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Cyrus Mills #1
The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs
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.
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.
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
93 people are currently reading
2059 people want to read
About the author
Nick Trout
9 books422 followersI’m from England and I’m a veterinary surgeon working at the Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, one of the biggest animal hospitals in the world. If I had to sum up the best part of my career in one word it would be ‘unpredictable’ because what’s great about coming to work everyday is the certainty of surprise. It might be a Chihuahua or a Great Dane, a Maine Coon Cat or an iguana. It might be the heartache of saying goodbye to a best friend; it might be the elation of a surgical cure and a relationship to a true companion restored. It is all of this and more. What’s not to love! In my first book, Tell Me Where It Hurts I tried to capture the rush and the passion of modern veterinary medicine. In Love is the Best Medicine, I have focused more on the pets and their owners, trying to expose the more vulnerable, more emotional aspects of what it means to heal sick animals. In my latest book, Ever By My Side, I turn the lens inward and consider the animals I think of as my own pets, taking an opportunity to relive some of the defining moments of my life in which an animal took their cue, stepped up and gave me a chance to appreciate a different perspective. This is my attempt to show them off and share their subtle, startling, and inspirational lessons, which have played a small but vital part in helping to shape the person you see with the stethascope around his neck.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
October 7, 2019
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and once again he did not disappoint his readers. This was a feel good story which centres around Dr Cyrus Mills who returns to home to Eden Falls Vermont after his estranged father passes away. Cyrus knew of his fathers veterinarian practice, but what he didn’t know was how badly it was doing financially.
Cyrus was now faced with saving the practise from going under all together then he planned to sell it. It all seemed simple enough to Cyrus at first, but this would turn out to be harder to do than he first thought. Cyrus was use to dealing with cold clinical facts, so when it came to dealing with pets and their owners on a daily basis he finds it to be a challenge.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this author he really knows how to keep his readers entertained. The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs was an enjoyable read which had me laughing out loud and it also had me reaching for the tissues. If you love reading animal stories like I do then make sure you grab a copy of this book. Highly recommended.
Cyrus was now faced with saving the practise from going under all together then he planned to sell it. It all seemed simple enough to Cyrus at first, but this would turn out to be harder to do than he first thought. Cyrus was use to dealing with cold clinical facts, so when it came to dealing with pets and their owners on a daily basis he finds it to be a challenge.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this author he really knows how to keep his readers entertained. The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs was an enjoyable read which had me laughing out loud and it also had me reaching for the tissues. If you love reading animal stories like I do then make sure you grab a copy of this book. Highly recommended.
February 12, 2020
Charm, pathos and a collection of small-town odd balls and heart-tugging pets make this a feel-good winner. The kind of read that illuminates any dark winter night. Thank you, Nick Trout!
October 15, 2019
Cyrus Mills has a lot going on.
He's inherited a failing Veterinary Practise, his license to practise Vet Medicine has been suspended and he doesn't have any money to fight to have his license reinstated. And to top it off he's never actually treated animals. His career has been in pathology where all he has had to deal with is samples and dead animals.
He hopes to sell the business and make enough money to fight his legal battles but the pets and their people have another plan.
There is a lot to like about this book and I only have one or two complaints.
What I loved is Dr Mills the investigator, the vet, the man struggling to deal with squirming animals. Honestly, that's enough. If the author wrote a story about a small town vet and just stuck to that I probably would have rated this book 4 or 5 stars.
There is enough drama in that to carry the story. There was no need to contrive the added drama of the bank foreclosing on the practise and the extortionist. So an entertaining book loses a star for cluttering up the story with unnecessary drama.
He's inherited a failing Veterinary Practise, his license to practise Vet Medicine has been suspended and he doesn't have any money to fight to have his license reinstated. And to top it off he's never actually treated animals. His career has been in pathology where all he has had to deal with is samples and dead animals.
He hopes to sell the business and make enough money to fight his legal battles but the pets and their people have another plan.
There is a lot to like about this book and I only have one or two complaints.
What I loved is Dr Mills the investigator, the vet, the man struggling to deal with squirming animals. Honestly, that's enough. If the author wrote a story about a small town vet and just stuck to that I probably would have rated this book 4 or 5 stars.
There is enough drama in that to carry the story. There was no need to contrive the added drama of the bank foreclosing on the practise and the extortionist. So an entertaining book loses a star for cluttering up the story with unnecessary drama.
March 10, 2013
I only picked this book up because it had a dog on the cover. I absolutely loved this book. This is my favorite kind of book - a book you just want to read and read and never put down. Highly recommended for any animal lovers or anyone who just loves a good story! I was sorry to see this one end!
February 25, 2013
The good news: charming.
The bad news: charming.
The bad news: charming.
September 30, 2015
I checked this book out at the Library a few weeks back (thank god I didn’t buy it) since it had been on my to-read for so long. I was so excited because, like I said, I’ve been wanting to read it for such a long time. I was like, a story about a patron saint of lost dogs…dogs…rescuing lost dogs. Needless to say, I had to read this story. Unfortunately, it was not what I was expecting and my hopes came crashing down like a wave fizzling out when it hits the beach.
This is a story about Dr. Cyrus Mills. He was practicing a career as a veterinary pathologist for years up until he lost his license over a technicality and has been suspended from practice until after the court hearing. But, lucky for him, the father he has been estranged from for the last 10 years has just passed away and left him his failing veterinary business, Bedside Manor. Cyrus, reluctantly, travels back to small town Vermont where he grew up in hopes of flipping the business and selling it quickly in order to pay for his lawyer expenses. The Veterinarian who worked alongside his father is going to let Cyrus practice in the clinic without a license so Cyrus can get back on his feet.
Okay, now that I’m done trying to explain the concept of this book (which was actually really hard to do), I have no idea where I want to start with my complaints. I think I’ll start nice and basic with the writing. The writing of this book is so bland and drawn out I was bored from page 1. I kept reading in hopes that it would get better, but it never did. The writing is so bland I almost, and probably should have, put this book down. (But, I was already too far and I wanted to push through so I could write a decent review and count the book as read instead of DNF – I know, lame reasons.)
Trout’s writing is unrealistic and is at the same time lacking and overdosed. What I mean by this is that it lacks in so much – feeling, dynamics, characterization, plot progression, tension – but that there is also way to much. He goes into details about minuscule and unnecessary things that do absolutely nothing for the plot, including bounteous amounts of unnecessary dialogue (on of my favorite things…). All this with it’s lack of tension makes not only the writing fall flat, but also the entire story wilt in general.
The plot of this story takes eons to develop and when what little of it finally does it’s predictable, boring, and lacks good story. I honestly knew what was going to happen in this story right from the very beginning. It’s a fluffy cozy mystery love story, but not a good one. It’s not a nice little story that’s a quick, feel-good read; it’s a boring, mundane, predictable, nothing-knew-here, will-make-you-feel-nothing-but-annoyance story. There’s barely any rising action. There’s barely a climax. And it’s, worst of all, built through repetitive writing.
What I mean by repetitive writing is that Trout doesn’t trust his audience. He feels the need to repeat things over and over and over so that you, as a reader, fully understand the points that he’s trying to make. This takes away from the tension and makes the story even more predicable. The more you ensure something isn’t going to happen, the more you know it’s going to happen by the end. Two of the biggest instances of this is that Cyrus continuously says that he hates his father and their relationship is beyond irreparable and that Cyrus is going to sell the business as soon as he can. You know from the start those are going to reverse. And, of course, they do.
I also find this story (plot) way too unbelievable. Like, is Cyrus actually going to be able to start a practice with a suspended license? Like, is this actually plausible that nobody is going to investigate this and believe this? And, I can’t believe that the lawyers and court that is on his case is going to let this slip through? Also, I hate the fact that the backstory is barely set up. We literally never find out why Cyrus’ license was suspended in the first place. No idea, no clue, not a thing said about it. But of course, by the end, the charges are dropped. Even though we have no idea what the charges even were. Alright, fine, whatever.
Another thing I really, really hated was that Cyrus literally has no idea what he’s doing. He says over and over again that he doesn’t know anything about being a vet. He can’t even diagnose anything without running to Lewis (the guy who’s letting him practice without a license and with literally no knowledge about how to be a vet and help animals), so why is he trying? Why is he helping animals when he could do way more harm than good? This is some scary bullshit in my opinion. Plus, I also find this super unbelievable since working on dead animals for 10 years should at least give you some knowledge about the diseases they might have. I’m baffled by how stupid this whole plot was.
The final instance that really bothered me was that he delivered a woman he barely knows’ baby. Like he delivers her baby in the freaking vet clinic because the closest hospital is too far away to get to. And how it’s described is (because he also helped this woman’s cat deliver a baby just before this happened) that Trout writes (in Cyrus’ thought process/story telling voice) something like, “He delivered the cat’s baby and then he delivered hers.” That’s literally it. What? And then next thing you know everyone knows and he’s famous and going to be interviewed by the news and everything. Like her water broke and he didn’t even know what that meant. So the girl’s all like, “I’m gonna have my baby now.” And Cyrus is all like oh shit. And then he just delivers it. The end. I’m pretty sure Trout knows nothing about how this whole baby delivering almost always having time to get the hospital business works. Like women are usually in labor for hours. You could have gotten her to the hospital bro. Okay, I need to stop. I’m getting worked up.
But one final point. The characters were awful. Like the writing and plot, they fell completely flat. None had personalities or dimension. They were literally so boring I almost fell asleep on multiple occasions. Trout tries to make them diverse, but they are all exactly the same with only stereotypical differences. None of them were individuals. None of them were actually interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to care about a single one. And he tried to make them so “unique” that he just ended up making them utterly ridiculous. Plus, he tried to give some of them accents and failed entirely. Trout should have done his research before trying to write accents. He tries to write a British accent and makes it so grossly stereotypical (not even accurately stereotypical) that I vomited in my mouth a little. Plus, Cyrus has a southern accent, but instead of writing that accent, Trout only constantly reassures us by telling us that Cyrus has a Southern accent. It’s not actually written, just told. But the British accent is (attempted) written. Hello inconsistencies.
Okay, time to wrap this super long review up. Sorry this was so negative and longwinded everyone. I don’t blame you if you didn’t finish. I barely finished the book, so I can’t hold anything against you all. Anyway, the final verdict: I DO NOT recommend this book to anyone. It was boring, unrealistic, and undeveloped. Don’t waste your time reading this one. I almost didn’t finish. I found myself skimming large chunks by the end. And, if you need further proof that this plot is flowery and drawn out, I never missed anything important or anything that I felt was an important point. It was that bad. Trout needs to stick to his work and leave the writing to people who are actually willing to do some fact checking and learn how to write decent accents.
This is a story about Dr. Cyrus Mills. He was practicing a career as a veterinary pathologist for years up until he lost his license over a technicality and has been suspended from practice until after the court hearing. But, lucky for him, the father he has been estranged from for the last 10 years has just passed away and left him his failing veterinary business, Bedside Manor. Cyrus, reluctantly, travels back to small town Vermont where he grew up in hopes of flipping the business and selling it quickly in order to pay for his lawyer expenses. The Veterinarian who worked alongside his father is going to let Cyrus practice in the clinic without a license so Cyrus can get back on his feet.
Okay, now that I’m done trying to explain the concept of this book (which was actually really hard to do), I have no idea where I want to start with my complaints. I think I’ll start nice and basic with the writing. The writing of this book is so bland and drawn out I was bored from page 1. I kept reading in hopes that it would get better, but it never did. The writing is so bland I almost, and probably should have, put this book down. (But, I was already too far and I wanted to push through so I could write a decent review and count the book as read instead of DNF – I know, lame reasons.)
Trout’s writing is unrealistic and is at the same time lacking and overdosed. What I mean by this is that it lacks in so much – feeling, dynamics, characterization, plot progression, tension – but that there is also way to much. He goes into details about minuscule and unnecessary things that do absolutely nothing for the plot, including bounteous amounts of unnecessary dialogue (on of my favorite things…). All this with it’s lack of tension makes not only the writing fall flat, but also the entire story wilt in general.
The plot of this story takes eons to develop and when what little of it finally does it’s predictable, boring, and lacks good story. I honestly knew what was going to happen in this story right from the very beginning. It’s a fluffy cozy mystery love story, but not a good one. It’s not a nice little story that’s a quick, feel-good read; it’s a boring, mundane, predictable, nothing-knew-here, will-make-you-feel-nothing-but-annoyance story. There’s barely any rising action. There’s barely a climax. And it’s, worst of all, built through repetitive writing.
What I mean by repetitive writing is that Trout doesn’t trust his audience. He feels the need to repeat things over and over and over so that you, as a reader, fully understand the points that he’s trying to make. This takes away from the tension and makes the story even more predicable. The more you ensure something isn’t going to happen, the more you know it’s going to happen by the end. Two of the biggest instances of this is that Cyrus continuously says that he hates his father and their relationship is beyond irreparable and that Cyrus is going to sell the business as soon as he can. You know from the start those are going to reverse. And, of course, they do.
I also find this story (plot) way too unbelievable. Like, is Cyrus actually going to be able to start a practice with a suspended license? Like, is this actually plausible that nobody is going to investigate this and believe this? And, I can’t believe that the lawyers and court that is on his case is going to let this slip through? Also, I hate the fact that the backstory is barely set up. We literally never find out why Cyrus’ license was suspended in the first place. No idea, no clue, not a thing said about it. But of course, by the end, the charges are dropped. Even though we have no idea what the charges even were. Alright, fine, whatever.
Another thing I really, really hated was that Cyrus literally has no idea what he’s doing. He says over and over again that he doesn’t know anything about being a vet. He can’t even diagnose anything without running to Lewis (the guy who’s letting him practice without a license and with literally no knowledge about how to be a vet and help animals), so why is he trying? Why is he helping animals when he could do way more harm than good? This is some scary bullshit in my opinion. Plus, I also find this super unbelievable since working on dead animals for 10 years should at least give you some knowledge about the diseases they might have. I’m baffled by how stupid this whole plot was.
The final instance that really bothered me was that he delivered a woman he barely knows’ baby. Like he delivers her baby in the freaking vet clinic because the closest hospital is too far away to get to. And how it’s described is (because he also helped this woman’s cat deliver a baby just before this happened) that Trout writes (in Cyrus’ thought process/story telling voice) something like, “He delivered the cat’s baby and then he delivered hers.” That’s literally it. What? And then next thing you know everyone knows and he’s famous and going to be interviewed by the news and everything. Like her water broke and he didn’t even know what that meant. So the girl’s all like, “I’m gonna have my baby now.” And Cyrus is all like oh shit. And then he just delivers it. The end. I’m pretty sure Trout knows nothing about how this whole baby delivering almost always having time to get the hospital business works. Like women are usually in labor for hours. You could have gotten her to the hospital bro. Okay, I need to stop. I’m getting worked up.
But one final point. The characters were awful. Like the writing and plot, they fell completely flat. None had personalities or dimension. They were literally so boring I almost fell asleep on multiple occasions. Trout tries to make them diverse, but they are all exactly the same with only stereotypical differences. None of them were individuals. None of them were actually interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to care about a single one. And he tried to make them so “unique” that he just ended up making them utterly ridiculous. Plus, he tried to give some of them accents and failed entirely. Trout should have done his research before trying to write accents. He tries to write a British accent and makes it so grossly stereotypical (not even accurately stereotypical) that I vomited in my mouth a little. Plus, Cyrus has a southern accent, but instead of writing that accent, Trout only constantly reassures us by telling us that Cyrus has a Southern accent. It’s not actually written, just told. But the British accent is (attempted) written. Hello inconsistencies.
Okay, time to wrap this super long review up. Sorry this was so negative and longwinded everyone. I don’t blame you if you didn’t finish. I barely finished the book, so I can’t hold anything against you all. Anyway, the final verdict: I DO NOT recommend this book to anyone. It was boring, unrealistic, and undeveloped. Don’t waste your time reading this one. I almost didn’t finish. I found myself skimming large chunks by the end. And, if you need further proof that this plot is flowery and drawn out, I never missed anything important or anything that I felt was an important point. It was that bad. Trout needs to stick to his work and leave the writing to people who are actually willing to do some fact checking and learn how to write decent accents.
April 27, 2021
To me there was a Shakespearean feel to this, a comedy of errors as Cyrus tries to acclimate himself to Vermont, small town life and being a veterinarian. He seems so hapless as he stumbles through that week trying to get the practice on solid ground so he can sell it. Once he does that he can return to SC and his life, fighting those battles. But first he will have to have a reckoning with his past in Eden Falls.
February 11, 2015
The Patron Saint Of Lost Dogs by new to me author, Nick Trout, is a very good story about coming home again, forgiveness and making peace with your past. Cyrus Mills returns to his hometown to take over his deceased father’s veterinary practice that is on the brink of failure. To further complicate matters, Cyrus is not a veterinarian in practice as he has never treated living animals. Instead, his expertise lies in veterinary pathology. Cyrus intends to sell the practice and return to South Carolina as quickly as he can. However, he does not anticipate how his arrival affects the numerous quirky characters he meets, both animal and human.
I really enjoy books that feature animals prominently throughout the story and this book did not disappoint. Mr. Trout does an excellent job of bringing the animals to life with individual personalities and traits that enabled me to feel a profound connection with each one. I was intrigued and worried at the same time whether or not Cyrus would figure out in time what was wrong with each of his patients. A couple of the animals really got to me on an emotional level and a box of Kleenex was necessary. In addition to the animals, the human characters of Eden Falls, Vermont are just as interesting and intriguing.
The story flows smoothly as Cyrus tries to acclimate himself to his new surroundings that are filled with painful memories and ghosts from his past. I enjoyed how he handled the stress of being out of his element interacting with living animals for the first time while meeting new people. Cyrus is very much a loner who has done a remarkable job of hiding his feelings and not getting close to people. Seeing him open up to both animals and people was uplifting.
If you enjoy heartwarming stories that feature animals in leading and supporting roles or enjoy stories that have likable characters who tug on your emotions, I highly recommend The Patron Saint Of Lost Dogs as a very good choice. This is the first book of the series and I am looking forward to reading the next book, Dog Gone, Back Soon.
I really enjoy books that feature animals prominently throughout the story and this book did not disappoint. Mr. Trout does an excellent job of bringing the animals to life with individual personalities and traits that enabled me to feel a profound connection with each one. I was intrigued and worried at the same time whether or not Cyrus would figure out in time what was wrong with each of his patients. A couple of the animals really got to me on an emotional level and a box of Kleenex was necessary. In addition to the animals, the human characters of Eden Falls, Vermont are just as interesting and intriguing.
The story flows smoothly as Cyrus tries to acclimate himself to his new surroundings that are filled with painful memories and ghosts from his past. I enjoyed how he handled the stress of being out of his element interacting with living animals for the first time while meeting new people. Cyrus is very much a loner who has done a remarkable job of hiding his feelings and not getting close to people. Seeing him open up to both animals and people was uplifting.
If you enjoy heartwarming stories that feature animals in leading and supporting roles or enjoy stories that have likable characters who tug on your emotions, I highly recommend The Patron Saint Of Lost Dogs as a very good choice. This is the first book of the series and I am looking forward to reading the next book, Dog Gone, Back Soon.
November 29, 2025
Easy read, cute story
December 1, 2016
I kept waiting for this to become compelling and to become as involved with the two footed characters the way I loved the four pawed ones. It didn't happen, this book seemed much longer because I couldn't get close to the characters.
The main character Cyrus Miles (I kept thinking Miley Cyrus, bad character naming) nee Cyrus Cobb is a veterinary pathologist on the run from South Carolina where he lost his license and ran afoul of a drug company. He inherits his father's New England veterinary practice and hopes to sell it for cash but finds it's going broke.
From here we live through a week with Miles nee Cobb, it just seems like a year.
This is the first time I've read this author and found the writing dry. He only seemed excited about his work when he got to dazzle us with medical terminology. I was disappointed in this book. It's really a 1.5, I won't be seeking out his other work.
Moving on....
The main character Cyrus Miles (I kept thinking Miley Cyrus, bad character naming) nee Cyrus Cobb is a veterinary pathologist on the run from South Carolina where he lost his license and ran afoul of a drug company. He inherits his father's New England veterinary practice and hopes to sell it for cash but finds it's going broke.
From here we live through a week with Miles nee Cobb, it just seems like a year.
This is the first time I've read this author and found the writing dry. He only seemed excited about his work when he got to dazzle us with medical terminology. I was disappointed in this book. It's really a 1.5, I won't be seeking out his other work.
Moving on....
August 9, 2019
Oh I LOVED this book, the story didn't centre around a dog as I thought it might, but rather a vetinarian but the story is filled with such animal loving, heart-warming stories, it has to be one of my favourite canine books. A wonderful "feel good" story.
August 10, 2016
I so enjoyed this--a sweet story just right for in-between-the-holidays reading.
August 29, 2022
What a delightful book!
The reason I gave this a 5 star rating was that sometimes you come across a book that you need to read and the time is also right to read it.
This is not a complex plot with multiple characters and protagonists with existential issues. It is a simple story, beautifully told about a vet, Cyrus, returning to his hometown after the death of his father and finding out he has inherited the family vet practice which is in a bit of financial trouble.
The combination of Cyrus trying to reconcile the fractured relationship he had with his father, the tragedy of his mother's death years before, the influence of an old hand and his father's partner Doc Lewis, a cantankerous receptionist (Doris) and a myriad of small animals with interesting conditions (one of which involves eating underwear) and you have a wonderful tale of life in a small (everyone knows everyone) town.
There are secrets that reveal themselves to you along the way and yes the ending is almost (but not quite) obvious, but this is such a great, relaxing and peaceful read that I think many of us could do with in a world that is going slightly nuts.
The reason I gave this a 5 star rating was that sometimes you come across a book that you need to read and the time is also right to read it.
This is not a complex plot with multiple characters and protagonists with existential issues. It is a simple story, beautifully told about a vet, Cyrus, returning to his hometown after the death of his father and finding out he has inherited the family vet practice which is in a bit of financial trouble.
The combination of Cyrus trying to reconcile the fractured relationship he had with his father, the tragedy of his mother's death years before, the influence of an old hand and his father's partner Doc Lewis, a cantankerous receptionist (Doris) and a myriad of small animals with interesting conditions (one of which involves eating underwear) and you have a wonderful tale of life in a small (everyone knows everyone) town.
There are secrets that reveal themselves to you along the way and yes the ending is almost (but not quite) obvious, but this is such a great, relaxing and peaceful read that I think many of us could do with in a world that is going slightly nuts.
August 11, 2019
Veterinarian pathologist, Cyrus Mills, hasn't had a live patient since graduating 14 years ago, but he is about to. Without a job and with legal fees to pay, Cyrus returns to the Vermont town of his youth, to dispose of his estranged father's veterinary practice. Selling, however, is going to be a problem unless he can prove the practice is a going concern. That means caring for live pets and, what's worse, their distraught families.
May 7, 2020
Quarantine might be making me overly sappy, but this was a fun and heartwarming read.
June 23, 2022
A lovely feel good story!!
February 18, 2024
any story involving a dog and a vet 🥰😭
December 13, 2020
Thanks for the recommendation, Dianne! I enjoyed this story and am glad to see it’s the first of a series. Lots of appealing animal stories with happy endings!
July 12, 2021
A light summer read. The people relationships were ok, but the people/pet relationships were portrayed very tenderly and lovingly.
May 13, 2024
Not quite what I was expecting. I think I was expecting a James Harriott type of book.
It was fun in a Hallmark story kind of way.
It was fun in a Hallmark story kind of way.
August 21, 2013
Guess this is my month for dog books - though there are a few cats involved in this story as well. Heartwarming tends to be an overused cliche with animal books but darn it, the Thesaurus couldn't come up with anything better. This book is very much along the lines of a fairy tale, our hero must accomplish an impossible thing in a short period of time - in this case Cyrus, our veterinary pathologist, must come up with enough money to keep his dead estranged father's vet practice afloat. Since he and his father had a strained relationship he is ambivalent about the practice and since he never worked with live patients he is a bit flummoxed when faced with real ones. In fairy tale style the result may not be realistic and the characters even less so ( though I def. got a hoot out of some of them) - so suspend disbelief - but the author, Nick Trout, very ably demonstrates the growth of Cyrus as well as the human-animal connection. I defy you not to at least moisten those eyes when reading about Clint and her person.
January 6, 2014
After his estranged father dies, Dr Cyrus Mills inherits a run-down veterinary office in Vermont. He had always been a loner, working in the laboratory as a veterinary pathologist. It was a new experience getting involved with the animals and their owners. As he interacts with the people, he feels like he's a part of the community, understands his deceased father better, and wants to save the clinic. Although the book was a bit predictable, the author told the story with humor, warmth, and a great love for animals.
July 19, 2014
I thought this was a sweet book about, not only wonderful animals, but about finding yourself.
I didn't like that Dr. Cyrus was doing things by guessing, but he eventually got it all figured out.
I love when he finally opened up to all of the people and animals. I fell in love with the characters and their animals. They cared so much, as all good animal mom and dads should about their furbabies. Some of these people pulled at the heart strings.
It was a very good ending when Dr. Cyrus finally gets to the truth, forgives and makes the clinic his home.
I didn't like that Dr. Cyrus was doing things by guessing, but he eventually got it all figured out.
I love when he finally opened up to all of the people and animals. I fell in love with the characters and their animals. They cared so much, as all good animal mom and dads should about their furbabies. Some of these people pulled at the heart strings.
It was a very good ending when Dr. Cyrus finally gets to the truth, forgives and makes the clinic his home.
August 13, 2019
I'd easily give this six or more stars if I could! This is one of the most wonderful books I've ever read! It's extremely well written; filled with genuine, well-rendered characters you'll wish you could meet in person; and tightly woven with intriguing plots, twists and sub-plots that will keep you hooked right from the first page. Did I say that I loved it? You betcha! Highly recommended.
September 10, 2014
This one was outside my normal reading zone, but I enjoyed reading Nick Trout's tale of a veterinarian returning home with a secret. It's cute animals and heartfelt realizations of life and the past: Think James Herroit meets It's a Wonderful Life.
February 19, 2020
This book was great! I loved it and I'm glad to hear there's now a second in the series.
December 27, 2020
Synopsis: Cyrus has inherited his father's veterinary practice. He had a complicated relationship with his father and he hasn't worked on a live animal since vet school. Still, he's in real trouble and if he can turn his father's practice around and sell it to the highest bidder he just might be able to get his life back together.
My rating:
4/5
This book just is everything I love. Animals. Veterinarians. Small towns.
I love this author though this wasn't my favorite book from him.
The book takes place in the course of a week and that caused things to feel a bit rushed. It made sense in the context of the story but I wish we hadn't had a metaphorical ticking time bomb so that things could have unfolded more slowly and Cyrus had more time for growth.
The first chapter was rough to read because I was really worried Cyrus was going to do something so awful I couldn't forgive him. He didn't, thankfully but I did not at all enjoy the first chapter because things just got too close to disaster for my comfort.
I didn't really like Cyrus and that was the biggest issue I had with this book and the main reason it wasn't a 5 star read. He is judgmental of the people around him and it isn't just that they are from a small town. He is just a judgmental person and that isn't fully redeemed by the end of the book. I did like that Cyrus has almost a Dr. House ability to detect weird illnesses in animals. In fact, Cyrus and his actions as a veterinarian were my favorite part of the book.
Despite not loving Cyrus I did absolutely love the resolution of his family issues and learning more about who his parents were and why they did the things they did. He comes to see the rift between him and his father differently by the end of the book and it was very warm and fuzzy.
If you like Hallmark movies featuring veterinarians you will probably really enjoy this book.
My rating:
4/5
This book just is everything I love. Animals. Veterinarians. Small towns.
I love this author though this wasn't my favorite book from him.
The book takes place in the course of a week and that caused things to feel a bit rushed. It made sense in the context of the story but I wish we hadn't had a metaphorical ticking time bomb so that things could have unfolded more slowly and Cyrus had more time for growth.
The first chapter was rough to read because I was really worried Cyrus was going to do something so awful I couldn't forgive him. He didn't, thankfully but I did not at all enjoy the first chapter because things just got too close to disaster for my comfort.
I didn't really like Cyrus and that was the biggest issue I had with this book and the main reason it wasn't a 5 star read. He is judgmental of the people around him and it isn't just that they are from a small town. He is just a judgmental person and that isn't fully redeemed by the end of the book. I did like that Cyrus has almost a Dr. House ability to detect weird illnesses in animals. In fact, Cyrus and his actions as a veterinarian were my favorite part of the book.
Despite not loving Cyrus I did absolutely love the resolution of his family issues and learning more about who his parents were and why they did the things they did. He comes to see the rift between him and his father differently by the end of the book and it was very warm and fuzzy.
If you like Hallmark movies featuring veterinarians you will probably really enjoy this book.
May 29, 2024
I truly enjoyed this book and give it a 5 star based on how it made me feel. It was a light read with a touch of everything and stirred a lot of emotions; laughter, tears, frustration ... all the stuff that makes you keep reading.
The main character is a Veterinarian from the Carolinas who is suddenly called back to his childhood home in Vermont following the death of his estranged father, another Veterinarian. With intent to sell his father's practice and return to home, Dr Cyrus Mills, finds that things are not as simple as he hoped and he encounters several hurdles. He must come to terms with his feelings for his late parents, his own life and perhaps a new life.
Fans of James Herriot will enjoy this story of a modern times Vet and his struggles with being true to himself and others. I look forward to reading more books of Cyrus's adventures.
The main character is a Veterinarian from the Carolinas who is suddenly called back to his childhood home in Vermont following the death of his estranged father, another Veterinarian. With intent to sell his father's practice and return to home, Dr Cyrus Mills, finds that things are not as simple as he hoped and he encounters several hurdles. He must come to terms with his feelings for his late parents, his own life and perhaps a new life.
Fans of James Herriot will enjoy this story of a modern times Vet and his struggles with being true to himself and others. I look forward to reading more books of Cyrus's adventures.
November 1, 2020
This is the book that got me back into reading again....with two cataract surgeries within a 6 week period, my vision was poor for reading....couldn't concentrate but this sweet story rekindled my yen. Loved this story about a man who has been estranged from his recently-deceased father for many years because of his father's neglect of him as a child. But as he takes over his father's veterinary practice, he learns things about his father which make him regret his actions. Since Cyrus worked in vet pathology, he had no real experience with dealing with live animals so he has much to learn.
January 23, 2021
I like the author’s writing style. He makes the characters real and portrays our furry children and what they mean to us as real.
The main character Dr. Cyrus Mills goes through a metamorphosis right from the get go as he arrives in this small town in Vermont for what he thinks is going to be a short stay. He really discovers who he really is as the story unfolds. Of course a dog plays a big role in his journey of discovery about his father who also was a beloved Veterinarian in the town. Very good story line.
The main character Dr. Cyrus Mills goes through a metamorphosis right from the get go as he arrives in this small town in Vermont for what he thinks is going to be a short stay. He really discovers who he really is as the story unfolds. Of course a dog plays a big role in his journey of discovery about his father who also was a beloved Veterinarian in the town. Very good story line.
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