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Published Feb 2013
352 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
After fifteen years, Dr. Cyrus Mills returns to rural Vermont to inherit the Bedside Manor for Sick Animals, the failing veterinary practice of his recently deceased and long-estranged father. Cyrus, a veterinary pathologist far more comfortable with cold clinical facts than living, breathing animals (not to mention their quirky, demanding owners), intends to sell the practice and get out of town as fast as he can.
Then his first patient - a down-on-her-luck golden retriever named Frieda Fuzzypaws - wags her way through the door, and suddenly life gets complicated. With the help of a black Labrador gifted in the art of swallowing underwear, a Persian cat determined to expose her owner's lover as a gold digger, and the allure of a feisty, pretty waitress from the local diner, Cyrus gets caught up in a new community and its endearing residents, both human and animal. Sensing he may have misjudged the past, he begins to realize it's not just his patients that need healing.
The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs is a winsome tale of new beginnings, forgiveness, and the joy of finding your way home.
"Starred Review. Trout's charming novel strikes just the right balance between humor and drama. The cast of characters are delightfully entertaining, but Mills is the linchpin as a son grappling with the memory of a father he thought he knew. Highly recommended for anyone who has ever had a beloved pet." - Library Journal
"Trout (Ever by My Side, 2011, etc.) delivers a doggone charming tale. Rather than dispensing an overload of schmaltz, which is difficult to avoid in a feel-good story that introduces a magnitude of furry friends and their often eccentric owners, the author manages to successfully pull off a straightforward, energizing story with a message that doesn't choke on its own sweetness." - Kirkus
"A diverting yarn reminiscent of the work of James Herriot." - Publishers Weekly
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Nick Trout graduated from veterinary school at the University of Cambridge in 1989. He is a staff surgeon at the prestigious Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston; the author of three books, the New York Times bestseller Tell Me Where It Hurts, Love Is the Best Medicine, and Ever By My Side; and is a contributing columnist for The Bark magazine. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Kathy, and their adopted Labradoodle, Thai.
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