cover image The Last Chance Dog: And Other Stories of Holistic Animal Healing

The Last Chance Dog: And Other Stories of Holistic Animal Healing

Donna Kelleher. Scribner Book Company, $24 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-2301-0

Readers will be inspired by this instructive collection of stories about holistic veterinary medicine. Kelleher, a veterinarian who received her original training in traditional Western medicine, explains how she came to realize that there was a more""compassionate way to heal animals."" She cleverly combines true stories of holistic healing with practical explanations of the underlying theories and practice. The result is a book that works on many levels: as an entertaining read, a crash course in acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal medicine and a testament to the will and spirit of the animals Kelleher works with. Kelleher recognizes the qualities that make each animal unique, even when she's talking about her tortoise, Mr. Sheldon T:""He is simple, hardened and tough but possesses the vulnerable and soulful wisdom of a hunched old man."" From Kane, the 120-pound dog who suffers from severe seizures, to Rio, the orange mare with a sarcoid on her eye, Kelleher demonstrates the amazing healing potential of alternative medicine. Despite her many successes, Kelleher also meets with disappointment, as with Ginger, a shepherd mix who simply won't respond to treatment and must be euthanized. But Kelleher endows death with as much dignity as life and, taking a lesson from her grandmother, knows""to honor that tired inner spirit instead of forcing it to occupy a body longer than necessary.""