Jessica Ray
Family: Husband, Josh Ray
Hometown: Gentry, Ark.
In Town: “I work at the Gentry Veterinary Clinic as a vet tech assisting doctors by preparing vaccines, filling prescriptions, administrating anesthesia and cleaning wounds, etc. I was full-time starting in 2002 when they still worked on large animals too, but worked for a hospital for a while. Then I went back full-time again even though I only work three days a week. While my husband Josh has been flying ever since we met, including 50-passenger planes for Continental Express, he has been a pilot for Atlas Air, an international cargo company, for the last two years and flies all over the world in a 747. I help with the Special Olympics and run in the Police Torched Run to raise awareness for it. The race goes from Gentry to Fayetteville, Ark., and last year I did the section from here to Springdale.”
In Country: “We have an acre on the outskirts of town with another 7 acres farther out. I have 12 hens and two roosters, selling eggs to neighbors and a friend in Rogers, plus supplying the family. My chickens are Cochins, which were originally bred in China and spread to the Western world in the mid-19th century. They are very large and can serve as a meat chicken, as well as providing eggs. One of my roosters weighs an amazing 16 pounds. Cochins are known for very soft and fluffy feathers that sometimes curl out and come in a variety of colors. I also have a miniature horse that pulls cart in parades and is rented for cart rides for kids. We haven’t done that in the last year, but my horse runs with me when I work out. People watch for us because I just have him on a halter and a lead rope and he trots alongside me. I rescue animals and have a possum and a squirrel named Charlie who has been set free but loves hanging around. Next-door is 5 acres where I have raised rescue deer since 2006. Just recently, because of disease, the federal government has banned the process so that part of my country life is over. We have three horses, two Quarter Horses and a Friesian/draft cross for trail riding that we keep on the rental property. Josh had always been a town boy but loves the country lifestyle as much as I do.”
Future: “We are currently looking at property so we can move and have 40 to 60 acres to raise cows and have a place to ride my horses instead of having to load them up. We’re waiting for the right place to come along because we want to raise Charolais. I really love the big and beautiful breed. By working at the vet clinic, I’m accustomed to working with large animals and am looking forward to the new challenge.”
