14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An in-depth view of the personalities and procedures, November 8, 2004
This review is from: A Country Practice: Scenes from the Veterinary Life (Hardcover)
There are plenty of cute, endearing animals in Chuck Shaw's Walpole, NH, veterinary practice. Hobbs, for instance, the clinic cat, an obese fellow who gorges on junk food, perhaps in memory of his feral days, and reverts to wild ferocity whenever the whim strikes him. But these animals afford mostly comic relief in Whynott's behind-the-scenes portrait: a serious tale of human drama; of passion, ethics and personalities.
Chuck Shaw is a focused man who chose his work after serious deliberation and before going to Vietnam as a bomber pilot. He wanted a well-lived life in a profession that involved physical activity, outdoor work, and the prospect of working with people and helping others. He also wanted to be independent and own his own business. Veterinary medicine fit the bill and after two years in practices that didn't quite fit him, he bought a "mixed practice" in bucolic, beautiful Walpole.
A mixed practice is unusual these days and growing more so, involving both large animals and small. Chuck might spend the morning checking a dairy herd for pregnancies, the afternoon treating cats and dogs at the clinic and be called out at midnight for an emergency lambing or an "HBC" (dog hit by car). Over the years Chuck had gone through eight associate vets who stayed from a few months to four years.
Roger Osinchuk, the best fit, is beginning his fifth year in the practice as the book ends. Osinchuk, a Canadian from Alberta, grew up wanting to be a veterinarian. His experience with horses is extensive and he quickly builds an equine practice and embarks on a side business breeding and training horses of his own.
Roger, exhausted by the long hours and the on-call weekends, convinces Chuck to hire a third associate - not an easy task for a mixed practice in a rural community. Erika Bruner, a new graduate from a suburban, academic background, wants to work with cows. She likes getting mud and manure on her boots, enjoys the placid, wise look of the cow, and doesn't flinch at being shoulder deep in the animal's anal tract. Enthusiastic and determined, she lifts everyone's spirits. At first.
Whynott spends long days with each of these people, getting them to talk while they work. They talk about the work, and Whynott describes it in details that range from fascinating to gross, often at the same time. They save animals and lose them and Whynott shows us their jubilation and sadness - and sometimes their self-doubt. Inexperienced Erika has a lot of that, but no one is immune.
The patients can't talk, and, not owning their own bodies, have no say in their treatment or even their death. From cows who don't produce enough milk to dogs that bite, death is sometimes the only treatment the owner wants and this is a critical issue in the practice, particularly with pets. Though Chuck early on makes it a rule not to kill healthy pets, it's a rule he sometimes has to break. During Erika's first months a healthy dog is brought in to be put down. The owner refuses to have it adopted by someone else and so Chuck orders it done. Erika is shocked and furious, but Chuck explains that the owner would only have abandoned the dog or had a neighbor kill it. At least he had the power to end the animal's life humanely.
Ethical dilemmas are frequent in a practice where the doctors are surgeons, cancer specialists, emergency doctors, radiologists, dermatologists, obstetricians, etc., and the patients are property. Overwork and underpay (beginning associates with $100,000-plus in debts earn $45,000 a year) also fuel frustration.
Whynott's ("Giant Bluefin," "Following the Bloom) portrayals are moving and involving. He is a mostly invisible observer. Though it's clear people are talking to him, he makes no judgments and offers no personal comments. Traveling with the veterinarians through the beautiful Connecticut River countryside, he shows us the working farms, which each have their own owner-imposed personalities, and the hobby farms with their horses and pet pigs and sheep (which are generally cheerier places, even if the owners are sometimes clueless). He gives us the drama of daily life in the practice, and shows how the underlying dynamics change with the entry of a newcomer.
This is an absorbing inside look at a changing profession and the interplay of personalities between a veteran owner, an experienced young man with ambitions of his own, and a neophyte struggling to find her place. A book to be enjoyed by anyone who likes animals and a must for aspiring veterinarians.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of a Veterinary Practice, April 8, 2005
This review is from: A Country Practice: Scenes from the Veterinary Life (Hardcover)
Dedicated in memory of Bob Zeidler, an Amazon reviewer.
Hobbs the current clinic cat was a survivor. He had once been a feral cat and somehow found himself in the Walpole, New Hampshire Veterinary Clinic. Fat and sassy and beloved by all.
The author, Douglas Whynott followed Chuck Shaw, Vet practice owner, and Roger Osinchuk, his associate for a year learning the ins and outs of a veterinary clinic that saw a mixed practice. Mixed practice in this sense means large and small animals. That is quite an ark full, so to speak. This kind of practice can run a man into the ground, particularly when you are on call every other night and every other weekend. The stories of the owners and their animals and the struggles of daily life become real and vivid in this engaging novel.
As the practice grows, Chuck and Roger decide they need to take on a third associate. Erika Bruner, a fresh graduate from Tufts Vet School, an intelligent, articulate woman answers the call. Thus begins her first year of a grueling, grinding profession. Erika allows us into her life, her emotions, her ups and downs, her insecurities and the struggles she encounters as she starts her job. The cows, yes, always the cows, the joys of examining cows by first removing all of the feces in the anus, and then examining the cows with a long sleeve on the arm and the "feel" of the insides of the cow. This is how one goes about finding out if a cow is pregnant or ready for pregnancy. Vermont and New Hampshire are farm country and cows are a specialty. We get inside the farmer's minds and how they practice their craft- how they care for their animals. A fascinating study of farm life and the people involved.
Chuck Shaw the Vet in charge is an honest, silent man. Straight forward and truthful, he is a Vietnam vet. Ready for anything, but getting tired of the life of a vet. Roger Osinchuk, the associate has a love of horses and with his skill he develops the practice of horses and in his own life grooms the champion of horses, Shawne. Chuck is married and he and his wife try to have a normal life, sometime having dinner at 11pm after a harried night call. Roger is in love and during this year proposes and gets married to a girl he met in Alberta. He is five years into his practice with Chuck. The other staff in the Vet practice tells a tale of a dedicated staff who love animals and give much, too much at times.
"Country Practice" is a tale of the love of animals. The profession of caring for and loving those animals is a big part of this story. The lives of those involved tell the intimate stories of life in rural New Hampshire. I have much more gratitude and understanding of a veterinarian's life. The life and death of our animals, a big part of our families, is in good hands in the Walpole Vet Clinic . Highly recommended. prisrob
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't compare to James Herriot's books, February 21, 2006
This review is from: A Country Practice: Scenes from the Veterinary Life (Hardcover)
If you are looking for a book like All Creatures Great and Small, this book isn't for you. James Herriot is the ultimate writer in this category, and it is hard to find any authors that compare to him. As far as this book goes, I found the writing style hard to read and somewhat disjointed, since it is being written by an outside observer. It isn't a smooth read. Also, most of the book is about the trials of being a vet and owning your own vet practice. If you are a vet student or another vet, you might find it interesting. But for the average reader there aren't a lot of animal stories in it. The only reason I found it OK was that I am a dairy farmer and was interested in the types of problems this vet encountered in the dairy herds he visited. Also, I live in Vermont, close to this vet's location, and I knew some of the dairy farmers he had as customers. However, if you are looking for more animal stories like James Herriot's, I can't recommend this book. Instead, I would recommend books by Dr. John McCormack or books by Dr. David Perrin.
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