National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

This week, November 6th-12th, 2011 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week.  Given all the animals who need homes and the wonderful people who undertake this emotionally hard work, I am delighted to pause and honor the shelters.  I also have an idea – wouldn’t it be grand if from now until year-end we could collectively raise a great deal of money to assist their important work?

Regular readers of this blog know that last year at this time I was in the hospital fighting cancer.  Fortunately, the cancer is gone and like many survivor’s I reflect on life’s path so far.  Three key places in my life are Minnesota where my book is based, Washington – I attended Seattle Pacific University and Arizona where I now live.  In business, it is always good to construct a win-win collaborative so I have an idea to make a difference that I hope you will also find creative.

Coated With Fur: A Vet’s Life is a great holiday gift for animal lovers and those who want to be veterinarians.  Author’s long to share our work.  So I’ve created a fundraiser to expose more people to the book and, at the same time, help three animal shelters:  The Animal Humane Society in Minnesota, The Humane Society For Seattle/King County and the Arizona Humane Society.  Their websites are animalhumanesociety.orgseattlehumane.org and azhumane.org.  More about my background is at veterinarycreative.com and the book’s website is coatedwithfur.com

At Smashwords, the book can be downloaded in any electronic format – Kindle, Nook, iTunes and any other e-reader.  I wanted people who get e-readers as gifts to have time to download after the holiday.  So, until December 31, 2011, you can buy the e-book from Smashwords and earn credit in a friendly competition for your company.  I will donate 25% of the proceeds in the name of the employees and retirees of the winning company to the humane society from each state.  Thus, all three shelters will benefit.  Note I’ve taken a few liberties as not all companies are headquartered as indicated (e.g., Google isn’t based in Seattle but they have a great dog policy!).  Generally though, these companies have a meaningful presence in the state.  If I omitted your company, let me know and I will add it!  If you don’t work for one of these companies, pick a favorite and they will get the credit.  Please pass this along to colleagues who love animals.

To summarize all three shelters will receive a check in early January in honor of the employees and retirees of the winning team.  If interested, please go  to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60269 and when you go to purchase the book, enter your respective company code.  You may also download free samples.  If you have questions, please e-mail me at drnelson@veterinarycreative.com.  Thanks and let’s raise a lot of money for these shelters – they do such vital work! 

Minnesota (note the codes are not case sensitive)

3M Company                     KT62S
Ameriprise Financial          NT23W
Best Buy                           RY34H
Cargill                               NE85B
Delta Airlines                    CZ24K
General Mills                     QT88D
Medtronic                          XN86T
Regis                                 MH48L
St. Jude Medical                QH38P
Supervalu                         ZU42X
Target                               ZR26M
UnitedHealthcare              CB62D
US Bank                            GC92F
Wells Fargo                       NY45Z
Xcel Energy                       JT66A

Washington 

Boeing                              UA66L
Costco                              FB64G
Google                              LY34N
Microsoft                           PA585
Nordstrom                        NX82T
Russell Investments         QQ96J
Starbucks                         MZ42T
Weyerhaeuser                 LN45R

Arizona

Avnet                                    DA64Z
Banner Health                      ZE34T
Basha’s                                KF76Y
Catholic Healthcare West     BD45F
Freeport McMoran                PM64M
Honeywell                            SD85W
Intel                                     NA32K
Pinnacle West                      SP94A
Scottsdale Healthcare          RM77D
US Airways                           UJ65R

Good luck teams!

Published by kristennelsondvm

Dr. Kristen Nelson grew up on a farm in Watertown, Minn., where she developed a deep love for animals of all kinds. She received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine. Kris then completed a small-animal internship at the prestigious Animal Medical Center in New York City. In addition to writing and speaking, she cares for small and exotic animals in Scottsdale, Az. Dr. Nelson is widely quoted in the media. Her credits include Ladies’ Home Journal, USA TODAY, the Los Angeles Times and numerous radio and television interviews. Dr. Nelson has written two books, Coated With Fur: A Vet’s Life and Coated With Fur: A Blind Cat’s Love. Kris and her husband Steve share their home with rescued cats, birds and a dog.