An Alligator in the Bathroom…And Other Stories: Memoirs of an RSPCA Inspector in Yorkshire

by Carter Langdale

THE HUMAN IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE TOP ANIMAL. BUT EVERY ONE OF THESE TRUE STORIES SHOWS HOW NONSENSICAL THAT IDEA CAN BE.

Back in the day, Carter Langdale’s job could be summed up easily: solve every problem that has anything whatever to do with animals. He had an official RSPCA brass plaque outside his Yorkshire home. He was a local figure, like the doctor or dentist, the village postmistress, the vicar, the vet or the undertaker, and sometimes he had to be bits of all of those.

Off duty? No such thing. People would knock on the door and present the Langdales with a litter of kittens, an injured owl, any kind of stray – foxes, badgers, young otters, hedgehogs. Some folk were genuinely concerned, some over concerned; some saw a convenient way to rid themselves of an inconvenient animal.

Carter never knew what might happen next. It could be a cow stuck in a ravine, a dog down a badger sett, a goose in a pub car park or a tortoise trying to cross the road. It might be an accusation of cruelty or, perhaps worse, a rumour of cruelty. It could be a cat up a tree, a runaway anaconda, an escaped budgerigar, or someone who kept five goats and a horse in the dining room.

There were wildlife criminals, too: badger diggers, bird’s eggers, bird trappers, bird-of-prey poisoners. There were wildlife UFO spotters convinced they had seen the Phantom Black Panther of Cleckuddersfax, and there was everything in between, from a monkey to a porpoise and back again.

Some stories will make you laugh, and some will make you weep. But they are all told with great humour and sympathy. For any animal lover, this book is a feast.

Genres: Humor

288 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly, outrageous, fun, heartbreaking and hilarious are the words I would use to describe Carter Langdale’s exploits as an RSPCA inspector - what a great man he is and clearly devoted to all animals!

[John Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy comparison to make when it comes to this book is to compare it to James Herriot. The main difference is the work that a RSPCA officer does is vastly different to one that a vet does. The two professions overlap at times and compliment each other more often than not.

The stories do give you a lot of sympathy to the author's long suffering wife. His marriage to the job means that she is quite rightly exasperated at him at times.

The book does describe some graphic injuries to humans and other animals but I still feel that it would be suitable to be read to some younger readers.

The stories are varied and I would want to read further adventures in the author's life. He has an occasional turn of phrase that does make the reading experience more real.

I recommend this to fans of James Herriot, animal lovers, those who work with animals and people who just like to read interesting true life short stories. It is hard to review without spoilers as there is so much that is weird and wonderful in the life of a Yorkshire RSPCA officer.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining look at life as a RSPCA inspector in the earlier years of the role where they had to cover basically everything animal related, no matter how big or small the problem. Langdale recounts his most entertaining, funny, troubling and awkward moments in separate chapters that are easy to read and have the feel of a friendly chat in the pub.

[Indianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book, I found all the stories rather amusing. Found this in a library book sale and quite happy to have got it. Great insite of what was like to work for the rspca. Definitely a job that I find really interesting and would maybe like to look into. Recomend to anyone who loves stories about animals

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this walk through Langdale's world. Even though it isn't unique and quite reminiscent of James Herriot it is still a great trip through an animal rescuers world when times were different and very funny.

[Kati · Rating 3 out of 5]

Příběhy to byly zajímavé, i když ne tak humorné, jak jsem si na základě obálky a obsahu představovala. Po přečtení ve mně zůstal přetrvávající dojem, že Carterova manželka Carol musí být světice s trpělivostí, na kterou by mohl být pyšný i sám Buddha!

[KP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun.