The Soul of All Living Creatures

March 18, 2013
How is it that animals so touch our hearts? A specialist in veterinary behavioral medicine, Virga probes these and other questions in this beguiling but unremarkable foray into the lessons we can learn from animals. Each chapter focuses on a particular trait—connection, sensitivity, mindfulness to adaptability, forgiveness, presence, and others—and the author regales readers with stories of animals who exhibit such traits. For example, in his reflections on integrity, Virga shares the story of a captive clouded leopard named Sakari and two domestic cats, Pandora and Persephone, concluding that if we “take notice of where we limit their lives, we can better see how we set limits on ourselves.” Animals can also teach us to express ourselves fully, both verbally and nonverbally; when we are mindful of our body language, and that of others, as well as the pitch of our voice and use of language, we can connect with others more deliberately and effectively. Though Virga is passionate about his work, he offers few new insights. Agent: Rebecca Gradinger, Fletcher & Co.

June 1, 2013
A veterinarian who specializes in behavioral medicine examines the spiritual bond between humans and their pets. In the early years of Virga's career, when he specialized in emergency medicine, he was struck by the way his animal patients responded to the warmth of human contact. He experienced a life-changing moment while treating a dog in shock, and that led him to change his specialty. Exhausted, he slumped down beside the animal, and as the dog nuzzled against him, its vital signs improved. In the years that followed, Virga came to believe in the deep roots of our human connection to animals. "What I see in their eyes is my own reflection...we share much more than we recognize," he writes. Two out of three Americans own pets, which they treat as members of their family, best friends and confidants. In addition to broadening our perspective, they "embrace a part of our human nature that's as vital to us as our hearts and minds." Virga, who describes numerous instances from his practice, is convinced by his own experiences and modern research that "animals' neurons are very much the same as ours, generating images, emotions, memories and thoughts." That animal neuroses are also similar to those of humans--e.g., dogs with obsessive-compulsive disorder who obsessively bite their tails--is further proof. The kinship that we feel with animals, writes the author, "comes from our souls connecting with theirs." They help us focus on the moment and experience the "heights of joy as well as heartwrenching depths of sorrow," and they make us feel more connected to "the greater world in which we live." An insightful affirmation of our love of animals.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 15, 2013
Early in his career as a veterinarian, Virga witnessed how his quiet presence and contact with a dog that seemed to be failing after being hit by a car likely saved the dog's life. The incident led him to ponder over 30 years as a specialist in behavioral medicine the connections between humans and animals. Beyond diagnostic tests and medical treatments, Virga recounts cases of animals, from cats and dogs to wolves and whales, adapting to illness, change, and impending death in ways that inform and are informed by relationships with humans. He notes cave drawings illustrating the connections, not just as predator and prey, between humans and animals as evidence of our fascination with animals. Indeed, our early connection with wolves led to the evolution of a domestic companion. In separate chapters, using case histories and research, he focuses on sensitivity, expressivity, forgiveness, integrity, adaptability, mindfulness, and other basic traits animals and humans share and how we can better understand animal behavior. Animal lovers will appreciate this tribute to the connection between humans and animals.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)