Customer Reviews

Close Encounters of the Bovine: Recollections of a Rural Veterinarian

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One gets the idea that Dr. Cooper-Chase feels truly blessed and humbled to have been "chosen" for her profession as a veterinarian and that she has been privileged to witness the interaction between man and beast and the gifts that each has to offer the other. Her observation and explanation of procedures gives the reader a feeling of being at her side as she tends to the needs of her very fortunate patients. Told with lots of wit and sometimes bluntness, you feel her tenderness, outrage and diplomacy as she handles situations concerning her bovine patients and their owners. It's a wonderful collection of life's lessons through an animal lover's eyes. Looking forward to reading about her encounters with the feline and the canine!

I am considering applying for veternary school. I do not have a science background, and I am over 50 years old. I am an African American woman-also a survivor of a 30 yr plus domestically violent relationship. Ok with all that said - I wanted to read about the hands-on experience of a woman in large animal practice. My love of animals has been a constant in all my experiences-but is that enough? Dr. Cooper-Chase answers all these questions with humor and truth. There is a dirty, gritty, ugly side of this practice that one may not be prepared for-and there is Divine satisfaction that one longs for. I am still on my quest - thank you Dr. Cooper-Chase for your help.

I enjoyed this book so much that I gave the first copy I bought to a young friend who is a pre-vet student at the University of Vermont. Her grandmother who is a close friend said her granddaughter has complete responsibility for a cow as part of her program. She is thrilled because she loves the cows. I love all animals. Having spent my life in a city, I don't know much about cows on a personal level. Dr. Cooper-Chase's book took care of that. Her well written descriptions of caring for her bovine patients puts you right there with her. If you have only a slight interest in cows this book is for you. Who knew that cows were so intelligent and such great mothers! I loved every moment I spent reading this memoir. The animals, the people the writer comes in contact with and the situations she finds herself in kept my interest from cover to cover.