Tales from the Tail End

September 1, 2013
Milne was a newly minted veterinarian, yet already a veteran of the BBC series Vets School. When she was approached to be part of a new series, Vets in Practice, she happily agreed. What followed was an 11-part series of the popular program, the full tale of which Milne now reveals. Starting out in a mixed practice, where she saw farm animals as well as pets, Milne regales the reader with stories of lambing and the marvelous moment when she presented a poisonously sexist farmer with twin calves. Moving on to a small-animal practice, she had to get used to the fact that she was no longer dealing with salt-of-the-earth farmers but with pet owners and all their eccentricities. Between getting savaged by small poodles, removing a stick from a dog's chest, and participating in a pet funeral, Milne carries on, with the BBC following in her footsteps. Little side jobs came with the fame of television stardom, such as acting as the presenter for a wildlife series, but starring in a makeover program took months to live down.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)