Download The Accidental Veterinarian Tales from a Pet Practice Philipp Schott 9781770414808 Books

Product details Paperback 200 pages Publisher ECW Press (April 23, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1770414800

The Accidental Veterinarian Tales from a Pet Practice Philipp Schott 9781770414808 Books Reviews

• I intended to just read a few of Dr Schott's stories from this collection every day but then ended reading them all in one long sitting! It was like trying to take just a few chocolates out of a box! There is an eclectic range of essays and anecdotes here covering everything from how going to vet school is like going to Hogwarts through to how to give a cat a pill and how to give an ostrich a pill! He lifts the curtain on many surprising aspects of the veterinary profession. Even non pet owners will find this "slice of life" fascinating. Above all, the writing is engaging and warm and, as other reviewers have said, he will have you laughing and crying. Highly recommended.
• Mostly a diatribe or “poor us” stories about the life of a veterinarian. I don’t need to buy a book to be lectured to.
• Like most teens, Philipp Schott did not know what he wanted to be when he grew up, but when it came time to enter college his father stressed the importance of choosing a field that would offer employment when he graduated. Veterinary medicine seems like a surprising choice, since Schott’s entire experience with pets consisted of one pet gerbil, but he liked zoology, and he liked cats and dogs, so what the heck! The result has been a career of almost 30 years treating small animals, a career that has enriched the lives of many animals and their humans and clearly brought fulfillment to Schott as well.
  The Accidental Veterinarian is a collection of short pieces written over the past two years that tells Schott’s story from his decision to become a veterinarian to the present day. The essays cover his training, the practical experience of being a veterinarian, interesting bits of veterinary science, and stories of some of the more “peculiar” cases he has encountered. But those topics sound dull, and The Accidental Veterinarian is anything but. Schott realized early on that a love of people is as essential to success as a veterinarian as a love of animals, and this is a warm book as full of humanity as it is of cats and dogs (and gerbils). As Schott says, he has had “hardened-looking men confess that they cried more when their dog died than when their father died, and… lonely elderly women say that they have laughed more with their kitten than they have about anything else …for a very long time.” The main focus is on the people and animals, and I laughed a lot and teared up more than once. But I also learned some interesting veterinary lore, like the possibility that the frequency of a cat’s purr may encourage tissue healing, which could explain why it is beneficial for cats to purr when they are injured. As a cat person I have become accustomed to being labeled a “crazy cat lady”, but some of the rather bizarre lengths dog people will go to , like “neuticles” (Look it up!) surpass anything I have seen in the cat world.
  One small caveat I had considered recommending this book to a young middle-schooler who wants to be a veterinarian, but there are a few incidents that would prevent me from giving it an unqualified “G” rating. Parents might want to preview the book for younger readers.
  Since this is a collection of short pieces, each only a page or two long, The Accidental Veterinarian is perfectly designed for those times when you just have a few minutes to kill and would like something to entertain you. That is how I intended to read the book, but when I began to read I found it so engaging that I sat down and polished it off in one afternoon. No matter how you approach it, though, if you like animals or just appreciate a warmly told tale of an “accidental” life choice, this book should be a good choice for you. Schott describes the animals he has treated as “endlessly fascinating, endlessly charming, endlessly appealing”; so is his book.
  Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book.
• This short and sweet collection of anecdotes by Philipp Schott will have any animal lover chuckling as they read about dogs who love nothing more than eating rocks or the guide dog who tried to fool his human by avoiding the vet, but is sure to bring a tear to their eye with his accounts of doing the hardest part of his job, putting an animal to sleep. I understand that the book is made up of a collection of his blog posts, so fans of his blog may find little new material here, but as someone unfamiliar with him, I really did enjoy his combination of humor, good storytelling and practical advice. I'd happily recommend this book to any animal lover or to any young person thinking of becoming a vet.
  I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
• The Accidental Veterinarian is a collection of essays all grouped around topics important to the daily life in a veterinary practice. I wondered, as I read, if the essays had been first published in a blog or as a weekly newspaper column. The essays deal with important and interesting topics in animal care, and I learned a lot from them. I would have liked to see more inclusion of actual animal stories, real patients. There was some of that, especially in the last part of the book, and I particularly enjoyed them.
• While this was not filled with the kind of animal/Vet stories I was hoping for, it was packed with knowledge and wisdom from a seasoned Veterinarian. Filled with advice on many different topics, it was much more of a behind the scenes look at a Veterinarian’s office. Everyone that has a pet, no matter how educated about pet care, will be able to take away a new tidbit of information from this informative book. Thank you to ECW and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• Dr. Schott's tales from his many years as a veterinarian are at times hilarious and at times poignant, and they are never dull. You don't have to be looking for solutions to a specific pet problem or be an animal lover in general to enjoy this book; he is a skilled and entertaining writer, and the short story format makes for a quick and delightful read.
  
  The fact that Dr. Schott reluctantly entered the profession, one which is typically populated by people who have wanted to be vets all their lives, makes his tales that much more unique. His perspective on the human condition is as valuable as the diagnoses he provides for the animals under his care, and it is recommended reading from this persepective alone.
• I like to read about vet life and I liked this book.
  It was well written, full of stories and details.
  A very good book that was both engaging and entertaining.
  Recommended!
  many thanks to ECW Press and Netgalley for this ARC