WCVM authors offer new additions to your summer reading list
Your summer reading list isn’t complete without one of these recent books written by members of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) community.
By Céline GrimardRear View Wisdom: Life Lessons from Treating Animals by Dr. Michael High (DVM’88)
With over three decades of experience of treating dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets, wildlife and exotic animals, WCVM alumnus Dr. Michael High has more than a few stories to share. His book features knowledge gained through successes and failures with his animal patients — along with some life lessons learned well after their treatments.
People of Cove and Woodlot: Stories Across 100 Years of Memories by Dr. Ted Leighton (DVM’79) and Alexander Leighton.
Dr. Ted Leighton, a WCVM graduate and professor emeritus, uncovered the unpublished works of his father, Alexander Leighton, in 2021 — 14 years after his death in 2007. Ted decided to build on his father’s work, creating a memoir that steps back into the era between the 1920s and 1970s in Nova Scotia’s Digby County. The book combines tales of people known by both Ted and his father,
This is Ted’s third book and first memoir. He has also written two novels: Knowers and Lovers in 2024 and A Ring of Justice in 2022.
In Velvet: Elk, Wapiti and Deer Stories by Dr. Jerry Haigh
In his seventh book, WCVM professor emeritus Dr. Jerry Haigh dives into his experiences with elk (wapiti), deer and a few other species. The book covers his work in Western Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden, India, Australia, United States and the island of Rota.
The book is separated into three sections, starting with Haigh’s work as a veterinarian managing and treating zoo and free-ranging elk, followed by his organization of an air shipment of elk overseas to New Zealand. The book’s final section recounts Haigh’s work in operating his family’s elk farm in the Saskatoon area.
Haigh uses his own photography and decades of encounters to bring his adventures to life.
Dr. Danger: Life Story of a Rural Veterinarian by Dr. Arthur Joseph Schatz (DVM'69)
Dr. Art Schatz, a 1969 graduate of the WCVM, has written a memoir about his decades of experience working with large animals.
Told with a wry sense of humour, Schatz shares stories of "being shot at, almost buried alive in a trench with a dead horse, and a face-to-face encounter with a musk ox not fully under the influence of fentanyl."
Schatz earned the nickname "Dr. Danger" from one of his students because of his ability to work with potentially dangerous large animals. In his self-published book, Schatz shares memories from his life and his thoughts about the veterinary profession. His book also includes a broader examination of Canada’s food systems for both people and animals.
Without the University of Saskatchewan and his WCVM-based education, Schatz points out that “none of these experiences would have happened."