DOG STORIES

by James Herriot ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 1986

A collection of 50 touching and memorable dog stories from the veterinarian and master storyteller of Yorkshire--Herriot. Readers of his earlier works will recognize most of these vignettes (gathered from All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, et al.), which capture the charm and good nature of the rural English as well as engagingly chronicle (as did The Best of James Herriot, 1982) Herriot's 45+ years as a country animal doctor. Whether treating Mrs. Pumphrey's pampered (and frightfully over-weight) Pekingese, Tricki Woo, saving--without benefit of modern equipment or antibiotics--a dog's badly mangled leg, or ducking out of the Daffodil Ball with future-wife Helen in tow to assist in a difficult whelping (stopping along the way for a romantic first kiss), Herriot's reminiscences are, as ever, warm and cheery. All of the stories bear witness to his own good character and sensibility: he makes a desperate attempt to cure an abandoned stray of mange, and struggles to reverse the paralysis of a dachshund who is the companion of a bedridden, paralyzed man. And then there's Herriot's modesty and good humor. Once, in the cluttered kitchen of a simple cottage outside of town, he performs a near miracle on an Old English sheepdog with a badly dislocated elbow. ""This was the sort of setting in which I usually pulled my spectacular cures,"" says Herriot. ""The only spectators here, apart from Arnold [the dog's owner], were the two hens who had made their way back on to the dresser, and they didn't seem particularly impressed."" For dog lovers just making Herriot's acquaintance for the first time, an extra special treat.

Pub Date: June 2, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION