After rehabilitating wildlife for several years, Mela began visiting other cities and their rehab centers. When she asked a friend of hers and longtime rehabber why this area didn’t have a rehab center, the answer was simply “Nobody has done it yet.” Well… Challenge accepted! As an IT Business Analyst she merged her professional background with her love of wildlife and North Texas Wildlife Center was born.

When not donating her time to the Center Mela is busy with her husband, five children and 2 dogs, a cat, and a bearded dragon. She loves to travel and her new goal is to visit the local wildlife center no matter what city she’s in!

Rebecca joined NTXWC shortly after dropping off an orphaned opossum for rehabilitation. She is passionate about animal advocacy, environmental conservation, and promoting awareness of the role wildlife plays in our lives.

In addition to working with NTXWC, Rebecca has a master’s degree in psychology and is working towards obtaining her veterinary technician certification to better contribute to the wildlife center and to increase her knowledge and skills in working with animals.

She is thrilled to be doing wildlife rehabilitation because it gives her a chance to learn more than just the medical portion of their care. She especially loves seeing the raccoons (of course) as well as the opossums, the little juvenile squirrels when they’re old enough to grab a syringe of milk and suck it down, and the occasional raptor that shows up!

Fran has been working as a vet 10 years and sees dogs, cats, exotic animals, and especially enjoys wildlife! She grew up in North Texas and wanted to be a vet since she was in 3rd grade. She was grateful to work through several summers at Richardson Animal Shelter as a teenager, learning to care for squirrels, raccoons, other wildlife, and exotic animals in addition to dogs and cats. She was hired at Parker Animal and Bird Clinic as a kennel tech in high school and worked there through college, graduating from UT Dallas in 2009 before heading to vet school at Oklahoma State. She loves working with wildlife rehabilitation and is so grateful to be a part of NTXWC because the animals are so unique (and cute!) and knows their care is important to the balance of the ecosystem. She especially loves turtles, tortoises, and baby squirrels!