WILD ORPHAN FRIENDS

Magazine editors accuse me of being too anthropomorphic in my writings,"" says veterinarian Weber. We don't find anything objectionably humanized about the animal orphans he's saved and befriended, but their privileged position as ""babies"" in his family's Leesburg, Florida, household does wear on the reader's tolerance. Bob, the bobwhite quail who ate with the family at table, Winky, a raccoon who slept in the Webers' bed, and Chortles, who brightened the house with her kleenex nests until she was squashed by a heavy door (""snuffing out that gentle spirit""), would seem better memorialized in anecdotes or occasional short sketches; however, the family's attempt to smuggle a sick seagull through US and Canadian customs has its moments. Weber is certainly no James Herriot; all we see here is the busman's holiday side of the vet's life. But those who enjoyed and used Weber's advice on the care of Wild Orphan Babies (1975) won't mind this friendly, follow-up house call.