Tennessee Tails by Kathryn Primm DVM | Book Review

Over the holidays, I had a chance to read a few good books.  One of them was Tennessee Tails:  Pets and Their People by Kathryn Primm DVM.

If you're reading this blog, then you love pets.  So, I suspect you'll enjoy this book.

Tennessee Tails is a series of short stories about events that really happened in the author's veterinary practice.   

How many times have you wondered about the stories your vet could tell about his pet patients and their people?  Well, here is a behind the scenes peek.

As the author says:

"Walk with me and be a fly on the wall for these funny and moving stories from my life as a veterinarian."

Obviously told from the heart, Tennessee Tails is charming and often humorous.  Primm writes in a chatty, personal style.  Almost immediately, you'll feel you're having a conversation with a friend.

The stories are fairly evenly divided between cats and dogs, so devotees of either should be pleased.  Though ailments and diseases are involved, Primm does an excellent job of making sure we understand the situation without unnecessary, detailed medical lingo.

Some stories will make you cry; some will make you laugh.  You may come away from this book wishing you lived near Chattanooga and could avail yourself of Dr. Primm's services.  I say that because throughout the book, her concern for her patients and respect for their human caretakers, shines through.

I highly recommend Tennessee Tails: Pets and Their People by Kathryn Primm DVM and look forward to more of her tales from the heart in the future.

If you need another good reason to grab a copy of this book, here you go:

100% of net proceeds for the first year will benefit The Pet Placement Center in Red Bank, TN and Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga.

Tennessee Tails was awarded Runner Up in Memoirs for the 2013 Animals, Animals,Animals Book Festival in Chicago.  It also received an Honorable Mention in the competitive General Nonfiction category in the 2013 London Book Festival.

Available in paperback and kindle on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble
150 pages; ISBN-13: 9781484906149

Dr. Kathryn Primm owns Applebrook Animal Hospital in Ooltewah, TN. 

She is a practicing small animal veterinarian and veteran blogger. She has consulted on articles for national magazines and has done numerous radio interviews.  Dr. Primm will be featured in the February issue of Woman's Day magazine for their Ask a Veterinarian column.

Dr. Primm is a veteran blogger and has spoken with students and other veterinarians about effective communication.  She maintains a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ and enjoys interaction with others about her passions, animals and communication.  Tennessee Tails is her first book.   . 


* I received a Kindle edition of Tennessee Tails from the author in exchange for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Talking Dogs is the official blog of For Love of a Dog Jewelry.

Rescue Me Maybe by Jackie Bouchard | Book Review

Book Cover ©Jackie Bouchard   

 When I purchased Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard, I had no clue the book would provide such a sucker punch to me personally.  I thought I was in for a sweet, humorous read.  I got that - plus much more.

In the past 18 months, I've lost 3 dogs.  I've provided care for my mother and lost her, as well.  My husband is now coping with serious illness that impacts every piece of our lives, except, perhaps, the love of our dogs.  

Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard, is a story about loss and new beginnings. In a strange way, it was as though Bouchard took my own recent life events, gently stirred once and told the story. 

Reading Jane's encounter with her in-laws over her husband's ashes felt surreal.  I had an encounter with my mother's brother that was so similar, it felt eeirie.

Rescue Me, Maybe made me laugh.  It made me cry.  And it left me feeling well satisfied, hopeful, and trying to live life more like my own dogs.

All the best book authors are doing book trailers these days!



"Rescue Me Maybe" Book Trailer from Jackie Bouchard on Vimeo.

Here's a little more about the plot straight from the author:

If you lost both your spouse and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other, but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone?

Maybe your closest friends. Unfortunately, Jane Bailey's closest friends are on the other side of the country. That's where Jane plans to go now that she's free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle's southwestern small-town B and B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop.

With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she's determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She's also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B and B's irritating guests, and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. Can Jane keep her sanity--and her secret that she's not really a grieving widow--while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home?

I love the protagonist, Jane.  She's what I like to call an honorable person.  When the husband she was planning on divorcing falls ill with cancer, Jane keeps her mouth shut, sticks it out until the end and even puts up with a very pushy mother-in-law.  

Jane is a loner. Though good at taking care of others, she is loathe to speak up for herself.   

Jane has a kind heart.  No matter that her agenda is to get back home to San Diego as soon as possible, she's easily roped into helping out her aunt and uncle at their Arizona B & B because they really need her.

Jane is a dog lover.  I keenly felt her loss of her boon companion.  I was with her all the way as she figures out her relationship with the dog she rescues at a rest stop.  Having had a tripawd dog, I anguished along with her as she makes health care decisions for Maybe.

Jane thought she was rescuing a dog.  Ha!  As happens more times than we humans like to admit, it was the dog doing the real rescuing.  With rescue dog, Maybe, as her teacher, Jane learns to open herself to new possibilities and create a nurturing life for herself.

What a wonderful read!  Bouchard writes with great compassion combined with humor.  She deals with issues like death and loss with an attention for the ironic details that made me sigh and, yes, laugh out loud.  Along the way, we meet a cast of characters that remain with me even though I long ago finished reading the book.

Rescue Me, Maybe is a warm dog friendly tale that makes real that saying:
Life is what happens while you're busing making plans.

Do yourself a favor and snap up a copy of Rescue Me, Maybe.  It's a great read from a woman who is an authentic dog lover and is available in print or Kindle format from Amazon and for Nook from B&N.   As an added bonus, Bouchard has pledged 10% of 2013 profits to the Morris Animal Foundation.

Photo©Jackie Bouchard

Jackie used to be trapped in the hamster wheel of corporate America, but she was lucky enough to escape and now fully understands the term "struggling writer." Jackie loves: reading, writing, and, yes, even 'rithmetic (seriously, algebra rocks); professional cycling; margaritas; blogging (she never thought she'd say that, but she does); dogs in general, and her crazy rescue pup specifically; and her hubby. (Not in that order.) Jackie dislikes: rude people and writing about herself in the third person. After living in Southern California, then Bermuda, then Canada, then the East coast, Jackie and her husband settled in San Diego. American Jackie, her Canadian hubby, and her Mexican rescue mutt form their own happy little United Nations.  Jackie's debut novel, What The Dog Ate, was followed by Rescue Me, Maybe.

Talking Dogs is the official blog of For Love of a Dog Jewelry.  I purchased Rescue Me, Maybe for myself and received no compensation for this review other than the personal satisfaction of sharing a very good book with my readers.