The Bull in the Darkness and the One-Eyed Dog

Buoyant, tenderhearted stories of a rural veterinarian's days and nights on the job. . . . Here, in 38 vignettes, all written with an easy hand, Sharp describes with equal poise the countryside around him--an atmospheric blend of stormy nights, dogwoods and redbuds, coffee cake and milk, farms tucked away in hollows--and the practice it demands: horse work, hog work, bull work, animals big enough to kill you. . . . Short, anecdotal material that animal-lovers can dip into with relish. -- Kirks Reviews Rookie veterinarian Sharp decided he wanted to . . . own his own practice. . . . knowing little of large-animal veterinary work, he purchased a country practice from a retiring veterinarian and plunged into farmwork. Sharp regales the reader with tales from his daily life. One group of stories follows the author during his first weeks on the job, as he learns the back roads on his way to calf deliveries and treats a pen of 'sick' pigs that turned out to be drunk on fermented feed. Another selection of stories involves dealing with animal owners, who often need as much treatment as their charges, such as the young girl who lifted her top to ask if the circular lesion on her breast was the same as her puppy's ringworm--it was. Once-in-a-lifetime cases fill another section, like the box turtle with a crushed shell, mended with the Bondo Sharp was using to repair a boat. These often amusing tales should find a wide audience. -- Booklist What happens when a young vet from a small-animal practice in the big city . . . buys a small-town, mixed-animal veterinary practice from its retiring owner? He quickly finds himself treating ornery bulls and drunken pigs, delivering calves by C-section, stitching up horses and shaving cats who've had buckets of paint spilled on them. He also learns that the three requirements to practice in the country . . . are to be able to drive a truck like a maniac, rope cattle in the dark, and drive a truck like a maniac. . . . . Sharp brings wit and warmth to his portrayals of the animals and people of Hillsboro, Ohio. Good-natured, a little rambling, but never long-winded, these tales are as much for the fan of small-town living as they are for the animal lover, and Sharp himself is a winning raconteur. -- Publishers Weekly