Pets in Prospect - Malcolm D. Welshman [0]
Sir Terry Wogan
‘Your story is a corker.’
Richard Madeley
‘If you enjoyed James Herriot, you will enjoy Malcolm Welshman’s rollicking story of eccentric animals and even more eccentric humans.’
Celia Haddon, author and former Daily Telegraph columnist
‘If you have a pet you love, then you will love Pets in a Pickle. These hilarious stories are straight from a vet’s pen and will keep you chuckling.’
Stella Whitelaw, writer, journalist, lover of cats,
with over 30 novels published
‘I loved this book although I’ll never be able to look at my vet in the same way again. Whether or not you’re mad about animals, there are laughs aplenty here.’
Denise Robertson, Agony Aunt, ITV’s This Morning.
‘It’s a lighthearted “if you like animals, you’ll like this, especially the two-footed variety’‘ pageturner.’
Anna Raeburn, LBC Radio’s ‘Book of the Week’.
‘This book is a modern James Herriot tale set in the rolling hills of Sussex…bursting with good humour, intelligence and information. It brims with the same cleverly drawn characters that collect in my own vet’s practice … how I empathise with Paul Mitchell, the new graduate employed by the vintage owner, Dr Crystal Sharpe. Malcolm’s writing is stylish, moving, original, beautifully crafted with real characters, believable situations and observant dialogue that always rings true. A “must read’‘ for vet students and pet lovers. They will adore the funny episodes that beset this naive vet at Prospect House.’
Barbara Large MBE FRSA HFUW,
Founder Director Winchester Writers’ Conference.
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
EPIGRAPH
FOREWORD BY JIM WIGHT
1 VET IN PROSPECT
2 A WING AND A PRAYER
3 FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE
4 HEAVYWEIGHT KNOCK-OUT
5 A TURN FOR THE BETTER
6 CREATURE COMFORTS
7 TODAY’S SPECIALS: HOT DOG AND FILLET OF FISH
8 CYRIL TAKES THE BISCUIT
9 AND THIS LITTLE PIGGY HAD NONE
10 THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A DAME
11 A FÊTE WORSE THAN DEATH
12 LUCY PROVES A POINT
13 RUFFLED FEATHERS
14 EXOTIC CHANCER
15 BIBLE BASHER
16 THE WILD SIDE OF WESTCOTT
17 THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT
18 A CRACKER OF A CHRISTMAS
COPYRIGHT
FOREWORD
BY JIM WIGHT, SON OF JAMES HERRIOT
AND AUTHOR OF THE REAL JAMES HERRIOT
James Herriot became, through his writing, the most famous veterinarian in the world. Two things, to me, stand out as integral to his worldwide success as an author: his books are not just about vets treating animals, they are about people, and he writes about others, not just himself.
Malcolm Welshman’s book, Pets in a Pickle, is, too, not just a collection of animals stories. The author paints a vivid picture of many fascinating characters – human and animal – resulting in a most enjoyable and amusing read. The veterinary profession is one enriched by the most interesting and challenging situations, wherein the veterinary surgeon is confronted by a variety of unforgettable characters. Malcolm Welshman’s experiences as a young veterinary surgeon, recounted in a most readable way, illustrate this very well.
It is often said that vets have little interest in books or TV programmes about other members of their profession. It is regarded as ‘old hat’, revealing nothing new. I did not find this to be the case with this book. The author describes his early life in practice in a most entertaining way. The book is extremely easy to read and the text gives the reader a most enjoyable insight into the unpredictable but fascinating life of the veterinary surgeon.
I wish this book every success.
VET IN PROSPECT
I’d been whistling a tune from The Sound of Music when I left Prospect House the previous week: ‘Odl lay ee … Odl lay hee hee …’
How foolish. How naïve of me. What a silly little goatherd.
Now here I was, the following Monday morning, with the waiting room (not the hills) alive with the sound of … dogs snuffling and whining, cats miaowing and yowling and several budgerigars chirruping and screeching. Hardly Julie Andrews with her von Trapp family. But then I was hardly Julie Andrews,