1 comments about Personal Stories of Departed Pets (Haunted Encounters series).

1. I got a copy of this book as soon as it came out, and I sat down to read it immediately ... and I didn't put it down till I was finished! This book is so complelling you just have to see what the next story is about. I've seen lots of books on true ghost stories, but none that combine my two favorite things: Animals and the paranormal! Great, great idea. Can't wait for the sequel. Warning: If you really love animals, it will make you cry in some parts.

5 comments about Animal ER: Extraordinary Stories of Hope and Healing from One of the World's Leading Veterinary Hospitals.

1. This book is great! The author strikes just the right balance between sad and happy outcomes. She gives you a great peek into the amazing stories that happen every day in a busy animal emergency room. I laughed and cried and couldn't put the book down. I read this book aloud to my eleven year old son who also loved it.



2. I'm very happily working in a pet profession, I just adore the vet & pet shows on animal planet (from popped out eyeballs, to beloved sick iguanas) , and I am a big sap for animal stories and moving stories of any kind. I guess I expected this to be more stories (happy and sad, but moving), maybe even like chicken-soup style but longer? I was very disappointed. The stories were often short (sometimes 1/2 a sentence) and few between. Lots of vet perspectives on life, and personal vet perspectives on the profession, and worldly views of everything. I was really bored. I kept reading hoping for the next story to come, but I ended up reading skipping more than 1/2 the book because after a while I just couldn't read the quotes from the vets & techs anymore, and the lists of things they teach the other techs, and their years of schooling and personal experiences (educational & interests - not animal stories) was redundant and boring for me. The medical descriptions were not detailed enough to be educational orinteresting, and were too detailed that they distracted from the emotionality of just telling a story. I still have 20 pages to go before I finish, and I can't even remember the last story I was actually moved by (it was somewhere in the first 30 pages. The book is organized by "topic", but it doesn't seem to really have any flow (it went from dogs & cats to much less interesting stories of wildlife & exotics - which are usually very interesting, but they left out all the emotions other than "we eventually had to put it asleep, that was really hard". A few times they didn't even list the end of the story, or what decision the owner made for treatment - I really hate that (what happened to the kangaroos eyen cancer???)!

   I'd really like to give this book 2 or 3 stars at least, because they really tried. They talked to may vets, and plopped in tons of quotes and lists of things they "learned" (quoted) from them. But I just feel so disappointed (more every time I try to finish it) that I can't. I've been a lot more moved by the cat behavior books I purchased at the same time - more stories, more details on personal emotions, trial and error, and results, and much more follow up to the stories.

   I have to say I did like it when they listed the estimated prices for things. Although they did this infrequently, just for expensive procedures that may be ineffective. Sorry - I might recommend this book for the current used rate of under $2 if the shipping wasn't $4.99, but I can't justify $12.00 + shipping.




3. From an anorexic snake to a myopic kangaroo to a bloated akita, from the tricky diagnoses to the hopeless cases, this captivating paperback tells of the perilous situations that have occurred at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Is it really right to spend all this time and effort on animals when some people lack food, shelter, and proper medical care? The veterinarians who unveil their heart-warming and emotional stories in this 194-page book, Animal ER, by Vicki Croke (copyright-1999) show us that the world is meant to be shared by animals and humans.
   Each chapter of this brilliant book displays and describes a different animal/pet and its unique problem. Biology plays a major part in this book because it's about the science of studying and curing living things. It exposes the drama of life in the emergency ward of a veterinary hospital, which is a biology-related occupation. The first chapter summarizes the atmosphere of the Intensive Care Unit at Tufts; it's sad and yet successful too. The next eleven chapters of Animal ER present various animals and their life-threatening problems. Some require complex surgical procedures, while others are solved by unexpected and simple means. The last chapter returns to the Intensive Care Unit and reveals what the animals teach the veterinarians. The main idea expressed at the closing of the book touched my soul as tears rose to the surface like a newly found spring. Vicki Croke wrote that the animals who are cared for seem to teach simple lessons about life. "Animals continue to surprise me with their patience, their level of tolerance, and their strength," Nishi says, "but most of all, with their ability to forgive" (194).
   I would strongly recommend this brilliant book to my friends or those people who are thinking of going into the veterinary field of study. Since I've never had a pet, I cannot relate to the owners of these sick animals; however, I can see this book as a slice of a veterinarian's life. It captures the essence of the Intensive Care Unit during first examinations, x-rays, surgery, and post-operative care. It is clear to see, as they treat animals, that Nishi Dhupa, Dr. Mark Pokras, Dr. John Berg, and other staff members at Tufts have the "healing touch". So even though some people don't have their primary needs met like food, shelter, and clothing, animals have a right to our care and concern.



4. Animal ER is a marvelous book for anyone who has an interest in animals or the world of Vets. Most of this book showed how these vets work everyday, but it also touches on the emotional side of the proffession. Vets have to decide when to put an animal to sleep and when to give them extra treatment . They also have a responsibility to comfort the owners. Find out more about the world of the vet by reading this fantastic nonfiction.



5. When my sister lost her beloved Great Dane, I mourned for her too. I'm a cat person, and this big black incredibly sweet baby was the first dog I ever loved. When I visited my sister last year and she showed me this book, explaining that the author had been there in the Tufts Vet ER with her when Azaria was brought in, I was amazed. I continued to be amazed as I saw my sister's very special love for my doggy-niece through the eyes of a total stranger. It would have been very easy to dismiss how painful losing a pet can be, very easy to miss the ties of love between a pet and her owner. My sister loved her dog, quirks and fears and vet bills and all. I loved her too. Thanks, Vicki. Your gentle presentation of their story is the finest tribute Zari could have had.

5 comments about Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way We Live.

1. If you want to read a serious, beautifully written book on this subject, you couldn't do better than to choose this one. The author has an elegant mind and a clear style. The stories he tells, personal and professional, are unforgettable.



2. I found this book very touching and moving. Sometimes when we think we know so much about animals the fact is we will never know enough. Any opportunity we can learn more about how they live is a gift to all humans. They are so willing to teach us - we just need to open our hearts and minds and accept all that they are willing to give. They can truly change the way we live, this book helps to show you just that.



3. So you think you know and understand your pets, especially dogs? Not until you read this wonderful and insightful book can one begin to understand the exceptional love and experiences that dogs bring into our lives. This should be required reading in schools!!!



4. This book is a great primer for people who have an inkling that our relationship with animals runs deep and is often spiritual or even mystical.
   
   Dr. Schoen has given us a one-stop shopping source, with introductions to: alternative medicine for animals, alternatives to commercial pet food, and ways to enrich the human-animal bond through touch, massage, and meditation.
   
   Buy it as a gift for someone whose eyes are opening to the reality that we are all connected and responsible for each other.



5. Allen M. Schoen, D.V.M., M.S., author of "Kindred Spirits" has written a sensitive book that pulled me in from the beginning. I have to confess that I am a person who feels more in touch with animals than than I do with most people. I have enjoyed reading this book so far and would recommend it to any adult who enjoys understanding the complex relationship between man and the animals around us. It is easy to read and full of wonderful anecdotes from the author's experience as a vet.

No comments about Cats in the Parsonage 2 (All God's Creatures Series, Book 3) (All God's Creatures).

1 comments about Skidboot: The Amazing Dog.

1. Skidboot started out like a little rascal, but ended up a diamond in the rough. It is a sweet story. I enjoyed reading it.

3 comments about Friend of the Flock.

1. Nice follow-up to "Fields and Pastures New". As a Rural Southerner I particularly appreciated the way he delt with the issue of hunting. He is able to get away with "poking fun" at the rural South because he does so in a honest and respectful manner. You can tell he has "been there, done that".



2. I was raised about 60 miles from Choctaw county, Alabama. As a practicing veterinarian, I found so many of Dr. John's experiences similar to my own. This is a facinating profession and it is wonderful to see that it is the same most everywhere. Dr. McCormack seems to find the humor in most all situations that would be at the least frustrating for the rest of us. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good belly laugh. It pokes fun at the rural South, but I can say from experience, he doesn't exaggerate all that much!!!



3. I loved this book. I am an animal lover and John McCormacks detication to his work just amazed me. I loved a Friend of the Flock, and it made a great topic for the essay I had to write for my english class. I hope more people are able to read it. I also hope my review is helpful to them.

No comments about Cats Are Smarter Than Jack: 89 amazing true cat stories, connecting animal lovers and helping animals worldwide (Smarter Than Jack).

1 comments about Dogmania: Amazing But True Canine Tales.

1. Dogmania, written by ALlan Zullo and Mara Bovsun is just wonderful. You will laugh, you will cry, but mostly, you'll want to hug your dog! A must read for dog lovers.

1 comments about Five Thousand One and Two-Liners for Any and Every Occasion.

1. These jokes are really bad. And I don't mean that in a good way, like bad pizza. These stink. Certainly there are a few chuckles hidden in the pages, but you could do much better than this.

1 comments about A Tincture of Time.

1. The Following book review was printed in the ³Sherman Sentinel² in Sherman, CT. It was embarrassingly positive, and was so close to my intended writing target that I would like my readers to see it.

   ³I came to Sherman when Dr. Everett Vreeland was retiring from veterinary practice, so it naturally followed that I inherited some of his previous clients. They regaled me with tales of a white coveralled, tall, gregarious man who would be seen careening through town on his way from one animal medical emergency to the next. He was described as decisive, well-liked, a good ³cow-man², a man who dares to experience and love life,
   ³Doc² Vreeland has distilled his rich experiences acquired during forty years of general veterinary practice into a book, ŒA Tincture of Time¹.
   The gold standard with which to compare any veterinarian¹s memoirs is, of course, the work of English country veterinarian, James Herriot. Everett Vreeland is James Herriot with the bark still on him. He is Ernest Hemingway as an animal doctor. An experience of my own serves to illustrate my first impression of Dr. Vreeland¹s book. I was working on a local dairy farm and had just met the herd¹s veterinarian for the first time, a colorful character quite similar to Dr. Vreeland. I mentioned to the herdsman that I didn¹t quite know how to take this fellow, to which he replied, ŒSometimes you take him right between the eyes!¹
   I found ŒA Tincture of Time¹ often hilarious, sincere, opinionated, and sometimes prurient. It is a book for adults, describing with sometimes brutal honesty the joys and tribulations of being a solo veterinarian in rural New England. His recountings of his dealings with colorful clients, whose identities are disguised with clever cognomens, are keenly observant, accurate and well articulated. His interpolations of non-veterinary experiences make the book genuine and interesting.
   This book is a labor of love, written by a man with a calling to be a veterinarian. In a profession that can offer unmatched rewards and pressures, he has managed to convey his formula towards achieving happiness.²
   Paul Biagiotti DVM