It's a Dog's Life

After years of veterinary studies in Dublin Ned Carson escapes the clutches of an Irish maiden, avoids the IRA and is assaulted by a love crossed swain. He is loath to leave this beautiful country until he meets his first love once again. They start practice in the enchanted Island of his birth haunted by fairy folk, Bugganes and the Tarroo-Ushtey.. He meets up with aggressive farmers and equally aggressive animals and resorts to the veterinary art to win them around. Large animal practice and developing small animal side engross his time. He learns how to avoid the problems created by his patients with the potential to end his career. He is called upon to cope with anything from hamsters to alligators.
His new wife Moira, after a life as an independent lady has to learn to cope with being on telephone call every night coping with worried clients with strange accents and their animals which develop unheard of complaints. A vets wife has to hand wash up to two sets of stinking clothes each day, dry them before the fire on a clothes rack as well as housekeeping and coping with children.
Meanwhile Ned has to learn to cope with farm animals in many and varied conditions. Lambing ewes on a snowy hillside at midnight, treating cows submerged in a flooded river and of course the regular anointing with cow dung.
The veterinary art is often more important than veterinary science. Entwined with treatment regimes he discovers the importance of alternative medicine such as homoeopathy, physiotherapy, ‘charming’ and manipulation. None of these were taught in the text books.