Love Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles

A couple of years ago, at the Spring Book and Author Luncheon in Charleston, South Carolina, I met a veterinarian, Nick Trout, who was there to talk about his first book, Tell Me Where It Hurts. We got to talking, not least because I am a dog nut (two Goldens, a Corgi and two King Charles Cavaliers), and I reckoned, no harm in trying to eek out some free veterinary advice, especially about my beloved Retriever Lucy. Lucy had passed away only a few days earlier and I was haunted by a feeling that I could have done more, that I wasn’t able to physically be with her, to hold her, connect with her and ease her into the next life in the end. Nick hardly knew me but I could tell he got it, understood what it means to have an animal in your life and how we pet owners struggle with the burden of loss when we are left behind to pick up the pieces. On the plane home I read his book, loved, loved, loved it, and ordered him to write more.

Thankfully, he has, and in Love is the Best Medicine, Nick radiates the exact same sensitivity, empathy, and understanding of loss that I felt the day I met him. The book features his trademark humor, with funny stories pulled from the examination rooms and operating suites of one of the top veterinary hospitals in the country, but at its heart is the true story of two dogs that you cannot help but fall in love with and root for--a Min Pin puppy named Cleo and a geriatric Cocker Spaniel named Helen. The stories of these two dogs symbolize for all of us pet people exactly what it means to love an animal--and it’s so fascinating to get the view from the other side of table. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll say this: as someone who knows a thing or two about losing a cherished animal, I found the story surprising and comforting. It reminded me once again that the universe works in mysterious, rich, and wonderful ways.

This book, too, is rich and wonderful, and you should read it. --Lisa Scottoline

(Photo © April Narby)

Cleo, 6 months oldCleo in her favorite pink bagHelenHelen playing in ivy