Customer Reviews

Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life

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For "animal lovers," who want to provide our pets with the best care, our choices are daunting. The information available to us (the internet, yikes)! is vast, there is an array of general and specialty veterinarians and pet hospitals, and even university vet programs offer services. How do we sort through choices and decisions? With this book! It is filled with information and advice on how to provide the best care for the animals we love, They count on us!

To make the most informed choices given all the information (and, sadly, misinformation) out there, one thing is essential: Good communication with our pets' doctors. Just as in human medicine we have become more active participants in our health care, communicating with and learning from our physicians instead of just following "doctors orders," without asking questions, we can do the same for our animals. In fact, it's even MORE important because they can't do it for themselves!

The author of Speaking for Spot, Dr. Nancy Kay, has created a great resource for pet guardians. This book will save anyone time, money, and frustration. It will help readers get the best possible care for their furry loved ones. You will know how to find the right doctor, how to understand what's happening to your pet--be it routine exams/check-ups and vaccinations, an acute illness, or a chronic condition that needs on-going management. And you will come to better understand how care is delivered to your pet, how to make decisions, and how to make the most of your relationship with your veterinarian and their hospital or clinic. We're all vulnerable and often overwhelmed when our cherished pet is ill, hospitalized, facing a delicate operation, or going through diagnostic testing. What could be better than a book that helps us navigate that experience as effectively and compassionately as possible?

Don't put off reading this book, or wait until your pet is facing illness. The book is a great primer so that when something outside the routine occurs, you will be prepared. Develop a good working relationship with your veterinarian now; this book tells you how. (If you plan to adopt a pet in the future, this is also good book to "train" you as a new pet owner).

Read this book. Your pet will thank you, you will be the best guardian you can be, and your vet will thank you. If you follow the advice in the book, you will know that a healthy pet is best cared for by you and your veterinarian working together. From routine veterinary office visit which by themselves can easily be a stressful, anxious experience, to illnesses that test all your composure as a dedicated pet owner, your experience will be far less difficult if you read "Speaking for Spot."

By way of disclosure: I am not an objective observer about "Speaking for Spot," since I have been fortunate to know and work with Dr. Kay personally. In my association with the author, I have found she is "the real deal." The book only confirms what I have seen first-hand: She's smart and has a big heart. I'm so happy to see her philosophy of caring for animals and their guardians put to paper so others get the benefit of her wise counsel. The book is, pardon the pun, "spot on."

I am a long time pet owner and have recently been forced to make a difficult decision for my beloved dog. I wish I had had this book to help guide me through it. I now have a new puppy in my life and feel more confident now that I have such a valuable resource at my fingertips. I have used it several times already. The information is well organized and easy to read. Dr. Kay's style is personal and very down to earth. Every responsible dog owner will love this book!

Speaking for Spot is one of the best gifts I've received this year and already I have put it to good use. My older dog was vomiting intermittently and losing weight and, despite many trips to our vet over several months, conservative treatments seemed to make little difference. After reading Speaking for Spot I realized that this was definitely a time to seek a second opinion and am happy I did. We now have an established diagnosis of gastric inflammatory disease and have begun a regimen with special diet and several prescription medications. The book was a tremendous help in preparing for the visit to the specialist, in knowing what questions to ask my vet and the specialist, in deciding what testing I did and did not want or need to do, and in knowing what questions to ask about the medications that were prescribed. It was a great feeling after our most recent appointment to come away knowing that it was a treatable problem and to feel like I had known enough to ask the right questions so that I really understood what was going on. The book has an information packed chapter on vaccinations and I plan to re-read that before our annual checkup in January. Thank you Dr. Nancy Kay.

Well, I'm glad official vets like this book because it could save me. I had a melt down when my middle aged, large dog "had to be put down" due to hip problems. I was never confident about that decision...this book would have helped me so much. I have a tender heart but want a clear mind, I'm going to hang on to this one...and I own a LOT of pet books.
Dianne Smith

There are many difficult decisions that pet owners have to make throughout the lives of their animals. Because of this, Speaking for Spot should be on the "must have" list for every dog owner. Dr. Kay helps you make decisions from how to buy a puppy to what is an appropriate vaccination schedule.

This book will be very helpful in starting conversations with your own veterinarian. As I read the book I found myself wishing that Dr. Kay lived closer to me as I would love to have a vet that I felt was so
compassionate for her patients and clients . I feel that there is something for everyoneto learn from Speaking For Spot.

As an emergency veterinarian, I am thrilled that a sensitive, sensible, and clear resource ("Speaking for Spot" by Dr. Nancy Kay) has been written specifically for dog loving families. Sometimes when folks show up at an emergency veterinary clinic, they are faced with overwhelming emotional and financial decisions. I can't always spend the time an owner needs in consult as I am also attending to their beloved pet.
But now that we've ordered more copies of "Speaking for Spot" for the clinic waiting room, clients will be able to use this wonderful book right when they need it the most.

Many thanks to Dr. Kay for helping my clients and patients in such a meaningful way!

Thank you thank you thank you. Can you write one for horses? We have horses every where here and that means horse owners and horse owners mean dogs. With the horses, we can do almost everything in a simple fashion and so their owners are always asking us about dogs. Finally, I can say,, here.. go to a page in "Speaking for Spot" and you can see what a respected Vet has to say.

Better yet, you can take the book in hand and have an intelligent conversation with anyone in "dog lover" terms or know how to ask an intelligent question (and what question to ask) to a vet.

Yes,, definitely get the book....

Jon
Camp Rusk

Received copy of Speaking For Spot yesterday and spent the evening
learning so very much. I have 3 older dogs and have wondered what to do when their health fails. This book gave me the information, options and kindness that I am going to need.

Rebecca Ruth Waltenspiel

Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life

When I picked up this book I was expecting to find a book that was just for and about dogs and in fact it offers so much more. Speaking for Spot teaches you about medical advocacy, how to make medical decisions for our dogs, how to find the right doctor, what to expect in an office visit, many amazing advances in diagnostic testing, what should my dog be vaccinated for and how do I decide, important questions to ask my veterinarian, how to deal with cancer and health insurance considerations. The information in these chapters is so useful and whether you have a dog or a cat or any other kind of pet it will help you in the process of making health care decisions for all of your pets.

There are two appendices that are chock full of dog disease specific information and suggested questions you should ask your vet. I encourage every pet owner to add this book to their pet care library. It has even given me some good ideas to think about when I visit my own doctor next.

Speaking for Spot speaks to everyone that lives with a dog. Written by a Vet that obviously has much loved dogs in her life, it patiently takes us through excellent decision making for our beloved pets. Dr. Kay covers topics that, in the past, have left me frustrated due to my lack of good questions while standing in the Veterinarian's office.
I recommend buying more than one copy as you'll inevitably lend or give the first one to a friend in need!
Thank you Dr. Kay for this book that has a permanent place on my shelf!