The Story of a Lost Vet, and a Dog

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A 3.5 stars book, but I gave a 4 due to the immensely funny and accurate descriptions of a true introvert, interesting pathological facts of diseases and the numerous and appropriate quotes from numerous books, movies and plays.

I was looking for a happy and quick read (chick-lit, or feel good story) when I noticed this book in the Kindle store. I'm not usually a reader of stories about dogs, cats or other pets. However, I did have fun reading about a dog in The Art of Racing in the Rain, a cat in Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat, a duck in Enslaved by Ducks...and even parrots in The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story . . . with Wings.

On the other hand, I had mostly unfavorable experiences with pet/animal books. They were either too cheesy, too touchy-feely, have a weak plot, or extremely boring. We know all pet owners love their dogs/cats/other pets to death, and they all seem to be the perfect and loyal companion and friend. However, to have the literary skill to convince your readers to feel the same is another story. The most recent one I had read, Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man would had been okay if the author did not boast about himself that much and focused more on his rooster, other pets and his new family.

This fictional story was...not a bad read, but far from the caliber of the books that I had mentioned up there. The story was about Cyrus Mills, who is a Veterinarian pathologist himself, inherited a Vet clinics from his estranged Father after he died. He has some legal issues with his license where he came from (North Carolina), and was hoping to quickly sell the practice to use the money for his legal expense. However, as he encounters one after another of his Father's old clients and their pets, things are not going exactly the way he wanted them to be.

This is truly a character-based book, and defining and building each of these characters was obviously the author's strong suit. There's Cyrus, who's a true introvert and not exactly good with people or pets, so he chose pathology as his emphasis. He believed his Father, the beloved Dr. Cobb, had wronged him and his Mom by spending too much time at work. Lewis, Cobb's old practice partner who seems to be always running some mysterious errands. Doris, the receptionist who evidently showed Cyrus that she takes orders from no one, especially him, Denise, a poor teenager who's pregnant, as well as her cat Tina. A cop who was Cyrus' tormentor in school, a young and smart waitress, a few cougars, a bitter step dad.,,and they all added up to a quite interesting storyline. The author’s writing is what I may have problems with: It’s a bit impersonal in times.

There was also a lost dog, Frieda, but not "dogs" - as indicated in the title. I think the title is a bit misleading. There were definitely no lost dogs, but just lots of dogs (or cats) that the owners can't live without and love. However, there were quite a few lost humans, not literally, of course.

So, to summarize this review: This was definitely a good books to read, but even with the great plot, the wonderful characters, literary references and a few tear-jerking moments, don't expect this book to wow you. The writing lacks a bit of polish and style. However, it will definitely make you smile, especially if you are a pet owner.




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