The Furball Foundation is a 501c3 animal welfare organization registered in the state of Florida. We support ferret shelters around the world, as well as many different types of animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in South America, including ferrets, exotic birds, predatory cats, squirrels, and even turtles.
The Furball Foundation believes that wild animals are best left in the wild. So when we can, we help animals return to the home that nature intended for them. But there are circumstances where wild animals are rescued and are already domesticated, or found with injuries that prevent them from being reintroduced into their natural habitat. When that happens, the Furball Foundation does its best to keep these animals happy and healthy in captivity.
The Furball Foundation was established in January 2022 and has been active in charitable projects since its inception. In August 2022, the IRS recognized the Furball Foundation as a charity exempt from federal income tax as defined under Internal Revenue Service Code 501(c)(3). All donations to the Furball Foundation are fully tax deductible.
ABOUT US
MEET THE BOARD
JAMES BUGDA
James is a 23-year veteran of the DEA with three tours in Colombia as a Special Agent. After retiring in 2019, James spent his time volunteering at ferret shelters throughout the United States until 2020, when he took a job as a contractor with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. James now serves as a technical advisor to the Colombian and Peruvian National Police, aiding them in the fight against global wildlife trafficking and deforestation.
James has an honorable discharge from the United States Army as a Captain and served a combat tour in Iraq in 2003. He has a master’s degree in Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of Nottingham in England and has 4 fuzzy ferrets of his own in Jacksonville, Florida.
JENNY LINARES
In addition to being a director for The Furball Foundation, Jenny is the founder of Fundación Líderes Monarca – a non-profit organization established in Colombia, South America, in 2020. Fundación Líderes Monarca benefits children in conditions of vulnerability. Its main objective is to restore the rights of children and adolescents who have been disadvantaged for various reasons. It does this through the implementation of programs and services that strengthen the development of personal being, as well as by providing important life tools for the journey to adulthood.
Jenny discovered her life purpose in 2014 and since then has published three books on leadership, and personal and spiritual growth, with the aim of continuing to positively impact the lives of others.
KIMIE M. LLOYD
Kim is a retired legal assistant with 20 years of experience owning ferrets and volunteering at ferret shelters throughout the United States. She has 2 sons, 3 grandchildren, and 6 ferrets – Snoopy, Emily, Panda, Winter, Snickers, and Phoebe. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, to whom she has been married for 39 years.
Kim loves fuzzy animals and enjoys traveling and playing co-ed softball.
Sandra Milena Reyes
Sandra Milena Reyes is a Colombian police lieutenant coronel and the former commander of the Colombian National Police Group of Ecological and Environmental Protection in Bogotá. In this charge, she fought against illegal wildlife trafficking in South America and around the globe.
Over the course of 23 years as a Colombian police officer, Sandra served as the commander of a sex crimes investigation unit, a robbery and theft investigation unit, a narcotics investigation unit, an anti-kidnapping unit and even the commander of a homicide investigation unit.
Sandra has three undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree in Criminology and Victimology.
Sandra has been married to her husband Diego for 16 years and has two children, Mia (6) and Juan Diego (8). Although Sandra’s parents moved to the United States in 2001, Sandra chose to stay in Colombia to continue serving her community as a police officer.
Sandra loves to travel and experience nature and loves dancing to Colombian music.