Lake Country This Month

November, 2016

Lake Country This Month

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By Chris Bennett Special to The Freeman PEWAUKEE — "Working on a tiger in Ames" sounds like the title of a folk song, or the description of a night out that cost too much and went on too long. The truth is more excit- ing. The future Dr. Anna Schwister helped out an ill tiger when the circus passed through Ames, Iowa, while she attended veteri- nary school at Iowa State University. She even got the photo everyone probably wants to take when in the company of a sedated big cat. "I opened up his mouth and put my head in it and pretended he was eating me," Schwister said. Schwister has been a vet- erinarian for more than 25 years, and characterized her reasons for going into the profession as conven- tional. "It was just your normal reasons most people are veterinarians," Schwister said. "My love of animals started when I was 4 years old. I still, to this day, pick up puppies and kitties and squeeze them like a little kid." Schwister and her hus- band, Mike, have owned and operated Lakeview Animal Clinic in Pewaukee since September 2010. At that point, she added a new hat to her collection. In addition a being a doctor and animal lover, Schwister is a small-business owner. On top of all that, she is still a devoted mother who decided she should be nick- named "Mommy Uber" after finding time to chauf- feur her children to various activities this past summer. "Unless they've owned a business themselves most people don't know how much work it is," Schwister said. "To the general public that does not own a busi- ness, I don't think they real- ize the amount of time it takes." On top of everything Schwister is everything at Lakeview. She does not have a practice manager, so she handles everything. "I buy every roll of toilet paper and every roll of paper towel, every battery," Schwister said. "If the com- puters stop working it's me who gets them working again." There is a large amount of inventory to be controlled in a veterinary office, and Schwister is in charge of all of that. Hiring and firing is also hers, as are tracking taxes and securing insur- ance. "I did not know how all- encompassing and obses- sive you become when you own a small business," Schwister said. "It's an obsession. You can't stop thinking about it. You think about it from the moment you wake to the second you go to bed at night." In between obsessing over changing light bulbs and dealing with bookkeeping, Schwister finds time to fix a few animals. "It's when I take the real- ly sick pets and give them back to their owners com- pletely healthy," Schwister said. "That's the most satis- fying part of the job, for sure." The flip side of that joy is the sorrow that comes with telling an owner their beloved pet is far more ill than expected, and that their time together is draw- ing short. "The hardest time I have is when an owner comes in and they have no idea some- thing is seriously wrong with their pet," Schwister said. "It's the look of shock on the owner's face." The emotional toll of being a veterinarian, com- bined with the rigors of running a business and the hectic nature of being a wife and mother, is leading Schwister to realize she needs to reduce her stress. "That's one of the things I have been working on — reducing the amount of stress I have from owning a small business and being a mom with kids in sports," Schwister said. "I've been trying to hire a little more staff and take some of the jobs I do off my shoulders." Jilly's not your average car wash Lake Country T H I S M O N T H INSIDE PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID WAUKESHA, WI PERMIT NO. 3 Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WaukeshaFreeman Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WaukeshaFreeman The FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE NOVEMBER 2016 Page 3A Barbara Eash antiques column Page 4A Submitted photo Dr. Anna Schwister finds herself juggling many tasks as an owner of the Lakeview Animal Clinic in addition to being "Mommy Uber" for her children. Buck stops at top for entrepreneurs Chenequa • Delafield • Hartland • Merton • Nashotah • Okauchee • Pewaukee How to get YOUR news into Lake Country This Mont h We want your community news! We will publish the happenings at your schools and community groups — as well as everyday items and we need your help to get these announcements and pictures published. Submissions must be typed or emailed. No handwritten submissions will be accept- ed. Please identify people in photos. Please send news items and photos to: news@conleynet.com Schwister driving force behind Lakeview Animal Clinic Entrepreneurial endeavors Far from a dog's life at Barkin' Up Hickory Page 2A Reuter inducted into coaches Hall of Fame SPORTS / Page 4B

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