Dog Gone, Back Soon

When you need something light and entertaining to read, a book like “Dog Gone, Back Soon” is sure to do the trick. Set in a small town in Vermont, the story of veterinarian Cyrus Mills returning to take over his late father’s practice fits the bill – funny and a good time. There are a lot of subplots that get the narrator into more and more of a pickle. There’s the move to the cold winter from the South,  which can be enough for some people as-is; add to that the challenge of making a second date, a tight budget, a ridiculous and unnecessary threat of competition from the next-town-over’s vet practice, and of course all of the patients he takes on.

The author, Nick Trout (yes, I do like the name), is a veterinarian, and I am sure has seen all sorts of strange cases. Our narrator is incredibly detail-oriented, and I appreciate the science and logic of trying to solve the inordinate number of medical mysteries in a small area. Maybe a little contrived, but hey, it makes for a fun read. His subconscious thoughts sometimes pop up, sometimes he speaks them out loud, confusing whoever he was talking with. These specific factoids are balanced by a heavy dose of movie references – most are common enough to “get.”

There are of course a number of characters, but my favorite might be Doris, the secretary at Bedside Manor (I also like the puns) who conveniently knows everyone and can get information/gossip. Cyrus’s romance situation gets pretty tangled up, and his patients’ problems extend beyond the individual. A Jersey cow, for example, might be introducing an epidemic, and a stuffed dog (yes, taxidermied), is a literal fulcrum. Another dog barks too loud, and a cat with extra digits won’t allow him to get a sample unscratched. He gets help from Lewis, the elder doctor in the practice, and a couple of high schoolers with different skill sets. This is a sequel, but you don’t have to have read the first book to follow – I didn’t, although I’m sure it would be just as fun to go back and read that as well.

I thank Net Galley and Hachette for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.