Celebrate World Book Day with WCVM authors
It’s World Book Day on April 23, 2023, and if you’re on the hunt for a good book, here are some options that have been written by Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) alumni and faculty.
By Jessica ColbyiStockphoto.com (ipekata).
A Conspiracy of Chickens by David Waltner-Toews
WCVM graduate (DVM’78) and Order of Canada appointee Dr. David Waltner-Toews has spent his career writing books about chickens and travelling the world to combat avian influenza. So, he should be more than prepared when he receives a box of chicks as a birthday gift from this wife, right? He soon finds himself submerged in the world of raising backyard chickens and trying to stay one step ahead of them. In this memoir, Waltner-Toews also highlights people’s history and relationship with chickens.
You’re Gonna Get Peed On! How Veterinarians Can Keep Their Dream Job from Becoming a Nightmare While Working Less and Earning More by Dr. Michael Bugg
With insight pulled from his podcast, WCVM graduate Dr. Michael Bugg (DVM’08) shares how to avoid burnout in veterinary medicine while thriving in your career as a veterinarian. While it’s important to care for your clients and their pets, it’s also important to take care of yourself. In this book, Bugg shares solutions for the personal and financial struggles from a veterinarian’s point of view.
A Ring of Justice by Dr. Ted Leighton
In this mystery novel set in his home province of Nova Scotia, Dr. Ted Leighton, WCVM graduate (DVM’79) professor emeritus, tells the story of Rick Robichaud, who abandoned his career in science to stay home and support his veterinarian wife. In the fictional town of Bear River, threads of contentment and murder intertwine with generosity and crime.
Reindeer Reflections: Lessons from an Ancient Culture by Dr. Jerry Haigh
After moving to Saskatoon, Sask., from Kenya, WCVM professor emeritus Haigh discovered that reindeer and caribou were the same thing. He quickly became interested in the species’ history, including how they were domesticated by ancient people and the folklore surrounding their origin. This book details Haigh’s travels around the world working with native people in Finland and Mongolia. He also discusses the effects of climate change, poaching and disease on the species from Alaska to Siberia, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people he met along the way.
Don’t They KICK When You Do That? Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian by Dr. Gary Hoium
After graduating from the WCVM’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program in the 1980s, Dr. Gary Hoium (DVM’84) joined a mixed animal clinic in Weyburn, Sask., and spent his 36-year career there until his retirement in late 2021. This book is a collection of Hoium’s veterinary-related stories, from setbacks to successes, about the animals of all sizes (and their humans) he interacted with over the years.
Lucky Dog: How Being a Veterinarian Saved My Life by Dr. Sarah Boston
Written by WCVM graduate (DVM’96) Dr. Sarah Boston, Lucky Dog is a hilarious and heartwarming memoir by a renowned veterinary oncologist who tells us what we can learn about health care and ourselves from our most beloved pets. Boston takes her readers on a hysterical and thought-provoking journey through the human health care system from the perspective of an animal doctor. Weaving funny and poignant stories of dogs she’s treated along the way, this is an insightful memoir about what the human medical world can learn from the way we treat our canine counterparts. Lucky Dog teaches us to trust our instincts, be our own advocates, and laugh while we’re doing it.