Animal E.R.: Extraordinary Stories Hope Healing from 1 World's Leading Veterinary Hospitals

The Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine represents the ultimate in high-tech treatment for animals and the last hope of pet owners; it also has the largest emergency veterinary training program in the country. Small wonder, then, that stories about its intensive care unit and its dedicated staff should prove fascinating. Croke, a columnist for the Boston Globe and author of The Modern Ark, takes us behind the scenes to observe the hospital's daily triumphs and tragedies. The doctors face tough decisions about when to end suffering and when to keep trying to save their patients, which may be conventional pets or exotic animals. Clients must decide whether to put a beloved pet down or to incur potentially great expense ($2000 to $10,000). Croke describes an endoscopy on an anorexic anaconda and eye surgery on a zebra. She peppers her descriptions with interesting facts: one study suggests that ""their dogs will be of more comfort to people in a stressful situation than their spouses,"" while another study found that ""the blood pressure of children drops if a dog so much as enters the room."" In straightforward prose, Croke relays her stories with emotional impact but little excessive sentimentality, and her descriptions of advanced medical techniques are simple enough to be understood by the lay reader. 6-city author tour. (Oct.)