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Speaking for Spot.

antigone

Well-known member
I already discussed this with Karlin and she said that it was okay to post. I don't actually know if it should be here or not but have seen some discussions lately that lead me to think that this book might be helpful to a lot of us. I have already found it useful and a good resource.

On National Public Radio the author of a book titled Speaking for Spot was interviewed. She is a vet, as is her husband, but she is also a pet owner and has faced many of the difficult decisions we all face when trying to care for our sick dogs. The subtitle of the book is "Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life." While this book does not mention SM, many life threatening diseases and situations are discussed in a very kind and helpful way. I should tell you that the book is hard to get but the author said that she can send copies to anyone who requests them and will even sign and return copies that people already own.

There is a website for the book: www.speakingforspot.com. You can find out more about the book at that site. The author's name is Dr Nancy Kay. She is a specialist, an internist. The book discusses MANY important things that we all encounter when living with our dogs, even decisions about whether or not special and expensive therapies are warranted in particular cases, and also how to decide if it is time to euthanize a dog. It also has a list of very helpful guidelines for interacting with vets so that you get the information you need and are sure that you are communicating what you want to communicate. Rather delicate topics like getting a second opinion and having differing ideas about treatment from those of your vet are discussed. I got this book quite a while after I first started needing it but I still find the information and guidelines discussed in the book to be VERY helpful. I would say that it is an indispensable book for ANY pet owner, not just dog owners. It is, however, written specifically for dog owners and many of the diseases, conditions and treatments apply only to dogs. It is very useful when trying to decide about quality of life issues and also discusses money issues when deciding about medical treatment for dogs.

This is really a GREAT book. If I only had to have one book about pet illnesses, this is the one I would choose! It is FAR more useful than even the Merck Veterinary Manual.

Kathy
 
Yes!!!

Please DO cross post the bit about the book anyplace you can. This is one VERY well written and helpful book. It is better than Dr Spock (NOT the Star Trek Spock!) is/was for kids. If you don't know about Dr Spock, it means that you are WAY younger than I am! When my human children were babies, Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care was the bible for everything from bedwetting to chickenpox to temper tantrums. Anyway, I can't see how somebody could NOT love Speaking for Spot. It doesn't have a bossy tone at all and she even talks about when they had to decide about euthanasia for one of their dogs and how they decided what to do. It is a very kind and factual book that makes it easier to see the world through both the dog's eyes and the vet's eyes. I think EVERYBODY should know about this book and have access to it. I read a lot and am VERY critical of things I read. Not critical as in criticism, critical as in evaluation. Seriously, you don't have to include my name in cross posting and anybody who wants to cross post it has not only my permission but my encouragement.


Kathy
 
Just ordered one through Amazon, came to £14 odd including postage from US. Can't wait to read it, glad the postal strike is off.
 
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