Joan Embery: Pet Health and Safety
CBN.com For the majority of her life Joan has worked with animals, championing the need for preservation and the protection of their rapidly diminishing habitats. Joan began working with animals as a child, and she has always loved them.
“My life has really been about animals,” she says.
Growing up, she wanted to be a veterinarian but later realized that it was non-traditional for women to be veterinarians or even work at a zoo. Joan felt as is she had to prove herself, so she began working as an on-call employee at the San Diego Zoo where she remained involved for 32 years.
Today, Joan works with many types of animals.
“Pets are a part of the family,” she says.
She lives on a 50-acre ranch in Lakeside, California with her husband Duane Pillsbury where she has raised and trained Quarter horses, Miniature horses, Lipizzans, Warmbloods, Mules, Clydesdales, Percherons, and her California State Grand Champion Brahman Bull, Bruiser. She also manages a community equestrian facility. She houses 50 horses (Joan is very competitive in equestrian divisions), 30 wild animals, livestock (goats and cattle), a Doberman (family dog) and a Bengal cat on her property. Each animal has an identification number, and a complete medical file. Joan and her workers are careful to see and care for each animal, which takes a lot of daily work, including record keeping.
Recently areas in and around San Diego, California were hit with wildfires that burned for fourteen days, consuming over 85,000 acres of land. Many neighborhoods were evacuated, and over 100 homes were destroyed. Joan lives in the San Diego area and was one of many under a mandatory evacuation. Because Joan raises over 80 animals, she and her workers had to load the animals in 8 trailers and 8 trucks, moving them away from possible danger.
Joan travels with a Fennec fox and a Toco Toucan. The Fennec Fox is a small fox found in the Sahara Desert. It is rare and not often seen. The Fennec is the smallest of the canidae family. Its characteristic ears, which are the largest in the canid family, serve to help dissipate heat and to hear the movement of prey at night. The coat repels sunlight during the day and conserves heat at night. The soles of the feet are protected from the hot sand by thick fur. The Fennec is nocturnal and an omnivore. The Toco Toucan is the largest and arguably best known species in the toucan family. The most noticeable feature of the Toco Toucan is its huge bill, which is yellow-orange with a black base and large spot on the tip. The long bill is useful for reaching things that otherwise would be out-of-reach. It eats mainly fruit using its bill to pluck them from trees. It is also used to skin fruit and scare off predators.
One of Joan’s favorite animals (if she had to choose) would be an elephant because they’re extremely intelligent, very social and also highly endangered.
Joan is the national spokesperson for The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health, and is very passionate about the well-being of animals. Her mission is to communicate, educate and connect people with wildlife and natural resources.
“The focus should be on the animal and its place in nature,” she says. “I don’t want to make handling animals look dangerous.”
According to Joan, pet health and human health coincide with one another. Pets enhance the health, well-being and social nature of people by lowering blood pressure and evoking a happier atmosphere in the home. Children with learning disabilities even learn better with animals around, or with animals being used as learning tools.
Few people in the world are as dedicated to the preservation of wildlife and the environment as Joan Embery. She has served as a champion of environmental, conservation and preservation issues around the world, most notably as spokeswoman for the Zoological Society of San Diego. She has had the opportunity to express her passion for animals with a multitude of audiences from youth to veterinary students to corporate executives. Also, Joan has led wildlife expeditions to such exotic locales as Africa, China, Nepal, India, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Thailand and the Amazon and has authored several books. As a dedicated animal and environmental advocate, Joan spends her time working with wildlife organizations and educating the public. She serves on many boards focusing on conservation and wildlife issues.
A San Diego native, Joan studied zoology and telecommunications and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. While Joan is most well known for her work with exotic animals, she is also an accomplished horsewoman, having won trophies in almost every discipline from dressage to cutting and driving to jumping.
In 2004 Joan created her own non-profit foundation, The Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation, with the mission of connecting people to wildlife and conservation issues and the role each individual plays in insuring healthy environments.
Joan enjoys speaking with audiences about wildlife and the environment. She shares her experiences and passion for animals with personal accounts and anecdotes. She maintains a collection of wildlife ambassadors that travel with her representing the animal world and helping to educate her audiences.
