If you buy this book secondhand really cheap and only use it for cleaning up animal messes then maybe its worth while, otherwise, scratch your bum, its less of a waste of time. ( )

Daily events in a busy animal ER. Each chapter has a kind of theme, the first being an introduction to the hospital itself. Following that, the subjects include dogs with GDV or "bloat", car crash victims, animals that have gone into septic shock, dogs that swallow foreign objects, and a variety of serious illnesses. One chapter covers a number of cases where doctors and owners had to agonize over animals that seemed beyond help. Another two chapters cover what goes on in the wildlife section of the hospital. There's even a discussion about bringing back to life animals that have actually died on the table (issues and morals abound), about the difficulties of trying to treat aggressive animals, and the many cases where an owner brought an animal in almost too late, or conversely was panicking over a horrendous-looking case that turned out to be a mild problem. The actual background stories are few and brief, lacking a depth I usually appreciate- but at the same time I got an overwhelming sense of how busy a veterinarian ICU must be.The writing is rather dry, and the stories, while very intense, are too short. Some of them are nothing less than miraculous, others very sad. If you don't like to read about animals suffering, this book is definitely not for you. There are just as many unhappy endings as ones where the pet gets to go home again.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

Sort of boring despite compelling subject matter. Read like a series of magazine articles: some characters were introduced and described, but the story didn't remain focused on them and went on with others who are are reduced to walk-on one-liner sort of participation.

My thoughts on veterinary medicine often confuses me. This book helped me sort it out to an extent. Sometimes you just have to let go. Sometimes you have to fight for it. ( )