Dr. Burgess has focused on exotic pets since graduating in 1986, giving him extensive experience with these species that few practitioners can match. He opened Southwest Animal Hospital in 1995, and the practice now consists of 95% exotic pets and 5% dogs and cats, the highest ratio of exotic pets in any practice in Oregon. In over 20 years of practice Dr. Burgess has discovered numerous new diseases of exotic animals, and is a published author both in medical journals and textbooks. He teaches exotic pet medicine at Oregon State University’s Veterinary School, and has lectured at national and international medical conferences. He has appeared in television and newspaper stories covering exotic pets and their medical problems, and was featured in Ferrets Magazine as one of "Eight Great Ferret Vets" in the United States. For more details of his accomplishments, see the credentials below.

UPDATE: Dr. Burgess can now add "author" to his list of accomplishments! Be sure to drop by the clinic and buy his new book "Dog Daze and Cat Naps: A Vet Student's Odyssey"

• BS in Biology, Southern Oregon State College (now Southern Oregon University), 1982. DVM, Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1986.
• Established the Exotic Animal Practice, originally based in the Raleigh Hills Veterinary Medical Practices; working extensively with exotic species since 1986. Now based in Southwest Animal Hospital in Beaverton, Oregon (1995- present) where 95% of the case load is exotic pets.
• One of the original members of the Oregon Ferret Association. Member of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians. Member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, and Portland Veterinary Medical Association
• Guest lecturer for the Oregon Ferret Association, the Willamette Valley Herpetological Society, the Northwest Herpetological Society in Seattle, the House Rabbit Society, and the OMSI Reptile Show in Portland, OR.
• Licensed to rehabilitate wildlife in Oregon: all mammals (except marine), and reptiles & amphibians.
• Lecturer for the Portland Veterinary Medical Association continuing education series, discussing common diseases of exotic pets for local veterinarians; Continuing Education credits applied.
• Guest lecturer at the Western Ferret Medical Symposium in Reno, NV in 1991; presented overview of ferret endocrine diseases, in particular my clinical findings regarding insulinomas and adrenal tumors.
• Presented a paper at the Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Oil on Wildlife in Seattle. The paper was a case study on the rehabilitation of 40 western pond turtles exposed to a diesel fuel spill in 1993.
• Instructor for the exotic animal medicine section of the National Board for Veterinary Technicians preparation course (held at Mt. Hood Community College, Oregon, 1994 & 1995).
• Presented the Turtle Care and Rehabilitation Course, 8 hours, at Portland State University, 1995. The class was for wildlife rehabilitators, zoo personnel, veterinarians, biologists, etc.
• Independently discovered numerous diseases of exotic pets, including ferret insulinomas (unpublished) in 1987, estrogen secreting adrenal tumors in ferrets (unpublished) in 1988-89, inflammatory bowel disease in ferrets (discovered 1995, published 2002), and tumors previously unreported in ferrets such as meningioma, astrocytoma, and osteosarcoma. Identified a common cause of mesenteric lymphoma in ferrets, allowing prediction and prevention of tumor development. Identified the cause of some megaesophagus cases in ferrets, leading to better treatments for this previously frustrating and deadly disease.
• Guest lecturer at the Ferret Veterinary Medical Conference in Portland, OR, in November 1999; presented an overview of ferret digestive tract disease and hepatic disease, introducing lymphoplasmacytic gastroenteritis as a previously unrecognized disease of ferrets.
• Published article "Overview of Ferret Diseases" in Exotic DVM journal, 2000.
• Published article in the American Ferret Association newsletter in 2001 introducing lymphoplasmacytic gastroenteritis (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) to the ferret- owning community in the U.S.
• Received $500 grant from the Oregon Ferret Association for research into development of immunohistochemistry testing for Aleutian Disease Virus in tissue samples of ferrets. Part of the study was to determine whether the virus played a role in development of lymphoplasmacytic gastroenteritis.
• Received a $500 grant from the American Ferret Association, also applied to the preceding study on Aleutian Disease Virus.
• 3 year member of the "Wildlife Integrity Task Force" under jurisdiction of the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife; the task force included wildlife rehabilitators and biologists, academia, Fish & Wildlife employees, legal specialists, pet trade representatives, and veterinarians. The purpose of the task force was to determine which exotic species should be restricted from importation into Oregon due to potential risk to native wildlife.
• Published article with Dr. Mike Garner "Clinical Aspects of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Ferrets" in Exotic DVM, May 2002, formally introducing this disease to the veterinary literature.
• Guest lecturer at the first annual IVUSS ultrasound conference in Tahoe, NV, USA, August 2002. Presented lecture "Ultrasound in Ferret Medicine", an overview of the clinical uses of ultrasound in ferrets.
• Instructor for the Exotic Pet Medicine Course in the Veterinary Technician Curriculum at Portland Community College, Portland, Oregon, USA, 2004, 2005, 2006.
• Independently discovered and described (and named) Disseminated Idiopathic Myositis in ferrets, working with Dr. Katrina Ramsell and Dr. Mike Garner, 2003-4
• Instructor for the Special Animal Medicine courses for junior and senior veterinary students at Oregon State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Corvallis, OR, USA, 2004, 2005,2006.
• Guest lecturer at the American Ferret Association (AFA) national medical conferences in San Jose, Calif, Oct. 8, 2005; and in Pittsburg, PA Oct 6-7, 2006. Subject: Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Diseases of the Pet Ferret.
• Authored a chapter in John Lewington’s textbook "Ferret Husbandry, Medicine & Surgery, 2nd ed.", due for publication in 2006. Subjects covered: "Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Diseases in the Ferret", and "Disseminated Idiopathic Myositis in the Ferret".
• Lecturer at International Ferret Congress meeting in June 2007, in Portland, Oregon; presented overview of ferret digestive and liver diseases.
• Currently writing sections in new exotic pet textbooks awaiting publication.

Dr. Melinda Surrency is a native Oregonian. She graduated from Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and has completed multiple preceptorships at Audubon of Portland’s Wildlife Care Center, the Oregon Zoo and Wildlife Safari. Dr. Surrency has experience with rabbits, guinea pigs, degu, rats, skunks, cats, dogs, fish and reptiles. Many of these have been personal pets. Currently, she lives with one degu, one skunk and several cats. Dr. Surrency has a strong interest in internal medicine, pain management and surgery.