geese and ducks. It is about a mile around the lake and is great for walking. Marsha also enjoys painting pet portraits, silly scenes, and pixie pigs on ceramics or any other medium that is available. Marsha makes the cutest boarding cards for all of Raleigh Hills’ boarding cats.
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Kennel Assistant
Robyn Sperling
School: Apollo College, Veterinary Assistant
Robyn began working at Raleigh Hills about 5 or 6 years ago and had always wanted to work with animals. When a career change opportunity arouse, she was able to follow that love and completed her associates’ degree in veterinary assistance at Apollo College.
At home Robyn has two cats, Nicki and Little Man. Robyn was also a surogate mother to Pumpkin, who lived her life at the hospital. Each cat has its’ own personality and Pumpkin was like the energizer bunny. Nicki has the most expressive facial expressions and you can tell when she is annoyed or disapproving of something you did. Little Man has the biggest beautiful green eyes. Robyn has to keep the cats out of the bathroom, especially Nicki! Nicki was taught by one of Robyn’s previous dogs how to drink out of the toilet. Nicki also likes to hang out around the tub and lick up any water left behind. Once, Robyn’s brother left Gold Bond foot powder in the tub and Nicki got in and ate it! When Robyn found her she was having such a ball playing with the powder and had it all over her face; you can just imaging what she looked like! Thankfully, the trip to the hospital got her all fixed up but the foot powder is kept tucked away, safe out of kitty paw reach.
When Robyn is not working she is watching movies or spending time with friends. She loves going to Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant in Portland.
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Groomer
Kriste Greer
Kriste is the longest working employee at Raleigh Hills and has worked at the hospital for almost 20 years. Before Raleigh Hills, Kriste began her career in the veterinary field at the age of 18 at another grooming facility. There she mastered her skills and came to work in Raleigh Hills’ grooming department. When the grooming department closed, Kriste transitioned into the main hospital and lovingly cares for the patients and assists her fellow team members. Kriste still does the occasional grooming at the hospital and has also pet sat for the last 10 years.
Kriste shares her home with one cat named Sassy. Sassy is 18 years old and came to Kriste from a friend who unfortunately passed away. Sassy is part Siamese and, as you can imagine, is a very talkative kitty. Kriste laughs about how fitting her name is. Sassy’s favorite thing to do is lay on Kriste’s stomach and purr so sweetly it makes Kriste fall asleep. A few years back, Kriste had another cat named Furball, who used to get into all kinds of mischief when she was young. Both Furball and Sassy would jump up on the screens on the back door and just “hang out” whenever they were feeling naughty. When the screen blew out after a storm, Kriste had set it up against the side of the house not dreaming that either cat would try and jump on it. Well, Furball had other plans and jumped on the screen knocking it and her over in the process. Furball landed on her feet, of course, but between the fall and the loud noises, it scared Kriste half to death. Furball was a lover but boy could she drum up trouble.
Kriste was born in Nevada but has lived in Portland most of her life. Her favorite thing about Portland is how close it is to everything. “You can get to everything in no time: the beach, the mountains, even the airport!”. She also loves “Jake’s Crawfish”, which is the oldest restaurant in Portland and is amazing.
