Heal the Beasts

This history of veterinary medicine provides an abundance of bizarre,funnysurprisingand heartwarming anecdotes. Heal the Beasts chronicles human efforts to treat animal illnesses from 14000 BCE to today. How and why did humans begin to treat sick and injured animals? And how did those practicesand the associated attitudesevolve from prehistory to the present day? To answer these questionsDr. Schott shares stories of 22 different animal healers and veterinarians from across eras and continentsexamining the always fascinatingoften unexpectedand sometimes hilarious veterinary methods employed by these people and their colleagues. But at the heart of the tale lies the evolution of the human-animal bondwhich has been more cyclical than linear. In many wayswe are returning to the outlook of our distant ancestors after a centuries-long detour through a more utilitarian approach. James Herriot will be familiar to many peoplebut most of the other featured vets will be new. They range from Palakapyawho treated fighting elephants in India almost 3000 years agoto Dr. Louis Camutiwho had the first feline house call practice anywheretending to the cats of celebrities in mid-20th-century Manhattan. Along the waywe see every kind of person trying to heal every kind of creaturefrom dogscowshorsesand cats to canariesgorillasand even dragons. Whether you have a passion for animalsthe history of the medical sciencesor just quirky historythis light-hearted exploration of the empathetic relationship between man and beast will entertain and delight.