UNLIKELY COMPANIONS: The Adventures of an Exotic Animal Doctor

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Nonfiction

Beaks, scales, feathers, fur

UNLIKELY COMPANIONS:
The Adventures of an Exotic Animal Doctor
By Laurie Hess, DVM, with Samantha Rose
259 pp. Da Capo

Reviewed by Lynne M. Hinkey, author of Marina Melee

Part memoir, part mystery, and all heart, Dr. Laurie Hess’s Unlikely Companions is a captivating look at the dedication, frustration, and devotion that veterinarians – and the whole animal healthcare community – pour into their work. Centered on a spate of sugar-glider deaths, and one vet’s determination to solve the mystery before any more of her patients are lost, this book takes us through a few harrowing weeks in the life of Dr. Laurie Hess, a Westchester county, New York veterinarian specializing in exotic animals. Interspersed with her search for answers, Hess provides a mix of anecdotes about her journey to becoming an exotic animal vet, her family life, and entertaining stories of her often-eccentric clients, and their beloved and bizarre pets that are her patients.

The personal stories, not only of her successes, but also of her failures, and her struggles to balance her responsibilities as a wife and mother with the demands of her career, make Dr. Hess very relatable. She doesn’t paint herself as some ideal new-millennium wonder woman, but as a flawed, and occasionally insecure human with one superpower: her total dedication to her patients.

Whether educating her clients on the special and specific dietary and lifestyle needs of their non-traditional pets, spending the night with a sick animal in her clinic, or making the heartbreaking phone call to tell someone their companion didn’t make it, Dr. Hess and her staff are clearly “all-in” to ensuring the best care for their human and animal patients. The joy and affection Hess and her staff have for all of their charges echoes through every page. While many might wonder how a slithery snake, a spiky hedgehog, a scaly lizard, or a 170-pound pig could possibly provide the same love and affection as a cuddly dog or cat, Dr. Hess can tell you:

I’ve seen firsthand, countless times, how animals can expand and change the lives of people who take them into their homes.... I’ve witnessed unbreakable bonds between humans and these special animals that defy explanation again and again.

Animal lovers, already familiar with the complete and unconditional love our pets and companions provide, will have their regard for and devotion to their companions validated. Those who have yet to discover that kind of relationship with a non-human, and who may be skeptical, will get a glimpse into that shared animal-human bond in the enchanting accounts provided throughout the book. From birds to snakes to the sugar gliders (inches-long marsupials whose favorite place is in their owners’ pockets), the unusual and much-loved pets that Dr. Hess treats are endeared to the reader. By the end, all readers will find themselves cheering for the doctor and her staff as they solve the mystery behind the ailing sugar gliders. And more, they might also be tempted to rush out in search of new companion they never imagined – one with beaks, scales, feathers, or fur.

Just don’t forget if you do decide one of these unlikely companions is for you, remember Dr. Hess’s mantra: “learn what your pet needs and give him or her exactly that.”

~

Lynne Hinkey uses experiences from her years living in the Caribbean to infuse her novels with a bit of tropical magic, from the siren call of the islands, to the hysteria and humor of the mysterious chupacabra. Visit Lynne at http://www.lynnehinkey.com


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