Heal the beasts A jaunt through the curious history of the veterinary arts

Philipp Schott

Book - 2025

"This history of veterinary medicine provides an abundance of bizarre, funny, surprising, and heartwarming anecdotes. Heal the Beasts chronicles human efforts to treat animal illnesses from 14,000 BCE to today. How and why did humans begin to treat sick and injured animals? And how did those practices, and the associated attitudes, evolve from prehistory to the present day? To answer these questions, Dr. Schott shares stories of 22 different animal healers and veterinarians from across eras and continents, examining the always fascinating, often unexpected, and 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 bond, which has been mo...re cyclical than linear. In many ways, we 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 people, but most of the other featured vets will be new. They range from Palakapya, who treated fighting elephants in India almost 3,000 years ago, to Dr. Louis Camuti, who had the first feline house call practice anywhere, tending to the cats of celebrities in mid-twentieth century Manhattan. Along the way, we see every kind of person trying to heal every kind of creature, from dogs, cows, horses, and cats to canaries, gorillas, and even dragons. Whether you have a passion for animals, the history of the medical sciences, or just quirky history, this light-hearted exploration of the empathetic relationship between man and beast will entertain and delight."--

Saved in:
1 copy ordered
Subjects
Published
Toronto, Ontario, Canada : ECW Press [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Philipp Schott (author)
Physical Description
x, 217 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm
Issued also in electronic formats
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781770417830
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1. Waterloo
  • Chapter 2. The Old Woman
  • Chapter 3. Ubar
  • Chapter 4. Palakapya
  • Chapter 5. Vegetius
  • Chapter 6. Oswald
  • Chapter 7. Fébus
  • Chapter 8. FitzHerbert
  • Chapter 9. Lancisi
  • Chapter 10. Sinopa
  • Chapter 11. Bourgelat
  • Chapter 12. Clark
  • Chapter 13. Erxleben
  • Chapter 14. Moorcroft
  • Chapter 15. Blaine
  • Chapter 16. Smith
  • Chapter 17. Galtier
  • Chapter 18. McGrath
  • Chapter 19. Colebourn
  • Chapter 20. Wight
  • Chapter 21. Camuti
  • Chapter 22. Blood
  • Chapter 23. Kalema-Zikusoka
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgements
  • Sources and Further Reading
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Veterinary medicine has come a long way since its 18th-century beginnings, according to this standout history from veterinarian Schott (The Accidental Veterinarian). Each chapter features a veterinarian who has made his or her mark on the profession. There's William Moorcroft, founder of the first equine hospital in London, who traveled the world searching for breeding horses for the British East India Company's cavalry; French veterinarian Pierre Victor Galtier, who pioneered the rabies vaccine with sheep in 1881 before Louis Pasteur put it to the test on humans; Canadian vet Harry Colebourn, who, en route to the Western Front in 1914, adopted Winnie, a bear cub who became the inspiration for the character Winnie-the-Pooh; and Louis Camuti, the New York vet who became the first to specialize in cats in 1933. Not all the credit goes to humans in Schott's clever survey--an unsung hero of veterinary history is the 18th-century racehorse Eclipse, who was so beloved that the British public went into mourning upon his death in 1789, sparking demand for formal veterinary education. Schott's animated account moves at a fast clip, is full of colorful anecdotes, and will delight animal lovers of all stripes. (July)

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