How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet

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I just didn't have the will to pick up the next chapter, as I knew it would be just the same as the previous ones. Growing up on the family farm in Ballyfin, Ireland, Noel's childhood was spent tending to the cattle and sheep, the hay and silage, the tractors and land, his beloved sheepdog Pirate providing solace from the bullies that plagued him at school. A beautiful written account of Noel’s life and career becoming a vet and specialising in such a new aspect of vet science. I really, really love Noel, he's the best kind of human and I really enjoyed his first book which is why I opted to read this. This is at times a rambling, in the best possible way, account of his childhood on a farm in Ireland and his burning desire to become a vet, the long years of study and then his passion and vision to help animals with innovative techniques.

I got a lecture about the danger of 'over treatment' and how hurt he was that he had been accused of it.This was a tough read, especially as his beloved Keira was still alive but died whilst I was reading this.

I loved the idea of “one medicine” which is a common theme in the book - whereby human and animal medicine need to collaborate for the greater good. It just struck me as a bit simplistic and a little bit patronising but then you all know by now I'm sensitive to weight issues. pages on how veterinarian medicine needs some changes from a governance and ethics perspectives, whilst saying that he is happy to work in the current way. Lovely book written by a man who has many worries about his own life but concentrates on making animal lives much better. For years experimenting on animals has resulted in new treatments for humans so surely it makes sense to use these results for the good of both humans and animals.I've already read Becoming the Supervet, and found it so interesting to try and understand how Fitzpatrick has reached his current status as a veterinary surgeon. Sixthly in how up to date it is – the book’s themes drawing together in a very tangible and incredibly up to date way with a severe accident to his own dog in September 2020 (one month before publication). However, I do find lots of these stories interspersed with self righteousness, and a sense of narcissism. Fitzpatrick first came to mainstream attention in 2010 with the television series The Bionic Vet which chronicled his work at Fitzpatrick Referrals and then in 2014 with the hugely successful series The Supervet – the soubriquet by which he is still known to this day.

However, I thought there was a lot of fluffy content, celebrity name dropping and repetitions that could have been taken out. I am interested in how people make sense of their lives and the world around them but this was very convoluted and repetitive. I wholeheartedly agree with his one medicine dream and really enjoyed reading about his veterinary experiences and the brilliant cutting edge operations he performs. The overall structure of the book wasn't what I was expecting, it was split into chapters on personality traits/virtues, mostly explained through lessons he has learned from animals in his care and his two beloved pets. It was this bond with Pirate, and a fateful night spent desperately trying to save a newborn lamb, that inspired Noel to enter the world of veterinary science - and set him on the path to becoming The Supervet.I do respect all he does and his sensitivity is painful but perhaps another book needs to be more carefully planned out. I did find this difficult to read in places, a bit technical, so I found myself skipping over bits, but not too much.