The battle cry of the Siamese kitten Even more tales from the accidental veterinarian

In the third book in his Accidental Veterinarian series, Schott invites readers to consider these 60 brief segments about dogs and cats and other small-animal-related topics as "snacks." This time around, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic weigh heavily on Schott's Manitoba, Canada, vet practice: owners waiting not so patiently outdoors for appointments, an influx of four-legged adoptee-hopefuls. While some pieces offer LOLs and some are sad, it's all just plain entertaining, with clients like bush dogs Doobie and Gator, a gorgeous snow leopard due for an ultrasound, and yellow lab Man Hampton. Animal owners will find lots of welcome--and readily dispersed--factoids: the carnassial is the dog's largest tooth; baby llamas are called cria, while their knees are known as stifle. Schott shares the formula for ascertaining a dog's age, as well as his philosophy that all dogs benefit from training and socialization. No comparison to James Herriot, but a welcome diversion for all who adore four-legged creatures.

Drawing upon his 30 years of experience as a small animal veterinarian in Canada, Schott (How To Examine a Wolverine) has successfully added yet another collection of entertaining anecdotes to his repertoire. Known for his honest, witty, yet sentimental storytelling, Schott's third installment in his highly popular "The Accidental Veterinarian" series includes tales of duck, pelican, and leopard patients, in addition to his many dog and cat clients and their owners. Each of its entries, arranged in alphabetical order by their titles, contains wisdom and life lessons learned that can be applicable to anyone. Readers are treated to his musings on the day-to-day world of veterinarians, covering recent adjustments made for COVID, facility and funding concerns, staff interactions and special vocabulary, heretofore known mostly to veterinarians and those who work with them. Veterinarians and others who work with animals will relate to Schott's writing, and novice readers will be treated to the special insight of the profession and the character of those who work in it. VERDICT An entertaining, simple book, worthwhile for any library. This volume fits perfectly with Schott's two previous "The Accidental Veterinarian" books.--Steve Dixon

Preface Here we are again. Or at least, here I am again. I suppose this could be your first time picking up one of my books. Either way, welcome or welcome back, and thank you. And if it is your first time, don't be afraid. You don't need to read the books, or even the tales within them, in order as they don't build on each other. Each tale is a discrete self-contained unit, like a snack, rather than an ingredient meant to be blended. Most other books are grand multi-course meals, whereas I like to think of my three veterinary books as collections of story snacks, or tapas if you prefer. You have 60 tiny plates in front of you (and about 120 more in the other books -- think of them as adjacent tables, easily within reach if you stretch a bit). They are laid out left to right but pick them up as you please. Eat them all in one sitting, or one per day, or ten per weekend, or at entirely random and wanton intervals. When I began writing the first book, The Accidental Veterinarian , I briefly considered trying to weave the stories into a continuous narrative, like a traditional book. Many of the individual stories already existed as blog posts, so I would have to write some sort of filler to connect them. Filler sounds pejorative, doesn't it? I don't mean it that way. The filler might have been beautiful and engaging, but it would have been false. I'm blessed with a good memory, but not an unnaturally good one that allows me to conjure up the level of detail needed to turn all these stories into a smooth continuum. I did exactly that with The Willow Wren , the fictionalized memoir of my father growing up during the rise and fall of Hitler's Germany (yes, that was shameless plug for an unrelated book), and there the filler worked, but it didn't feel right for my veterinary stories. Moreover, I thought that there might be a place in the modern reader's library for collections of story snacks. I hope I am right. In the spirit of story snacking, I've done away with the sections in this volume. The Accidental Veterinarian and How to Examine a Wolverine were divided into four sections each, roughly grouping stories by type -- sort of thematically in the first book and sort of by species in the second. But for a significant number of stories, these categorizations felt arbitrary. Here the snack metaphor breaks down. Until they start making sweet chips, salty fruit, or crunchy cheese, it's fairly easy to group snacks. Veterinary stories, not so much. So here you will have them presented alphabetically, which is as close to random as my relentlessly systemizing brain will permit. But feel free to proceed as your heart dictates. And again, welcome, or welcome back. And again, thank you. Thank you so much. Excerpted from by Philipp Schott All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.