The Rhino With Glue-On Shoes

Continuing with the nonfiction animal books, I just finished The Rhino With Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and Their Patients edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima. The book is a compilation of fascinating stories of zoo and wildlife vets who go to great lengths to diagnose and treat the animals in their care. Often, the vets are working in uncharted territory and really have to be creative in coming up with a solution to treat a sick animal. How is a 1000 pound whale shark transported from Taiwan to Atlanta? What special precautions are taken when repairing a hernia in a polar bear? And what do you do when a dung beetle has an infestation of mites? A stint in a decompression chamber for a sea dragon, a leg brace for a giraffe and special shoes for a rhinoceros are just a few of the unconventional treatments described in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, mainly because I was just amazed at what can be done for these animals, and how dedicated the vets are to helping them. A lot of times it seems that the animals get better care than humans would! While I was reading this, I was thinking of a patron who recently asked me if we had any adult books about veterinarians that her teenage daughter (who wants to be a vet) could read. This would have been the perfect book for her, or for any young adult considering a career as a vet. Each story is short (5-10 pages), easy to read, and quite enlightening. And for animal lovers, it's a must read.