The Gift of Pets

April 23, 2012
Coston follows up 2009’s Ask the Animals with an engaging second memoir of his Virginia veterinary practice aimed directly at the hearts and minds of pet owners and animal lovers. Unlike the first volume, the book only occasionally touches on Coston’s home life, instead concentrating on portraits of his various clients and their pets, alternating between detailed accounts of the medical issues involved and reflections on the emotional bond between people and animals. To balance the poignancy of owners confronting their pets’ serious, sometimes untreatable illnesses and injuries, Coston humorously depicts unusual pets, like the dog that, according to his owner, prefers eating rocks to gnawing toys out of machismo, and eccentric owners, such as the bullmastiff owner who invents his own language and medical terminology. He also describes the awkward start of his medical career and introduces us to clinic staff members like his practical joke–prone receptionist, Rachel, and veterinary technician, Lisa. Lisa’s sad but inspirational story provides the otherwise episodic book with its strongest throughline. Coston’s musings on “the Gift” of the title—his sense of connection to animals—takes the book into somewhat windy, eye roll–inducing territory, but not enough to dent its charm. Agent: Jacques de Spoelberch, Jacques de Spoelberch Associates.

June 15, 2012
Tender tales of animal care from a veteran veterinarian. There is a special bond between a pet and its owners, which Coston (Ask the Animals: A Vet's Eye View of Pets and the People They Love, 2009) gracefully brings to light in his second memoir about his Virginia practice. "The core of a veterinary hospital," he writes, is the "emotional and compassionate intertwining of hearts and hands, of science and souls, of lighthearted laughter and wrenching sadness." The author's concern toward the sick animals under his care and his empathy for the owners merge with humor as he recalls his daily routines. Independent, eccentric, fun-loving, serious--all words that aptly describe owners and animals alike as Coston diagnoses and treats a myriad of maladies in the dogs, cats and birds that come to him for help. Vivid descriptions place readers in the operating room as Coston treats cancerous tumors, removes partly digested tennis balls, coins and rocks from intestinal tracts, or puts a seriously ill animal to sleep. Woven throughout these stories of animal care are the author's reflections on his relationships with his staff. There's Rachel, "an unassuming, quiet woman...one of those people you think you know well but whose waters run deep and unseen, with surprising twists and eddies," and Lisa, a young woman who, through diligence and hard work, moved from kennel assistant to veterinarian technician, only to have her personal story end in tragedy. Benevolent, instructive stories of the bonds between animals and humans.

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