Norris named NCDA&CS Animal Welfare director

`Dr. Patricia Norris of New Mexico has been hired as director of the Veterinary Division Animal Welfare Section of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The Animal Welfare Section licenses public and private animal shelters, boarding kennels and pet shops and oversees the state’s Spay and Neuter Fund.

“I am thrilled to bring Dr. Norris on board as director of the Animal Welfare Section,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “She has unique mix of experience with private practice and public service that will serve the department well.”

Dr. Norris earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine in 1986 and has a graduate certificate in veterinary forensic science from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Norris was in private veterinary practice for 25 years in Virginia, North Carolina and New Mexico. She served as veterinarian at the Duke University Primate Center to provide care for their colony of endangered lemurs. She also served as veterinarian for the Pitt County Board of Health and on the County Animal Response Teams for Pitt and Madison counties.

Previously, she served as the staff veterinarian for the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the only position of its kind in the country. She provided veterinary forensic services for their cases of animal cruelty and animal crime, and was commonly asked to assist other law enforcement agencies throughout New Mexico. She served as veterinarian for the New Mexico Animal Sheltering Board since its inception in 2007 and was a member of the DASO Mounted Patrol Horseback Search and Rescue team.   

Dr. Norris started work in November.