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  • The Other Family Doctor

  • A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality
  • By: Karen Fine
  • Narrated by: Karen Fine
  • Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

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The Other Family Doctor

By: Karen Fine
Narrated by: Karen Fine
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Publisher's Summary

Calling all animal lovers! A heartwarming memoir about one woman's career as a vet and the unique role pets play in our lives • “Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their people comfort and peace.” —Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature

A tribute to our furry, feathery, scaley, and wet family members, All Creatures Great and Small meets Being Mortal in this compelling memoir of one woman's dream to become a veterinarian.

Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the '80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr. Fine persevered, and brought her Oupa's principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients’ stories to provide the best possible care.

And in The Other Family Doctor, Dr. Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet. There's:

  • The feral cat who becomes a creature out of a fable when he puts his trust in a young vet to heal his injured paw
  • The pot-bellied pig who grows too big to fit in the car but remains a cherished part of her family
  • The surprising colony of perfectly behaved ferrets
  • The beloved aging pet who gives her people the gift of accompanying them on one final family vacation
  • The dog who saves his owner's life in a most unexpected way

Woven into Dr. Fine's story are, of course, also the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessons—how caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves, especially when life seems precarious.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of additional resources and guides from the book

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Karen Fine (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“A delight for past, present, and prospective pet owners. And for everyone else.” —David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal

“Just in case you didn’t love your animal doc enough already, Karen Fine’s The Other Family Doctor will make you want to HUG your vet. This endearing memoir of what it takes to become a veterinarian and make it through the trenches of providing 24/7 care for the creatures we love best is so full of grit, determination, humor, and love.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Woodrow on the Bench and Those Who Save Us

“Filled with compassion and wisdom, Karen Fine is a healer whose own wounds have deepened her gifts for bringing animals and their people comfort and peace.” —Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and How to Be a Good Creature

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.