Dog Days of Summer - Drinking From the Trough

TITLE: Drinking from the Trough (A Veterinarian's Memoir)
AUTHOR: Mary Carlson, DVM
PUBLISHER: She Writes Press
PUBLISHING DATE: August 28, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: Mary Carlson didn't start out to become a veterinarian, let alone the owner and caretaker of cats (many), dogs (two, both huskies), and horses (some with manners, some without) in Colorado. She was a suburban Chicago girl; all she knew of the American West came from the stories her uncle, who had settled in northern Colorado, told her during his annual visits. But thanks to him, she ended up moving to Fort Collins, Colorado for college—and after falling in love with a man she'd become friends with in her final year of college, when he was a student at the CSU School of Veterinary Medicine, she remained there. 

Watching the work Earl did as a veterinarian inspired Mary to eventually leave her tenured teaching position and enter vet school, after which she opened her own, feline-exclusive clinic. Along the way, there were numerous pets, grueling years of vet school, a shattered hip, an enduring love, illness, and death—and the rediscovery that life, especially a life full of delightful animals, is worth living. 

MY THOUGHTS:  When I picked this up, I really anticipated a whole-length story about how the author became a vet following the beginning of a teaching career and the animals that impacted her life.  What I really got was a collection of short stories from the author but that was fine, because the jest was still the same.  The book compiles some 20+ stories which focus on Mary, her husband, her family, her teaching job, her vet school experience and some of the animals she lived with and treated.  As expected, some stories stood out more than others.  One of my faves was the one told from "The Good Cat's" POV which was done really well.  Also, the author and her husband had several "crazy" husky pups during their lives which were also fun to read about.  

I need to add that this book is heavily horse-centric.  Any horse lover should definitely consider picking it up because Mary clearly has a close attachment with them and its evident how important they are to her.  That being said, there is one part about the book that bothered me.  I understand the author is a vet and to be honest, it's a job I couldn't do.  I think a good vet much have a great love of animals and a lot of compassion, but must also be able to distance themselves some because otherwise, how could they do what they sometimes have to do.  That being said, I have a hard time reconciling how Mary and her husband lost a dear horse they owned over 20 years yet while grieving, woke up the next day and basically said "Hey, let's go watch the Colorado vet school cut up and autopsy" said animal.  I'll be honest, I sort of skimmed those parts.

I did enjoy some of the tales in "Drinking from the Trough" and it was an easy to pick up and put down.  If you like non-fiction short story collections and animals, you might want to at least check out parts of this book.

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 3 PAWS