The other family doctor: a veterinarian explores what animals can teach us about love, life, and mortality - karen fine

A tribute to our furry, feathery, scaley, and wet family members: All Creatures Great and Small meets Being Mortal in this compelling memoir of one womans dream to become a veterinarian in a field historically dominated by men, and how, through her work both with her patients and their people, she comes to better understand humanity, mortality, and the unique role animals play in our lives.

Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their people comfort and peace.

-- Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasnt going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the 80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession.

Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr.

Fine persevered, and brought her Oupas principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients stories to provide the best possible care.

And in The Other Family Doctor , Dr.

Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet.

Theres: - The feral cat who becomes a creature out of a fable when he puts his trust in a young vet to heal his injured paw - The pot-bellied pig who grows too big to fit in the car but remains a cherished part of her family - The surprising colony of perfectly behaved ferrets - The beloved aging pet who gives her people the gift of accompanying them on one final family vacation - The dog who saves his owners life in a most unexpected way Woven into Dr.

Fines story are, of course, also the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessons--how caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves, especially when life seems precarious.