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The Other Family Doctor
The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality | Karen Fine
3 posts | 2 read | 6 to read
A tribute to our furry, feathery, scaley, and wet family members: All Creatures Great and Small meets Being Mortal in this compelling memoir of one woman's dream to become a veterinarian in a field historically dominated by men. Through her work both with her patients and their people, Dr. Karen Fine comes to better understand humanity, mortality, and the unique role animals play in our lives. Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their people comfort and peace. Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the '80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr. Fine persevered, and brought her Oupa's principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients stories to provide the best possible care. And in The Other Family Doctor, Dr. Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet. There's: The feral cat who becomes a creature out of a fable when he puts his trust in a young vet to heal his injured paw The pot-bellied pig who grows too big to fit in the car but remains a cherished part of her family The surprising colony of perfectly behaved ferrets The beloved aging pet who gives her people the gift of accompanying them on one final family vacation The dog who saves his owner's life in a most unexpected way Woven into Dr. Fine's story are, of course, also the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessonshow caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves, especially when life seems precarious.
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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

I only heard of this when @Eyelit recommended it to me.

Being in the animal care field- currently as a groomer, but I‘ve been a shelter manager and a vet tech as well- I could absolutely relate to Dr Fine. If you‘ve ever wondered what it‘s like working with animals, or how those of us who do can deal with the grief of losing our clients (your pets, and our own), this is for you.

Have tissues. You will need them.
Content Warnings. ⬇️

Soubhiville CW- suicide, animal sickness and death, grief, depression. Possibly more. 11mo
ShelleyBooksie Thank you for the warnings! Sounds like a great book but one where I will need to be in the right mental space. 11mo
61 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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kspenmoll
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/13/1162585010/this-veterinaria...

Just listened to Fresh Air, New England Public Radio. The interview with vet Karen Fine was fascinating- many topics covered. She does house calls because considers the animals& their humans personal narrative vital to treatment. Perfect for animal lovers.

Librarybelle Thanks for tagging me! Animals are so special! ❤️❤️❤️ 13mo
LeahBergen This sounds wonderful! #JohnnyBergen and I thank you for the tag. 😉😘 13mo
MicheleinPhilly Thanks for the tag! I have some experience with a home vet - Our previous pup, Barley, had a lot of health issues in his last year and the vet‘s office always made him supremely anxious. So we switched to a home vet. When he was ready to head over the rainbow bridge, the doc also did that in our home. It was a great comfort. ❤️ 13mo
kspenmoll @MicheleinPhilly It makes me happy to know that your family & Barley were able to be at home for his passing.💕 13mo
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LibraryCin
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I really liked this. This was so much more than your usual vet stories of clients and their pets, and I especially liked that about this book. Of course, her pets dying had me sobbing, but that‘s not a surprise.