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On Call with a Yorkshire Vet

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Taken from his popular column in The Yorkshire Post, Julian Norton’s On Call with a Yorkshire Vet is the follow-up to his Diary of a Yorkshire Vet and features more anecdotes from his veterinary work in North Yorkshire.

Through the snows of the ‘Beast from the East’, Julian treats sheep in Nun Monkton and a pony in Dallowgill. He treats a meerkat with a broken tail from Great Ouseburn, a lame horse next to Almscliffe Crag, a Wagyu in Topcliffe and a Clydesdale horse in York. These and many more adventures are contained within...

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 25, 2020

121 people are currently reading
98 people want to read

About the author

Julian Norton

16 books36 followers
Julian Norton is a British veterinary surgeon, author and TV personality, best known for his appearances on the Channel 5 TV series The Yorkshire Vet

Norton was born and brought up in the mining town of Castleford and went to school in Wakefield at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, before gaining a place to study veterinary medicine at Cambridge University

Since 2015, Norton has been involved, taking the titular role in Channel 5 docuseries The Yorkshire Vet, produced by Daisybeck Studios in Leeds. The programme has been popular, achieving viewing figures of over 2 million, making it one of the channel's most successful.Julian has also featured as a regular guest on The Wright Stuff as well as Springtime on the Farm and Big Week at the Zoo.

He contributes a weekly column in The Country Week of The Yorkshire Post.

He performs regular "in conversation" events with comedian and stand up poet, Kate Fox.

Julian's website is www.thenakedvet.co.uk which offers links to the podcasts of the same name, which he performs with Kate Fox.

Norton attained a certificate in Small Animal Practice in 2007 and has been awarded the Dalesman "Yorkshireman of the Year 2017".

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5 stars
176 (53%)
4 stars
88 (26%)
3 stars
45 (13%)
2 stars
16 (4%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Louise Bath.
198 reviews4 followers
February 23, 2023
Yet another hugely entertaining book of Julian Norton's veterinary adventures, the stories in this volume are all taken from his column in The Yorkshire Post, and span a whole year. It's illustrated with photographs, some taken by Norton, and others by various (unnamed) photographers, and with beautifully drawn endpapers. Featuring some of the animal cases featured in the series, this is a very gentle, easy read: an epilogue provides a welcome update on animals mentioned in the entries, but for whom there could be no follow-up at the time of the particular column being written and printed.

As usual, there are some wonderful stories; such as that of Elsie, a bulldog frightened by a hedgehog-shaped birthday cake. Or two farmers, a couple, inseminating a sow for the first time. The husband inserts the tube of pig semen into completely the wrong orifice - and his wife, unaware of her husband's error, blows into the catheter to hasten the passage of the semen into the sow's cervix. Or so she thinks - and takes an in-breath at just the worst possible moment, as the backwash of the sow's impromptu colonic irrigation starts to flow.

Perhaps the most 'Julian' story is when he has to amputate Mia the meerkat's broken tail. Not having treated a meerkat before, he decides that it might be a good idea to have an uninjured meerkat from the same centre to help him check his progress. Why, yes - he *does* make the obvious comment: simples!

A very good read: Norton's writing gets better and more fluent with each book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tracey.
39 reviews2 followers
June 11, 2019
I have so much respect for all vets, but watching The Yorkshire Vet was such an eye opener. So while on holiday in Thirsk I was so happy to discover that Julian Norton was doing a book signing. I confess I hadn’t been aware of his books, but love him in the show and so this is the first one I read. Wasn't sure what to expect to be honest, but I really enjoyed it. It gives a very brief glimpse into what a hectic life a vet has, as well as a bit about his private life. It’s written very much as he talks. Having read this one I bought his other books and look forward to reading more. I’m assuming the show will end one day, but hopefully he will still take some time to continue writing.
Profile Image for Rebecca .
650 reviews3 followers
June 24, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir by Julian Norton. I’m a big fan of the Yorkshire Vet and was very happy to discover a new book. It was interesting to read more about Julian’s work at the Boroughbridge Practice and the huge variety of cases he undertakes. He has a nice conversational style of writing and I like the touches of humour which made me laugh at times. Heartbreaking and heartwarming it’s a great insight into a vet’s work. I take my hat off to them.
1,661 reviews1 follower
February 28, 2022
Though I now know that some of the story endings are given in an appendix, I would have preferred to have had each as a footnote at the end of each chapter.
I also felt the stories were too short, especially compared to the ones in his other books. Some of them I knew already too, possibly from the TV series.
292 reviews6 followers
March 7, 2021
A jolly good read

I've read quite a few veterinary books and this is a great.collection of short pieces describing cases.

Luckily for me Julian Norton has plenty of large animal and brings the highs and lows of his work to life in an amusing and thoughtful way.
2 reviews
June 27, 2020
I liked the style but what was disappointing was the unfinished stories each day. I didn't realize that the outcome of each case would be told at the end.
39 reviews
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September 1, 2020
Another author to love.

Wish there were follow ups on the stories when reading each of them but he does at end of book. Great book!
1 review
February 14, 2021
Enjoyed another of his books in paper back so knew what to expect this one was just as good will be reading more of his books
Profile Image for Ruth.
872 reviews1 follower
July 24, 2021
Could be much better - Daddy chapter only has the briefest of synopsis (with no endings) so the reader only gets a smidge of information, mostly about the horrible hours a country vet works.
304 reviews
October 20, 2022
An excellent read, as always, from the Yorkshire Vet himself, Julian Norton. A fabulous read that reminds me of the various animals featured. Highly recommended
12 reviews
May 14, 2025
Vet book

A very interesting veterinarian book about a lot of animals that needed some help. The author goes over the cases and how he helped.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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