Jessica Finnegan and Her Words of Wisdom

About a week ago we launched our new website, something we’ve been working on for many months and are immensely proud of. On the day before we planned to announce it, we learned that one of our dear friends, Jessica Finnegan, had been in an automobile accident and she didn’t survive. To be honest, it has taken our breath away. Our hearts have not been in celebrating a new website and it also suddenly felt disrespectful to her memory. But after a few days of reflection, we’ve decided to share our new website by honoring Jessica, by making this—our first post on our new site (that she would have loved)—a tribute to our dear, unforgettable friend.

Jessica was a shining star in pet care. More than her trademark red hair and smiling Irish eyes, she was one of the sharpest minds and most seasoned experts in the industry. For years, Jessica was the Director of Operations for one of the largest veterinary hospital and luxury boarding resorts in the country. More recently, she had taken her wealth and breadth of pet care business experience to launch her own consulting firm, helping others achieve success. Whether keynoting a conference or livestreaming her insights for building a successful business while caring for yourself, Jessica inspired and uplifted more people than she could possibly know. She was one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet, and we were so proud to call her friend. Even in a crowded conference hall, she could make you feel like you were the only person in the room—she was generous with her time and her attention was genuine. The loss of her presence has impacted us profoundly, but her words of wisdom will stay with us forever.

Jessica was slated to host the upcoming online IBPSA Pet Care Business Conference which will now be dedicated to her memory. Our founder and CEO, Annette Uda, will be presenting one of the sessions at the conference. We hope you’ll join her and the rest of the speakers who, no doubt, will all be upping their game for Jessica. If you haven’t registered yet, you can learn more and do so at petcareconference.com.

If you didn’t have the privilege of knowing Jessica or hearing her speak, here are some inspirational words from a video she posted on fear, faith, and courage. We encourage you to seek out more, because Jessica, and what she had to say, was something very special.

“Don’t be afraid of failure, don’t live in fear on the sidelines of life and let it pass you by. Don’t ever live by the philosophy that ‘I’m going to start something tomorrow’ when you have the ability to start it today…What’s holding you back? What are those dreams and those actions that remove the blanket of fear that you would have grabbed onto? Take a chance, throw fear to the ground, stand in your courageous self…and walk.”

Watch the full video:

Photo at top (left to right): Johnny Kelsey and Annette Uda of Pet Airapy, Jessica Finegan (center) and her team.