Book Review: Listening to the Animals: Becoming the Supervet by Noel Fitzpatrick

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Noel Fitzpatrick is perhaps best known in the UK for his tv programme ‘The Supervet’, which centres around his small animal practice treating exceptionally difficult cases with a certain degree of innovation and passion. His book looks deeper into this passion for his work, as well as expanding on Noel’s life growing up in rural Ireland, and his difficult route to the so called ‘field of dreams’.

I have so much respect of Noel. He has a wonderful work, and life, ethic - believing that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough for it. And he has shown that himself from the large amount of time and effort he’s put into his profession, advancing veterinary medicine to the benefit of thousands of animals.

Reading about Noel’s upbringing on a rural Irish farm, there’s a vulnerability to his writing that makes him instantly endearing. It really feels like he’s writing from the heart and you can feel his passion and warmth. He writes honestly about his struggles with bullies and the isolation he felt, and growing up with the beloved farm dog Pirate, who was his only confidante. At times I was truely brought close to tears.

I particularly enjoyed the later chapters, as we join Noel on his quest to secure his own practice and improve the veterinary medicine specialisms of orthopaedics and neurosurgery. I have a dachshund myself, and I know that in the future we may have back problems in Monty that 10 years ago would have meant he would have been put down. Now, thanks to Noel, there’s a hope within the field that he could undergo procedures that could lead to a long and healthy life. That’s all down to Noel and his absolute belief in what he does. Thank you Noel. If only more people had the compassion you show for our four legged family members.

If anything, I would have liked to have read more tales from the various practices he ‘locumed’ for, as I think he spent a greater amount of time describing his experiences on farm animal cases (which I still really enjoyed - especially the story about the drunk lads and the cow ceasarean!). But, honestly, I really enjoyed this. A must read for any animal lover, told with no end of enthusiasm and love.

 - 4 stars

Book Review - The Pug Who Bit Napoleon: Animal Tales of the 18th and 19th Centuries by Mimi Matthews

The Pug Who Bit Napoleon takes a unique look into 18th and 19th century European history, by looking at the pets and other animals associated with the people of the time. From Fortune, the pug belonging to Napoleon's new bride, to Looty, the stolen Pekingese presented to Victoria on the sacking of China.

As I may have mentioned once (or twice), I'm the proud owner of a miniature dachshund named Monty. Because of this, I have a keen interest at the moment in anything dog related - and I really enjoyed the sections relating to dogs in this. Relatively short, I managed to read it in one afternoon, I particularly enjoyed reading about the different personalities of the dogs and the fondness often (although not always) shown by their owners. Dog really has been man's best friend for a long time.

The chapters on Fortune were my favorite. I'm a sucker for French history, and I'd never heard of Fortune's tale before and how he was used as a 'spy' during the revolution. The research was well thought thought in this regard, and I could tell that Mimi Matthews really enjoyed regaling Fortune's exploits with Napoleon. I also enjoyed the sections on the bloodhounds used in the Jack the Ripper case and the introduction to rabies that's mentioned near the end when discussing foxes as pets. It's actually got me interested in researching more on the rabies virus.

I was less enthralled by the later sections of the book, which featured birds, horses and smaller mammals (and rather randomly, sharks). I would have preferred more time with the various dogs and their owners as I felt the research done here was not as strong, and it just wasn't as interesting.

I also wasn't fond of the authors use of other writers texts that make up good chunks of the chapters. I felt it took away some of the author's credibility by using up half of the book with other people's work - especially as it was so short.

Started strong, but too short and not enough dog content for my liking. However, a rather unique look at an area of history I like to read about.

 - 3 stars