Madi and Maya
Meet some of our very favorite people! Jodi and Shane Freeman and their children (well, children to us - they are quite grown up!) bring their pets all the way from Lincoln Nebraska to see us, and we so appreciate it!
Travis and Tidus
You may remember Travis and his Pit Bull Tidus - from his bout with parvo or his cute video on Gentle Doctor's Facebook page today!
Meet more of this wonderful family!
Travis, Kylah, Jodi, Madi and Shane
From Jodi...
Tell us about your family – humans and pets!
My family includes five humans and twenty-two critters (quick, breathe, it’s okay!) People hear our story, and then ask “Do you live on a farm?!” No, we live in a little house, but we SHOULD live on a farm. The humans are Shane and Jodi, Travis (age 23), Kylah (age 20), and Madi (age 12). Travis lives in Chico California and Kylah lives in Omaha. The rest of us live in Lincoln Nebraska.
Shane with Sid, Maya and Taco
We have three dogs of our own, Sid, Taco and Maya, and we are semi-permanently foster-grandparenting another – Tidus.
Freebird
We also have a horse, Freebird, and Madi claims sixteen chickens – but only two have names, Maudi and Mavis.
What do the adults in the family do for a living and for fun?
Shane is in manufacturing with GSK in Lincoln, and Jodi is the Director of Outreach at a funeral home (which is way cooler than one might think, but that’s a whole other article).
Shane and Tidus
Shane plays guitar and keyboard in a cover band, and Jodi dedicates her time to training Freebird and volunteering at Epona.
What do the kids in the family do for fun?
Kylah and Maya
Travis is an up-and-coming rapper and vocalist, Kylah and her boyfriend Cole are into pro-am ATV racing (Cole racing, Kylah being the cheerleader), and Madi is a HUGE help at the Rescue and is learning to be a top-notch horsewoman. She is also entering a scholastic/beauty pageant for the first time this year.
Tell us more about the pets you have now and the pets you have had in the past.
Sid the ancient fox terrier mix is seventeen years old and more than likely a puppy mill dog. We got her at a flea market outside of Houston Texas (the irony does not escape me).
Sid
Taco is eleven years old, and a shepherdy mix, maybe lab & Belgian Malinois, who was rescued from a shelter in Topeka Kansas.
Taco and Maya
Maya is a seven year old Boston Terrier who perfectly meets the crazy Boston stereotype.
Maya
Our “foster/grandpuppy” is a two year old purebred red-nosed Pit Bull, Tidus, who breaks every pittie stereotype there is. He’s a big love, and would just as soon sit on your lap and lick you to death than even *think* about being dangerous.
Our horse is a yearling (fifteen months old) Paint filly, Freebird, who is busy learning everything a young horse needs to learn. She was adopted from Epona Horse Rescue – her mother was rescued out of a starving herd in Wyoming about five months before she was born. She was raised at Epona until we adopted her in early May…more on Epona later!
The chickens actually belong to the Rescue, but Madi has been so anxious to become a chicken owner that she has claimed them, and works hard to care for them. Technically, we could claim all of the critters at the Rescue, if caring for them is the criteria – but then people really would think we’ve gone off the deep end!
We have also had several rats (including fostering a family of ten newborn ratties from Nebraska Humane Society), three hamsters, a mouse, a rabbit, a turtle, two snakes (much against Jodi’s wishes) and innumerable fish.
Tell us about when you first met the Gentle Doctor team or a story about the team others may not know.
We met Dr. Finch over twenty years ago when she started dating Russ – better known at that time as Jodi’s little brother!
What have you learned about pets that you did not know as a kid or before you had your own pets?
Times have definitely changed in pet ownership since we were growing up. We have always had pets, but we didn’t understand as much as we do now, about things like ear cropping (I can’t even imagine doing that to a dog now), training, crates, and so much more. I definitely feel like we are better pet owners having a veterinarian in the family than we ever were before. We also know better than to buy into the stereotypes of humans and animals alike.
Do you have wisdom about any medical conditions that you could share with someone who is perhaps just starting to walk their pet through a similar situation?
Tidus gave us a huge scare when he was just a few weeks old – Dr. Finch has written a fabulous blog about it. He contracted parvo through an unvaccinated dog! He had been given one dose of vaccine, and then before his second dose, he was unfortunately living with a dog (unbeknownst to us) whose owner didn’t believe in vaccination. Tidus was knocking at death’s door, and terrified all of us. Please, vaccinate your pets! You never know when you’ll be around one that is not vaccinated, or when your unvaccinated pet might inadvertently cause tragedy in another family.
Do you have a favorite breed or type of pet?
We are huge animal lovers! We love bully-breed dogs and their silly antics the most of all dog breeds. We also plan to have another horse (or two, shhh, don’t tell Shane) in the not-so-distant future because riding is more fun in groups.
Is there a shelter or rescue group or other pet related group that is dear to you that you would like us to help spread the word about?
Epona Horse Rescue in Crete Nebraska is very close to our hearts. We learned about Epona last November when we attended the Lancaster County Horse Expo, and started volunteering almost immediately. The number of equine lives saved in the ten years since Epona opened its (barn) doors, is countless. Besides being a wonderful place for horses in need, Epona has becoming a huge “happy place” for us, and for many others. Horses are wonderful friends to people – they bond emotionally, especially with people who have physical and emotional struggles. They help build confidence and character, and give us great insight into our own personalities when we take the time to get to know them.
You can learn more about Epona by visiting them on Facebook, or at www.eponahorserescue.com. You’re always welcome to come visit, learn more about the critters (besides the horses, there are goats, donkeys, dogs, and the aforementioned chickens).
