About Us

We started Furever Family because we kept meeting the same family: someone who loved their pets completely but couldn’t afford to do right by them. Over 3,000 surgeries later, we’re proud to be the place Orange County turns to — skilled, affordable, and genuinely glad you found us.

Book a Spay/Neuter Appointment

Our Staff

Carolyn Ruff

Founder/Executive Director/RVT

Read Carolyn's Bio
Elizabeth Edmunson

Elizabeth Edmunson, DVM

Surgeon

Read Elizabeth's Bio
Cassidy Schiefer

Cassidy Schiefer, DVM

Surgeon

Read Cassidy's Bio
Josh B.

Josh

Registered Veterinary Technician

Read Josh's Bio
Ben

Ben

Registered Veterinary Technician

Read Ben's Bio
Anessa

Anessa

Registered Veterinary Technician

Read Anessa's Bio
Julia

Julia

Registered Veterinary Technician

Read Julia's Bio
Mady

Mady

Veterinary Assistant

Read Mady's Bio

Meaghan

Veterinary Assistant

Read Meaghan's Bio

Our Partners

We’re proud to work alongside some of Orange County’s most dedicated animal welfare organizations. These partners share our belief that every pet deserves care — and every family deserves access to it. Together, we’re building a stronger, healthier community for animals and the people who love them.

Pet-Project-Foundation
Best-Friends
Coco-Cares
Healing-Hearts
Modjeska-Ranch-Rescue-Logo
OC-Animal-Allies-Logo
pet-adoption-center-logo
The-Purrty-Pals

Stay Connected

  • Email us Directly
  • (657) 314-8758
  • Surgeries Performed at:
    North Hills Animal Hospital
    23052 Lake Forest Drive, Suite C2
    Laguna HIlls, CA 92653
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Carolyn Ruff

Carolyn Ruff

Founder/Executive Director/RVT

Carolyn graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She spent 24 years as an educator in southern California, teaching mathematics in underserved areas of Los Angeles and Orange County. In 2017, after volunteering for a mobile veterinary clinic for a year, she decided to change careers and went back to school to become a registered veterinary technician. Carolyn was troubled by the number of pets being euthanized in shelters and dying on the streets, and figured the best way to reduce this number was to find a way to spay/neuter more of them. She visited numerous clinics in southern California, trying to learn as much about high-quality, high volume spay/neuter. In November of 2024, she created the non-profit, “Furever Family,” to provide low-cost veterinary care, first and foremost, spay/neuter services for people who might not otherwise be able to fix their pets.

Elizabeth Edmunson

Elizabeth Edmunson, DVM

Surgeon

Dr. Elizabeth Edmunson, a Southern California native, earned her bachelor’s degrees from UC San Diego and her veterinary degree from UC Davis in 2008. After working for six years in a busy Los Angeles practice, she gained extensive experience in soft tissue surgeries and spay/neuter work with nonprofits SNP LA and Fixnation. Since moving to Orange County in 2014, she has focused on soft tissue surgeries, including spays with “keyhole” incisions for quicker recovery. While not a board-certified surgeon, Dr. Edmunson has advanced training in various soft tissue procedures and now travels to multiple Orange County hospitals to offer her surgical experience.

Cassidy Schiefer

Cassidy Schiefer, DVM

Surgeon

Dr. Cassidy Schiefer was born and raised in North Florida. A proud “Double Gator,” she earned both her Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology (2019) and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (2023) from the University of Florida.

During veterinary school, she completed additional coursework and hands-on training to earn a certificate in Shelter Medicine, and conducted research which was later published in The Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health. She is deeply passionate about spay and neuter initiatives, and about expanding access to veterinary care, recognizing the critical role these services play in strengthening communities, and reducing the number of animals entering shelters.

Before relocating to Long Beach in August of 2025, Dr. Schiefer served as a shelter veterinarian in Santa Barbara County. In addition to her work with Furever Family, Dr. Schiefer works with organizations throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties to expand access to spay and neuter and other essential veterinary services.

Josh B.

Josh

Registered Veterinary Technician

Josh has been a veterinary technician for over 20 years and became a Registered Veterinary Technician in 2008. His specialties are dentistry and critical care. When Josh isn’t at work, you can find him doing anything active, especially running. Josh lives with his wife, a turtle, a cat, and a fish tank full of cichlids.

Ben

Ben

Registered Veterinary Technician

Veterinary Technician with hands-on experience since 2019. Passionate about high-quality patient care with a special interest in dentistry and high-volume spay/neuter. Dedicated to improving animal health through skill, efficiency, and compassion.

Anessa

Aneesa

Registered Veterinary Technician

Anessa White is a Registered Veterinary Technician with over 8 years of hands-on experience in the veterinary field. She has worked with a diverse range of animals including dogs, cats, cattle, goats, and horses, allowing her to develop a broad and adaptable skill set. Anessa has a special interest in surgery and anesthesia, where she enjoys the balance of technical skill, teamwork, and patient care. She is motivated by the unique, unspoken connection between animals and caregivers and finds deep fulfillment in advocating for animals through compassionate, science-based medicine. Outside of work, Anessa enjoys horse riding with a focus on show jumping, maintaining health and wellness, and spending quality time caring for her family.

Julia

Julia

Registered Veterinary Technician

Julia graduated from Cal Poly Pomona (go Broncos) back in 2010 and got her RVT license in 2011. She started out at a General Practice in Yorba Linda for the first 3 years of her career. After that, she went into shelter medicine for the next 10 years. She thrived in the High Quality High Volume setting of the shelter – spaying and neutering an average 35 animals per day. She also dabbled in marine mammal medicine as well. These days, she is a contract HQHV RVTg, volunteer at SCVMA and am an instructor of vet assistants.

She lives in Orange County with her husband, one cat and 2 doggos. They love to be outside – so hiking, camping, fishing and so on. Traveling is also a huge part of Their lives. Vet med is something that she loves and has been so lucky to be doing it 15+ years!

Mady

Mady

Veterinary Assistant

Mady made the move from Texas to sunny southern California to expand on her patient care experience and veterinary knowledge. Her career of over eleven years has given her the opportunity to work in zoo medicine, specialty and emergency care, and low cost emergency care. She currently works with companion animals, equines, and exotics. Her interests are critical care, and specialty medicine. She enjoys being able to make advanced care more available. When she is not enjoying providing patient care, Mady loves to ride her sportbike, or spend time with her three boys; a Dutch shepherd named Toby, and two grey cats, Giovanni & Santiago.

Meagan

Veterinary Assistant

Meaghan is an Orange County native who earned her Bachelor of Science from California State University, Fullerton. After beginning her career in human wellness and exercise physiology, she transitioned into veterinary medicine in 2020 when an opportunity allowed her to combine her passion for helping others with her love of animals.

Meaghan began working primarily with dogs and cats in high-volume vaccination clinics before expanding into high-volume spay and neuter medicine in 2023. Through this work, she became increasingly aware of how many pet owners struggle to access affordable basic veterinary care and developed a strong passion for making preventive and essential services more accessible within her community.

Her work in veterinary medicine also led her into animal rescue, where she helps stray and at-risk cats throughout Orange County receive medical care, rehabilitation, and the opportunity to find loving forever homes. She is especially passionate about preventive care, population control, animal welfare, and helping bridge the gap between veterinary medicine and rescue.

Outside of work, Meaghan enjoys taking her cats on walks, staying active and exercising, visiting local farmers markets, and hosting adoption events for rescued animals.