Vet for Triple Crown Champ Now a Mobile Vet Locally

By R.J. Cohn

Dr. Nicole Finch knows a thing or two about million-dollar racehorses.

Especially American Pharoah – who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2015 and became the first horse to win the modern Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing – who she treated as a veterinarian at Belmont Park.

But now the former U.S. Army veteran, who was also the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Veterinary Medical Officer at the Douglas Port of Entry, is caring for pets, horses and livestock as a mobile veterinarian serving Cochise County 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

Finch– who began in July – couldn’t be happier. 

Or busier.

“The phone hasn’t stopped ringing since last summer thanks to word-of-mouth, referrals and pop-up clinics” said Finch, who’s been practicing veterinary medicine since 2014. “I saw there was a need for a mobile vet here. Many people in rural Cochise County are homebound, disabled, have transportation and financial issues when it comes to their pets. I try to make it as convenient as possible for pet owners.”

Though her truck is not equipped for surgical operations, she’ll dash out at any time of day or night for pet emergencies, including diarrhea, vomiting, or when they’re just plain sick. She also administers core vaccines like rabies, Bordetella, distemper/parvo, and feline Viral Rhinotracheitis Calicivirus and Panleukopenia, along with wellness exams, microchipping and euthanasia. 

She also treats animals at local sanctuaries and rescue centers.

“I recently had a call for someone who wanted me to treat his Bengal tiger,” she said. “I was all set to take it on, but my husband emphatically said no,” she said. “I wasn’t sure how legal it was for someone to have a tiger in their private residence in the first place.”

Arizona law prohibits private ownership of large cats like tigers, lions and jaguars, which are considered restricted exotic wildlife, without a special permit.

Finch has come full circle – with stops as a thoroughbred racehorse vet from Kentucky to New York State and a government-appointed livestock inspector – to finally realizing her lifelong dream of opening her own private practice.

“What I love about going mobile is that it makes animals more comfortable being treated in their own homes than being put in a pet carrier and carted into a building, which often can be traumatizing, especially if there are a lot of barking dogs,” she said. “I’ve sat on bathroom floors with shaking cats, next to doggy beds with sick pups who prefer not to be put in a car. I’m happy to return the next day if they’re still not feeling great.”

Getting animals to feel great is what Finch is all about, especially horses, which is her specialty.

After graduating from Colorado State University as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, she was hired as an associate vet at the Keeneland Race Course and the Calumet Farm, a 762-acre breeding and training facility in Lexington, Kentucky, caring for thoroughbred racehorses, something that had always been her passion. 

“They’re extremely high-strung and expensive animals, but I loved every moment working with them,” she said. “For someone who loves thoroughbreds like I do, you couldn’t ask for a better first job just out of school.”

But a better one came along. 

She was hired by the New York State Racing Commission as a Lasix vet at Belmont Park, the final race on horse racing’s Triple Crown, administering the diuretic Lasix into a horse’s jugular vein 4 ½ hours before a race to prevent fluid or blood from entering their lungs during strenuous exertion. American Pharoah, the 12th Triple Crown winner in history and 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, was one of the thoroughbreds Finch treated.

“He was a real gentleman,” she recalled. “He never tried to bite or kick, he was pretty laid back, a real sweetheart."

When Covid shut down horse racing, Finch headed west to work as Veterinary Medical Officer for the USDA at the Douglas Port of Entry, overseeing the inspection of more than 1,500 cattle and horses per day.

“I rejected a lot of sick cattle and others because of poor branding from coming into this country,” she said. “No way was I going to let bad beef into the United States.”

But when the Trump Administration eliminated her position and thousands of others through the Department of Government Efficiency cuts early this year, Finch put down roots in Cochise County and rolled out her mobile veterinary practice.

“I couldn’t be happier or busier,” she said. “Feels like a dream come true.”

Dr. Nicole Finch can be reached at 480-510-4257 or drnicolefinch@gmail.com.