Customer Reviews

Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was amazing...I started reading it, standing in Barnes and Nobel with a cup of coffee....I couldn't put it down and ended up buying it before the store closed....I laughed, I cried, but mostly some of the tales of profound love between humans and animals, gave me chills. Although there are many good animal books out there, this one was exceptional. It was incredibly well-written. If this author ever decides to become an award-winning novelist, he could do that...and perhaps he will, with this book! He captures the humor, pathos and all in-between of the human-animal bond. And, I might add, I usually avoid these books, because I hate the part where the pet dies etc. etc. but really, although there are sad passages in this, as would be expected in a vet hospital story, the main ingredient is the total celebration, awesome really, of the bond and great love between humans and their pets. Although there were many, one story that captured me was the man who loved his dog so much, that when the dog died the inevitable death of old age, the man took a photo of the dog, cut it out and wore it on a chain around his neck for a whole year, to keep the flame of love alive for his beloved dog. There are unforgettable characters in this book, human and animal.....and the writing is truly excellent. Wow, what a book!

Dr. Nick Trout is the vet you wish you had, calling your pet "sweetheart" and working with skill and compassion to keep your animal friend happy and healthy. He understands the intense depth of feeling that people can have for their pets. In Tell Me Where It Hurts, Trout tells fascinating stories from his quarter century of being an animal surgeon. The empathy he has for both animals and people spills from every page.

I'm a sucker for books about animals, especially from a veterinary point of view. I grew up devouring James Herriot's wonderful books (All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All and Every Living Thing).

Tell Me Where It Hurts is just as well-written and addictive as these classics. I forgot I was reading a book and felt immersed in the life of this caring doctor and the noble, funny animals he treats.

Along the way, Trout describes the amazing progress made in the past couple of decades in veterinary science. Procedures that used to be only for humans -- organ transplants, joint-replacements, chemotherapy, MRIs -- are now available options for animals. The costs can be incredible, and pet owners sometimes have hard choices on whether to proceed or not. Dr. Trout says he is ultimately always asked the same question: "And if she were your dog? What would you do?"

In the book Dr. Trout condenses his 25 years of veterinary practice into a single very busy day, which starts at 2:47 a.m. with an emergency wake-up call. A 10-year-old German Shepherd with a life-threatening stomach problem requires emergency surgery. Even with a stomach about to burst, the old dog wags her tail when they meet. The book ends late at night, at 10:02 p.m., with this same old dog.

What a journey in between.

I grew up in the Boston area and actually remember my parents using Angell Hospital for a dog we owned that had been hit by a car. That was back in the mid 1960s and it was the place to go then, and apparently it is still the place to go if you need care that exceeds that of a local veterinarian.

Dr. Trout takes the reader on not only a tour of the hospital, by way of rounds and consultations, but also a tour of the owners of the pets involved and the feelings generated by pet lovers for their pets. During his examination he places, front and center, many of the issues in the industry today. How much are you willing to pay, how much are you able to pay, and what is really best for the animal? All three are distinct and separate questions that Trout feels people in the veterinary profession have to be aware of. And these are only three of the many he poses.

Dr. Trout exemplifies the type of surgeon you would want working to save your pets life and comes across as caring and involved. The book is emotional and I was laughing one moment and crying the next. I could and did sympathize with owners as well as with the pets and with the doctors involved. Whatever else this book does, it will make you think about a lot of things that need to be thought about. And it will entertain you along the way.

I know I can't do this book justice with a simple review. I have spent the last 48 hours simultaneously laughing and crying as I flew through the 284 pages, completely unable to put the book down. A modern All Creatures Great and Small that is almost certain to similarly inspire the next generation of aspiring veterinary students, myself included.

As Katrin's husband it's been my pleasure to work on occasion with the author Dr Nick Trout for the past several years....so as you can imagine, I was awaiting the book with great anticipation.
WOW!!
Like the previous reviewers I was unable to put the book down and read the whole thing faster than any other that I have had. I've been in general practice as a companion animal vet for 30 years now and Nick has ABSOLUTELY captured the emotions that flow on a daily basis through our places of work. I tried to read a section of the first chapter to my wife and sister in law and had to give up as I was choking up on the words, knowing as I did how the story would progress.
I can recommend this book to ALL pet owners as it will give them tremendous insight into the range of feelings that they will experience during their time with their beloved animals.

Neil Burnie

author of EVERY RESCUED DOG HAS A TALE: Stories from the Dog Rescue Railroad
When this book arrived in the mail, I had finished it within 48 hours. I could have done it sooner but I had to work one day. It is so interesting to see things from the vet's point of view. I have long wondered what our vet thinks of me and my husband when we bring Wookie in and fuss over every little ache and pain. Well he thinks he is the center of our world and he is right. These stories of the illnesses and injuries suffered by the animals in the book and everything has to be considered, such as how much can the owner afford - how far to go to extend the life of an old dog. Is it for the owner or for the animal? What will the quality of life be? I learned so much more about the veterinary profession than I ever knew. In high school I wanted to be a vet but at the time girls didnt have that option unless they were in the top one percent of their class. The free spirit in me kept me a little lower than that. Now female vets prevail in this country. He discuses the suicide rate among vets, which I never considered. Euthanasia is not an easy thing for any person involved.
If you love dogs, or have any pets at all, please read this book. It is hard to put down and you will have a whole new respect for people who choose this profession.

I, too, grew up reading James Herriott's novels --- all of them. I grabbed this book after reading the back which includes a quote, "Fabulous...the best veterinary book that's been written since All Creatures Great and Small." That's a mighty endorsement. One, unfortunately, that never holds up. James Herriott's books were full of warmth, even when the animal being seen didn't make it. You could feel the relationship between person and pet. This book is flat in comparison. The author begins well, but then can only ramble from one subject to another, waiting for pages and pages to give you the outcome. It's great if you're a vet in training. It goes into great detail about costs, women vets taking over the profession, clients with internet diagnoses..WAIT! But what about the dog? Can we just go BACK TO THE DOG? I'm sorely disappointed in this book. It promised more.

Nick Trout has written a charming "day in the life" account of being a surgeon in Boston's Angell veterinarian hospital. When I started I wondered if this was going to be nothing more than a serialized piece from Dog or Cat Fancy that had been expanded into book form, but my skepticism was quickly dispelled and I found myself charmed by both his sensitive and funny approach to both the pets and their owners. Anyone who owns and cherishes their pet would probably find alot to appreciate and identify with here.

This book makes me wish I had become a vet.

In "Tell Me Where It Hurts" Dr. Nick Trout explores the ups and downs of the life of a top tier veterinary surgeon. He compresses a lifetime of poignant, frequently funny, and sometimes heart rending experiences into a single exhausting day. I had thought about being a vet when I was young, and this book is closer than any other I have read to summarizing what the journey to skilled professional veterinarian is really like.

The book opens and closes with the story of "Sage", a German Shepard with a potentially life threatening stomach disorder. It is the perfect case to explain the uncertainties of the world of veterinary medicine, and ultimately serves to explain the trials and joys of the job. Along the way there are many detours, including sections on methods of veterinary training in different countries, the emotional tolls of the job, the changing demographics of the profession, and the increase in exotic animals in common practice. I was especially amused by the diversion into the world of "ferret legging" on p. 201. "Ferret legging is a centuries-old English sport in which the contestant stuffs a pair of ill-tempered ferrets down his pants." Several restrictions apply, including a total ban on undergarments of any sort. The winner is the person who can keep the ferrets in their pants the longest. The current record holder is a 72 year old Welsh coal miner named Reg Mellor who has kept two ferrets in his pants for the unbelievable time of five hours and twenty-six minutes. Humorous diversions such as this break the tension of the life-or-death decisions that the majority of the book deals with, and are a welcome relief after some of the more nail-biting sections.

My only critique of the book would be the rather enormous over-weighting of canine cases in the book, although I don't know if that is representative of Dr. Trout's practice, or if he simply prefers dogs to cats. Any animal lover should love and appreciate this book in its entirety, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Dr. Nick Trout, the British small animal vet who now works at Angell Animal Hospital in Boston, has become an instant uber favorite of mine when I read his latest work, Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight [Acts] Pets. The moment I finished it I ordered one of his previous, [[ASIN:0767926447 Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon]. Those who hold James Herriot in their highest esteem (myself included)had better make room for Dr. Trout.

He is not a Dales farm animal vet from the '30's who trades his services for a cup of tea and a warm scone. Dr. Trout is on the cutting edge of animal diagnosis and surgical treatment. In this book he condenses his memorable major case histories into a jam packed 24 hour shift. These are animals and their people you will not soon forget. Some would forgo a new roof for the sake of their pet, others have a distant "commodity" non-relationship with all animals and do not have an inkling of what we animal lovers feel. Dr. Trout also discusses the quandry modern medicine can mean for the pet and his people, how far should we take aggressive therapy. When does it become the person's inability to let go, in face of their beloved pet's suffering. For any of us who have had a beloved pet 'put down' we can completely empathize with the subject.

He deals with all his charges and their situations sensitively, still with a professional's eye, a balancing act that takes years of practice to attain. The animal hospital sets a dizzying pace, even for the seasoned vets, let alone its interns, externs and technicians. As has been stated in previous reviews, this is where I would wish my pet to go if needed which is the ultimate statement of trust and confidence for any animal lover. That is how impressive Angell is. This is now impressive Dr. Trout is.

Highly recommend both books for all animal lovers!

Enjoy the read!