Lucky Dog
How Being a Veterinarian Saved My Life
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4.9 • 13 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Lucky Dog is a hilarious and heartwarming memoir by a renowned veterinary oncologist who tells us what we can learn about health care and ourselves from our most beloved pets.
What happens when a veterinary surgical oncologist (laymen’s term: cancer surgery doctor) thinks she has cancer herself? Enter Sarah Boston: a vet who suspects a suspicious growth in her neck is thyroid cancer. From the moment she uses her husband’s portable ultrasound machine to investigate her lump — he’s a vet, too — it’s clear this will not be your typical cancer memoir.
She takes us on a hysterical and thought-provoking journey through the human health care system from the perspective of an animal doctor. Weaving funny and poignant stories of dogs she’s treated along the way, this is an insightful memoir about what the human medical world can learn from the way we treat our canine counterparts. Lucky Dog teaches us to trust our instincts, be our own advocates, and laugh while we’re doing it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Does the world need another cancer memoir? In the case of this book, written by a Florida-based veterinarian specializing in cancer surgery who discovers she has cancer herself, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Boston expertly juxtaposes her experiences as an animal doctor and a thyroid cancer patient to show why, when it comes to cancer, she wishes she were a dog. Poignant stories of Boston's canine cancer patients, coupled with her sharp-eyed observations as she undergoes her own treatment, help her make a case for the ways in which human health care would benefit from the high level of advocacy, compassion, and responsiveness that veterinarians routinely offer their patients. The author's lively storytelling and wry, self-deprecating humor ensure that her story is never a drab, hospital-green perspective on illness, and readers will root for her as she faces an initial misdiagnosis, two surgeries, and an arduous radioactive iodine treatment. By the end, the good fortune mentioned in the title takes on extra meaning when Boston is finally declared to be cancer free. Readers will count themselves fortunate, too, as they accompany Boston on her unexpected journey and spend time with some wonderful dogs along the way.
Customer Reviews
Another lucky dog
I found this title in a vet e-newsletter or Facebook as I was dealing with my own diagnosis of tongue cancer. I am a veterinarian, dog lover, and now cancer survivor so I related to Sarah's story on every level. The author did a good job of showing how she navigated the Canadian health care system (more patiently than I would have) and brought greater appreciation for my own. She also shared how her knowledge, her support from family and animals, and a sense of humor helped her get through and drew a realistic comparison between human and animal medical care.