About Us
Founded in 2016, NC Wildlife Rehab was established by a group of dedicated wildlife advocates who recognized a critical need for a rescue and rehabilitation organization within our community. Since our founding, we have rescued, rehabilitated, and released thousands of native wild animals, becoming a trusted resource for wildlife care, education, and conservation.
We provide comprehensive services to the animals entrusted to us, including high-quality medical treatment, species-appropriate rehabilitation, and successful release back into their natural habitats. In addition to direct animal care, we support fellow wildlife rehabilitators and place strong emphasis on public education to promote responsible stewardship, wildlife conservation, and peaceful coexistence.
Collaboration is central to our mission. NC Wildlife Rehab works closely with independent home-based rehabilitators, fellow wildlife rehabilitation organizations, veterinary clinics, and local agencies to ensure the highest standard of care for every animal we serve.
Our Team
Ruby Davis is a lifelong North Carolinian with a deep love for the state’s wildlife and natural landscapes. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from Lees-McRae College and has been a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for more than fifteen years. She was the first individual in North Carolina to obtain a Rabies Vector Species (RVS) license from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Prior to NC Wildlife Rehab, Ms. Davis co-founded a local wildlife rehabilitation center, where she served as the Rehabilitation Director for five and a half years. She established operational and medical care protocols, managed staff and volunteers, and oversaw daily patient care - work that strengthened both clinical standards and compassionate care.
In addition to rehabilitation, she serves as an environmental scientist with Wildlands Engineering, specializing in hydrology, wetland and stream restoration, and threatened and endangered species surveys. She also teaches for the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina (WRNC) Wildlife Symposium and serves on the board of the WRNC. Her areas of expertise include trauma and emergency care, wildlife husbandry, and habitat management.
At the heart of her work is a calling to steward the land and care for the wildlife, combining science, leadership, and compassion to give native species a second chance. And true to her NC roots, she proudly claims the skunk as her spirit animal!
Ruby Davis - Owner and Director
Dr. Laura grew up in North Carolina and graduated from NCSU’s vet school in 1995. (Go Wolfpack!) After a decade in Maryland, she settled in Matthews NC in 2007 and lives there with her husband, 2 sons, and pit bull Smithy.
She’s always had a passion for exotic and wild animal medicine, and had a variety of critters growing up. As a small animal veterinarian in Charlotte, she grew her caseload to about 50% exotics, and developed relationships with several local wildlife rehabbers seeing their more challenging cases. She was the Lead Veterinarian at Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center from 2021-2024, and became the Lead Veterinarian at NC Wildlife Rehab in 2024.
When she’s not being a veterinarian, Dr. Laura can be found backpacking with the Scouts, cooking, playing Munchkin with my family, decorating cakes, and twisting balloon animals.
Dr. Laura Lathan - Veterinarian
Sara Ondrako - Program Director & Licensed Rehabilitator
Sara has been involved in nonprofit public education since she was twelve years old. She has a deep passion for education and sharing knowledge, especially with kids and teens.
Although Sara has always been immensely curious and drawn to wildlife, her rehabilitation journey began with a broken baby Eastern Grey Squirrel named Bernadette. Much like her as a child, her son found the injured squirrel and brought her home—an event that began as a simple handoff to a skilled rehabilitator but quickly became an impactful experience that led her to become a licensed rehabilitator herself.
Sara spent 20 years in and out of veterinary nursing before transitioning to full-time work in canine behavior. Throughout her career, she has been involved in animal welfare in many forms—from advocating for humane farming practices to founding a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to responsible dog ownership through community programs that support pit bull–type dogs, the people who love them, and pairing veterans with service dogs.
Today, Sara combines her background in veterinary nursing, animal behavior, and wildlife rehabilitation with her long-standing love of education to help people better understand the animals they share the world with, inspiring compassion, responsible stewardship, and greater public support for wildlife conservation.
Sara Fields - Licensed Rehabilitator
Sara is a NC licensed wildlife rehabilitator and full-time zoology student dedicated to the care of native wildlife and the promotion of coexistence. Through a combination of hands-on rehabilitation experience and formal education, she works to better serve the animals and ecosystems within her community.