Recently I was asked to attend a finalist competition in Portland, Oregan for the company I work for, Banfield. Banfield is actually a part of a larger corporation titled MARS. Yes, MARS…the chocolate company. MARS actually has quite a few entities within its spectrum. “But chocolate is toxic to dogs you say? How do chocolate and dogs come together?" ... MARS believes in 5 principles: quality, responsibility, efficiency, freedom, and mutuality.
MARS has an associate recognition program titled “Make the Difference”. People within every company MARS owns can nominate people they feel truly made the difference. Someone somewhere nominated me for this award. I actually made it to a finalist round. 160,000 associates worldwide had been whittled down. Banfield had initially started with 930 nominees broken down to a final 13. I received an email one day recognizing me as one of the 13. I didn’t even know what it was all about to be honest. I did know however that they were graciously inviting me and a guest for a week-long vacation to Oregon to “tell my story”. I was meant to give a 7 minute presentation 3 times over to a panel of judges. It all felt so “out-of-place” and self-promoting…as the entire project I had been nominated for was far from that. The stories from everyone nominated who attended the celebratory week were awe-filled, inspiring, and humbling. My youngest brother and I were treated to a week of fun in Portland (jet boat included). My speech… is as follows… Oh, and by the way, my first run-through with the “Toast Masters” group included 27 “Um’s”. Yikes. But it had been a while since I had even thought twice about last September. The chance to write the speech was very reflective. Here goes….
If there is any one value we should all strive towards in life, it is the concept of sharing this earth in a mutually respective way. What if you had witnessed your miniature schnauzer get hit by a car on the freeway and drag its body off the road to avoid oncoming traffic? What if you brought the pup to a local veterinarian who was able to determine she had two broken back legs (femurs) but otherwise completely healthy with the therapy options being expensive orthopedic surgical repair or euthanasia? And then what if there was a company that a long time ago had foreseen the need for instances just like this? This company already had a fund in place for emergency care to help owners out monetarily in special circumstances giving their loved pets a second chance. This company already strongly believed in its responsibility to not only pets but also a responsibility to humanity with the benefits of mutuality.
That case of the schnauzer hit by a car was not a hypothetical case. That was my case. I was the doctor on duty. She was my career-defining applause moment. I was able to use Banfield Charitable Trust money to perform her surgery giving me the freedom to practice quality veterinary medicine, repair both her legs, save her life, and give back to a family in need. "Luck Pinny" as we named her, was my motivation for wanting to do something that not only inspired other people to take on challenges in their own lives, but to see the benefit of having a fund already in place to save pets' lives. No other company has a charitable trust like Banfield. That is something I believe in and am so proud to be a part of. A previous urge of swimming across the English Channel finally got the chance to merge with passion AT THAT VERY MOMENT. Responsibility. I felt responsible to provide as much quality care for this one pet as if she were my own. I have uncompromising personal standards, and before throwing in the towel on her, I wanted to exhaust every possible outcome that I could. The reality was my hospital had no charitable funds saved. Without the Banfield Charitable Trust (BCT), I had no freedom. I reached out to other hospitals who equally felt mutually responsible to provide a quality of care for Lucky Pinny. Those other Banfield hospitals partnered with me to share funds. Additionally, I called on a local community pet-sitting company who donated quite a bit of money to her surgeries.
The need for raising money for the Banfield Charitable Trust is limitless. Impact. I wanted to do something to raise as much money as I could with the greatest impact. I wanted to challenge myself like I never had before with something that would give back and that would inspire people. I was a swimmer in college and the idea was born to swim across the English Channel years before. However when you are attempting a great physical feat, 90% of that is going to be from your heart and soul. I just needed the right passionate cause to pour my heart and soul into. So the urge found a merge in raising money for pets in need in a campaign called the "Laps of Love". I decided there was no better way than to give back to the community through the organization that I worked in and believed in and was limitlessly passionate about. Raising that money would then cycle back mutually within the company. I funded my entire trip out of my own pocket. The emotional support and the impact throughout the community and the company were enormous. Not only did Dianne, Russ, and Jodi (BCT board members) form a specific campaign titled the "Laps of Love", but they also worked with COYNE, Kim VanSyoc and Bret Rolin in the media relations department for numerous articles and news segments to advertise the fundraising effort. The challenge was to swim from England to France raising as much money as possible to be used for two specific Banfield Charitable Trust divisions, the Pet Peace of Mind and the HOPE funds. I am an avid dreamer who sets lofty goals. I started planning, paying the pilot boat guide fees, and swim training over a year in advance. I would swim either with a team or by myself in long open water 6 hour swims as well as running routinely. I trained nearly 40,000 meters a week and ran 30-40 miles per week. I routinely woke up at 5am to get a workout in before work all day and oftentimes would perform double workouts for the day either at lunch or at night. So many people who are training for athletic events change their work schedule. I did not. I remained a full-time veterinarian working 9am to 7pm every single week, 5 days a week. Media representation occurred though Fitness Magazine, SHAPE Magazine, the Texas Runner Triathlete Magazine, a company donation site page, local stand-up posters, swim caps, news interviews on FOX and NEWSFX and my alum school St. George's University.
The challenge of the event was no easy task. I waited for 3 weeks in England for storms to pass and the right weather. My pilot told me the first day I met him for a tour of the boat, that he pulled a corpse out of the water last week, the only swimmer that summer to die. He wanted to know if I was ready. I was completely scared pants-less at that point. I travelled nearly 10,000 miles between Texas to France and back. Once there, my body was not adjusting very well and showing signs of hypothermia. Why? I don’t know. I trained all winter outside. I had some practice swims in California, etc. I had done my 6 hour open water swim in cold temperatures. But I lived in Texas. When it gets hot, your body forgets. All of my prior training accounted essentially for nothing as far as the cold water temperature was concerned. My pilot encouraged me to buy a wetsuit to have on the boat in case. I did not travel to England with a wetsuit. Was I naïve? Most definitely. But if there is any one strength I have…it is that of tenacity. I found a diving shop to purchase a “diving” wetsuit at a town nearby as he instructed me to. All of the other swimmers attempting to cross that day had massive support crews of family members/friends/coaches on their boats. The one person who I wanted and asked to be my support crew on my boat, Patrick, had to fly back to America as he had to be back at work. The poor weather delays were to blame. I was left all alone. I had to recruit a random girl in Dover to be my support for 22 plus miles across the icy, choppy waters of the Channel. Michelle fed me my liquid feeds on a rope while I treaded water for a minute every 45 minutes throughout the grueling 13 hours and 48 minutes of the 22 plus nonstop miles of swimming. I got seasick, stung by jellyfish, covered in sea slime, went through serious mental battles and physical pain to make it one stroke at a time from England to France. I almost reached hypothermia and gave up but my pilot told me to put the wetsuit on and give it another shot. He told me at that point my swim was officially over. He said I may as well get back in the boat and travel to Dover. My name would never be in a record log somewhere. But I didn’t care. I told him that was not the reason I came here to swim across the Channel. It never was about me. It was about the cause. It was about raising money for pets in need. And so he helped me to get into the diving wetsuit, and I tried to continue on. For the cause, it was important for me to reach France somehow, some way. I dug down even deeper while watching giant cruise ships scale by me in the pitch black across the busiest shipping lane in the world. I cried, I sang songs, I tried to remember all the muscle names in the dog’s body, I pictured little Lucky Pinny’s face over and over, I remembered all of the people in Banfield and the community who believed in this cause, and I PRAYED. I wasn’t giving up. Some way or another, it was important for me to finish in France. And I did. 13 grueling hours and 48 minutes later, near 1am in the pitch black of the night I emerged on the sheering rocks of Cap Nez Gris. Once I touched France, I had to actually swim back to the boat in the spotlight as the sheering rocks and currents would wreck the boat. Then I stepped foot on the boat in a daze. I still had a few hours ride back to England, a rental car to drive myself back to my hotel in, the attempt of carrying all of my gear up to my hotel room, peeling my wetsuit off, trying to get in a hot bath, and then a near 48 hours of feeling like I had the flu with every muscle in my body screaming in pain. My one funny moment of the trip included me remembering at 2am that I had not eaten in way too many hours, wishing there was a Taco Bell nearby, finding a local 24 hour gas station, and waltzing in. I waltzed in wearing only my wetsuit, running shoes, hair full of seaweed, and asking for 4 sandwiches. The cashier woman looked at me like I was INSANE.
I finally felt well enough to fly back to America. After the swim, the impact continued. A local swim lake asked me to host a "Swim with Your Pets" kick-off event encouraging owners to swim with their pets for therapeutic, human-animal bonding purposes, and health benefits. “Pet Swim Sundays” still continue. Numerous media outlets have asked for my professional wisdom and input on water safety, pet training, weight loss, and swim gear, etc. The amount of support throughout the company was far reaching. I have had numerous associates tell me how inspired they were by the campaign that they too were looking to take on challenges to give back in their own lives. The support from Central Team Support (CTS) was mind boggling. I had a giant poster made for me, good luck emails, clients asking for autographed swim caps, etc.
When it was all said and done, monetarily we raised over $7500 for pets in need and truly cannot put a specific number on how many people and pets have benefited. When you have an urge and a merge mixed with passion for a worthy cause, the sky is the limit. I strongly believe everything about this project defined what I personally believed in through the company I am fortunate enough to be a part of. I felt personally compelled and responsible to raise money for pets in need providing me the freedom to practice quality veterinary medicine with the end result being a mutual relationship for every entity involved from myself to the company to the pet parent to the pet in need. The mutual benefits continue to offshoot and will sustain not only for pets and the community but for the BCT, Banfield, and myself. Sometimes people just need to be inspired. Jane Goodall once said, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”. I want to inspire people to make a difference. My name will never be in a record book for swimming across the English Channel because I wore a wetsuit. But that doesn’t matter one bean on a hill of beans to me or any of the pets who received life-saving medical care. Nor does it matter to their owners. That was never the reason behind the “Laps of Love” Campaign. One makes decisions such as these, not for acclaim, but for the cause. There is significant self-awareness through the effort, but more so, there is the satisfaction of accomplishment and contribution to a far greater good.
