cover image The Proof Is in the Poodle: One Veterinarian's Exploration into Healing

The Proof Is in the Poodle: One Veterinarian's Exploration into Healing

Donna Kelleher. Two Harbors, $16.95 paper (214p) ISBN 978-1-937928-06-3

Almost a decade after her first and widely acclaimed memoir (The Last Chance Dog: And Other True Stories of Holistic Animal Healing), veterinarian Kelleher has returned with an engaging and fascinating companion volume about her continued investigation into and application of holistic medicine for animals. The book smoothly shifts between descriptions of various patients and the medical problems they presented Kelleher, and recollections of her life and training. Most memorable is the story of Iris, a "crazy coot" of an old lady from the author's hometown, who is revealed to be an expert on plant and herbal remedies for animals when she treats Kelleher's dog Sampson in Kelleher's youth. "The idea that a tea taken internally could affect all the mucous membranes of the body was completely foreign to me," Kelleher writes. She shows how breaking away from traditional veterinary clinics to start her own career using "alternative medicine as a primary therapy" was influenced by her days with Iris. One of the most moving moments in the book concerns Kelleher's search to cure a golden retriever named Jasper. Her finely detailed account of how she administered the regimen of "herbs that could move energy, relieve heat and stimulate his sluggish immune system"%E2%80%94including a liver-strengthening formula%E2%80%94that leads to Jasper's recovery presents a strong argument for the value that holistic treatments have for traditional veterinary practices.