Shawn M. Finch, DVM

In one month from today, we are taking all three dogs on the Nebraska Humane Society 2010 Walk for the Animals.  I think it will be a very fun time!

All proceeds raised go to support the dogs and cats (and little guys!) of Nebraska Humane Society.  I think they should label the corner behind the cats “Miscellaneous” as a joke, but maybe some people would not get the joke and then it would not be a good label.  That’s where all the non-dog and cat pets are.  I LOVE that corner!!  In just the past few months, they have had super cute newborn fuzzy white bunnies, painted turtles, ferrets, rats, gerbils, budgies and even a cockatiel.

ANYWAYS, Russ and Jodi and I are all attempting to raise money for the Nebraska Humane Society.  You don’t even have to bet on whether I will finish the mile or number of laps or anything.  You can pledge a set amount…or just wish us well (which is free!)

Here’s my link! Here is the link for Family Finch (Jodi, Russ and me)

If your business would like to become a corporate sponsor, here is the link…I have read through the list of sponsors, you would be in the company of awesomes!

Sponsor Donations

Maybe with a bit of encouragement, all of Omaha will begin to shift to a dog-welcoming atmosphere.  How fun would that be?  If you know of dog-friendly businesses or events, let me know and I will add them.  If you OWN a dog-friendly business, let me know and I will add it and also say, I think you are awesome.

Check out this site that I LOVE - Go Pet Friendly - and thank you guys for allowing me to link to your site!  My little blog post here will have Omaha-specific information as I collect it.  Go Pet Friendly has country-wide information, including pet-friendly hotels!  Very fun site to visit, even if you do not happen to be heading out the door with your pup!

Also check out Fido Factor - They also have helpful information on pet-friendly places!  Pretty soon we will be able to walk in about anywhere with our pups!

Omaha Pet-Friendly Places…

October 14, 2010 *Just in time for Halloween!* Thanks Alicia!

Pumpkin Patch 120th and Military - inexpensive pumpkins and very dog friendly!  Support your local farmers!

Hefflinger Dog Park

Petsmart - 6 area locations

PetCo

Outdoor concerts at Shadow Lake Towne Center

Jazz on the Green concerts at Midtown Crossing

Bookworm Bookstore

Canfield’s Sporting Goods

Trocadéro “Lifestyle and Accessories Emporium” - Old Market

Underwood Hill’s Presbyterian Church - This church in Dundee has special services to which pets are invited.  I was reminded of this great program recently when I saw a fellow grocery shopper with a Underwood Hill’s t-shirt with paw prints on it.

Subway in the Old Market (outdoor seating)

Upstream in the Old Market (outdoor seating)

La Buvette in the Old Market (outdoor seating)

Farmer’s Markets - Old Market (Saturdays), Aksarben (Sundays)

(Come to think of it…The Old Market and the surrounding areas have amazing dog walking and hanging out areas.)

McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe 302 South 38th Street (outdoor seating)

Trovato’s Italian Restaurant - Dundee (outdoor seating)

Chipolte Mexican Grill (outdoor seating)

Goldberg’s - Dundee (outdoor seating)

Nebraska Humane Society - in designated areas

QC  Supply in Elkhorn - went there today (Sept. 27, 2010) with Noodle the Poodle, LOVE this store!!

Old Chicago - beer garden at Old Chicago of 76th and Cass - I will find out about other locations!  It will be fun to support this one - I love their food (and drinks!)

Merle Norman Cosmetic Studios - 50th and Dodge

Call a business or restaurant ahead if you are unsure if they welcome pets!  Even if they say “no” you will get them thinking!

*****

Some stores will make exceptions if your pet is cute enough.  Russ and I would always walk to Blockbuster’s in Littleton Colorado.  I would stay outside with our dog Benji while Russ went in to get our movie.  One time, the manager came out to the parking lot to pet Benji and said, “You can bring him in if you want to.”  I always did from then on, and we rented movies there more than ever to say “thank you” to that kind manager.  It is a very good memory now over ten years later.

OK, this one is not official, so don’t go bringing your dog in to Sam and Louie’s just because you brought him on errands and didn’t think through how hot it is out!  But I DO want you to support Sam and Louie’s, specifically the one near 72nd and L Street!  I went there once with my friend Erika, and we overheard a guy at the bar saying he was just going to get a drink or two while his dog waited in the car.

Both of us have dog-loving qualities that are about one hundred times stronger than our introversion (which is a pretty strong trait in both of us!)  ANYWAYS, the manager there ended up relenting to our pleas (so we let go of his ankles and stood up), and Ray Charles, the very cute, very blind, very brachycephalic Boston Terrier got to sit under his owner’s feet at the bar instead of in the hot car with the windows up during the lunch hour.  Thank you Very Nice Sam and Louie’s manager. Because I no longer get my movies at the Littleton Blockbuster’s, I will transfer all of my love for the Blockbuster’s manager to you and express it by buying your pizzas and sandwiches as often as possible.

Thank you to Alicia Weiland, Jen Howell, Jess Kamish and Russ Finch for help with the initial info gathering.  You are three of my favorite women and my absolute favorite guy.

I am waiting to see what three of my favorite companies have in mind for future projects.  I am hoping for a lifetime partnership of regular writing assignments, with cute pictures of my pets scattered throughout the publications.

That reminds me of one of my favorite lines in August Rush.  Evan’s friend asks him “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” and Evan replies, “No, I’m thinking something else.” Perhaps they are thinking something else.  Who knows?  It could be even better than what I am thinking.  Though, as you know, there is nothing better than cute pictures of my pets.

I am waiting to read another leadership book that I can add to the “What I am Reading” series here.  As you know, I will only review books to which I can give five stars.  So I am getting through the list, but not falling in love with the books.  Seriously, it seems as if the books were all chosen by men!  (They were…not that there’s anything wrong with that.)  Let’s skip the sports and war illustrations guys!  Then we can whip through these life lessons a little faster.

I am waiting to see how my fall work schedule pans out.  I struggle with the same pull with which every mother struggles. Should I stay home more?  Should I work more? However, a normal mother makes the very difficult decision that balances her life and family dynamics best, and then adjusts her schedule based on the changing circumstances of her family.  I do that and then obsess.  And second guess.  For a decade.  Literally.  Still, I am blessed to have the choice over which to obsess and second guess. Lately I have become a tiny bit better at enjoying the ride.  See?  I named this post “Waiting.”  Not “Fretting.”  Or “Obsessing.”  Or “Flip-flopping.”  Yay, me.  I’m progressing slowly, but I am progressing.

That reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses:

“Wait for the Lord; Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

I am waiting for the smell of my perm to dissipate.

I am waiting for my kids’ friend to wake up from her nap so they can all play together.

I am waiting to see how well the Heartworm Disease and Omaha Pets article does on Omaha.net.  Is everyone sick of discussing heartworm, or is it still an attractive topic in its (unfortunate) timelessness?  Maybe I just needed to write it to remind myself to continue to be a strong advocate for my patients’ health.

I am waiting to see how some important things turn out.  Russ, you always proof-read my rough drafts for me.  Thank you for that.  And I don’t write rough drafts of my posts on this website.  I just write what I am thinking.  Since the rough draft step gets skipped here, you may never see this.  If you do, remember that I love you more than writing.  I love you more than being a veterinarian.  I love you more than my (un)naturally curly hair.

Now I am waiting to hear back from only TWO of my favorite companies - check off Banfield!  While I was writing this, I received an email from Nina Silberstein, the editor of The Banfield Journal and The Wagging Tail Blog.  She said that she forgot to tell me that the post she had asked me to write a while back is due TOMORROW.

Sometimes it’s good to wait patiently, and sometimes it’s good to get busy.  The genius is in knowing when to do what. I am going to go start on this Wagging Tail Blog post…

Have a great week.

Russ…

I love you more than chocolate.

Tuesday, July 20 was another day of Camp Kindness, a day camp for kids at Nebraska Humane Society.  You know I am super neurotically protective of kid pictures, and Camp Kindness is all kids everywhere…which means of course, more pictures of Fuzzy and Wuzzy!

Still, I didn’t want you to think I ONLY ever take pictures of my gorgeous rats, so I also took one of Kerry Ecklebe, the Director of Humane Education at Nebraska Humane Society…um, holding a rat.  OK, so maybe I am obsessed with my rats!  There are worse maladies to have!

I do not even want to know how many website design rules I am breaking with this layout.  I just love huge pictures of Fuzzy and Wuzzy!  They are so goofy looking, and I love that you can see whiskers and wrinkles and everything in the pictures…

Kerry Ecklebe holding Fuzzy

Kerry is a class act, and one of my favorite people.  NHS is blessed to have her!

I just wrote a blog post for dvm360 at the invitation of Veterinary Economics Editor Kristi Reimer.  Ok, so it was not a direct invitation, it was the introduction to the June issue of Veterinary Economics, sort of a “Draw This Turtle” for veterinarians.

I opened my June Veterinary Economics and read it from cover to cover like I always do.  The last thing I read (It was on the front page - I read magazines and journals from back to front - I think it’s a lefty thing) made me space off and dream for the rest of my lunch break.  Kristi said (to me!) “We’re on the lookout for user-generated content.”

Earlier in the year, Charity, who I work for at Carefresh, suggested I write a list of every company I would like to write with.  I already have my dream Mom-Veterinarian-Writer career.  Really, could it get any better??

I write HERE (which I LOVE - thanks Dave!!) and for Omaha.net (which I also love - thanks Jordy and Morgan!), Banfield occasionally asks for my input for their blog and journal (Thanks Nina!) and I had just accidently landed my dream job with Carefresh (Thanks Charity and Tom!)  Was it even OK to dream bigger?

But I do everything Charity tells me to do.  So I started writing out my dream list.  And at the very top of my list was dvm360-Advanstar Communications.  They are the team behind most of my favorite veterinary journals, behind DogFancy and CatFancy, even, I just learned, some automotive, dental and sports publications!  I knew it was just a dream, but sometimes dreams can become Real Life.  And writing lists is fun.

Thank YOU for coming with me on this crazy (good-crazy) adventure.  It has been fun, hasn’t it? : )

And look, they let me post this…Twitter for Veterinarians

It had to be said - When the world of veterinary medicine (eighty thousand+ veterinarians) intersects with the world of twitter (six million+ tweeters), it is such an amazing thing.  It just is SO uncommon!  (Four hundred sixty-two veterinarians/hospitals on twitter by my count)  I wanted to make jumping into twitter easier for vets.  So I hope it does.  If you don’t see more veterinarians posting on twitter in the next month or so, assume they are, as always, busy preserving and saving lives, not that they are unable to figure out twitter, because now I hope they will be!

July 5, 2010

As far as I know, all the pets in my life got through yesterday with just a little nervousness.  Great job pet parents!

PLEASE vote for Fuzzy and Wuzzy for cutest pet in Banfield’s Pet Photo contest!  Silly as it is, I LOVE pictures of our rats, and these ones are really cute.  The other pets entered are very cute too, and you can vote for as many as you want.  I voted for all of them, because, as you know, I have yet to meet a non-cute pet!

To vote:  Go to Banfield’s Facebook home page, and “like” Banfield.  Scroll down to Fuzzy and Wuzzy’s picture and “like” their picture.  Thank you so much!!  How fun.

July 17, 2010  Thank you everyone for voting for Fuzzy and Wuzzy!  They won third place!  Woo!  Not bad for a couple of ratties, huh?

…obsessing about my brand new niece, Olive Jane Nelson!  She was born July 3, 2010 to my brother Dave (the genius behind this fun website) and his wonderful wife Sara.  Their dogs (and now Olive’s dogs!) are Riley and James, the Great Dane and Mastiff after whom the website is named.

I like this picture of Olive because it was taken when she was making baby coos yesterday, and my husband Russ was trying to hear her so he could answer her.  ♥

Happy Day Three in the world Olive!  I love you so much!!

*Pets-n-Baby tip:  While you are at the hospital with your new baby, have a friend bring something of baby’s (like a blanket or onesie) home to your dogs and cats.  Let them get used to the smell of your new babe.  When they actually do meet the new baby, in their minds, they will have already met him or her before and this will ease the transition for everyone.

(If you don’t mind, imagine the next sentence fragments in the voice of Flint Lockwood, from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. You know I LOVE to be boring, but sometimes I love to SEEM exciting, so I thought maybe that would help. Thanks.)

Gathering!  Restating!  Linking!  Helping!  <running around the living room> <pushing big red button>  Publishing!

I know it’s been said, but I just wanted to make sure you and your pets have all the resources you need for this Independence Day!  So this week I am gathering and reposting information about storm and firework phobias.  Add any tips or resources you have!

Scared on the Fourth of July - Last Year’s Posting With an Update

Thunderphobia - Trainer Eric Goebelbecker’s Great Posting on Dr. V’s Pawcurious Website

Fourth of July Fireworks Safety Tips for Your Pets - brand new article from Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Thundershirts! - Too late to order them from the website for Sunday!  And as you know, yahoos in Omaha are already shooting off fireworks, so the poor dogs are already pretty worked up.  Nebraska Humane Society has some Thundershirts, but they are running low!  Quick, go push someone out of the way and grab theirs.  (Don’t really.)

Banfield, The Pet Hospital of Papillion 402-331-1108  If you need information or medication, call to make an appointment with your pet today or tomorrow before the weekend gets even crazier!

On a sort of related note, July 4-July 15, Banfield, The Pet Hospital is having a pet photo contest with an Independence Day theme.  I am going to enter Fuzzy and Wuzzy Rats eating watermelon.  So when I say GO, vote for Fuzzy and Wuzzy on Banfield’s facebook page.  They would make a banner with their picture on it!!  How awesome is that??  If you enter your pet, I will vote for him or her too, so let me know!

(July 4, 2010-”GO!”  Thanks all!)

Happy Independence Day! Make sure your pet is with you or safe at home this weekend.  Here’s to a safe and wonderful weekend for you and your family!  God Bless America!

This week I spoke at Camp Kindness, a day camp for kids at Nebraska Humane Society.  I love doing it!  This is my third summer visiting Camp Kindness with my Hairless Dumbo Rex rats, Fuzzy and Wuzzy.  I told the leaders of Camp Kindness that they are stuck with me and I will show up every summer whether they ask me to or not!  Ha!

Being such an introvert, it is SUCH an exhausting day.  I am not normally much of a public speaker, preferring to educate pet owners either in writing or one-on-one in the exam room, and even that does not come easily.  But I love people and pets SO MUCH and maintaining and restoring pet health is so important to me, that it is all very rewarding.  Anyways, enough of my blah-blahing, on to what you probably came for:  PICTURES OF FUZZY AND WUZZY!!!

And a couple of Josie, the super cute, super sweet therapy dog!

Originally Written for Pug Partners of Nebraska - Please visit their website to find out how you can help Pugs!

Every problem Pugs are prone to is magnified if they are carrying extra weight. Breathing issues become more severe. Joint issues become more painful. Even wrinkles become deeper! Obesity may even worsen conditions that may seem unrelated, such as allergies and other immune problems.

Unfortunately, Pugs are also genetically prone to being overweight. This does not have to become a hopeless cycle. Start now to keep your Pug fit and at an appropriate weight, and you will minimize and perhaps even eliminate many problems in the future.

Pugs should be broader at the shoulder and chest than most dogs, but their body condition should be muscular. They should have a slightly tucked in waist, and ribs that can be felt, but not seen. Weight loss, if indicated, should be guided by your veterinarian and spread over several months.

Provide your Pug with a high quality diet, perhaps a low fat version of his normal food. Consult with your veterinarian as you formulate his feeding plan while he is losing weight and once he is in great shape. Your veterinarian can also give you ideas on treats and between meal snacks. Consider weight loss goals and your pet’s preferences. Some treats to consider are green beans, carrots, chicken and low fat commercial treats.

Walk your Pug as often as you can. Once or twice a day is ideal. Playing fetch, running in the yard and swimming, if he or she enjoys these activities, are also great, but walks will most likely be the crux of your exercise program. Base the length and intensity of the first walks on your Pug’s fitness level. Do not push them beyond what they are able to do comfortably.

Remember that all dogs are prone to heat stress, and Pugs and other brachycephalic dogs are more sensitive than most. If your pet seems at all uncomfortable during exercise, be grateful that though they may be overweight, they are still portable and can be scooped up and carried home if needed! Have water available on your walk, and a cool place to rest inside after exercise.

Over weeks and months you can increase the duration and intensity of exercise until you are both in peak condition.

Stephanie Alford’s Typhoon

No beer for dogs in real life!  But you knew that, right?