Growing up on a farm in Ireland, Austin Donnelly had a love of animals and dreamt of being a vet from when he was very small. He would always be found with a creature of some sort in his pocket. He was eight years old he and his father were travelling in their car and they came across a shocking scene. A foaling mare raced in front of a car. As the father ran to help the people who were lucky not to be hurt, Austin rushed to the mare but she was dead. The foal was half born and, as he helped it out, he madly tried to rub it to life. But tragically it died as well. This deeply affected Austin for many years as he dreamt of ways he maybe could have helped them survive. This did not change his resolve and Austin would go on to achieve his dream of being a vet. But oddly, not before beginning training to be a dentist.

Whiskers, Feather & Fur is the tales of a vet (or as many Irish say ‘vit’), his patients, and the interesting and often unusual people he meets. Austin regales us with his first calf to be born under his care – bottom first. Arm deep inside the patient, he struggles to find a little hoof to loop a rope around, so as to turn, or flip, the calf. There are sad tales, happy tales, and silly ones too, as he goes on to introduce us to the animals and people he meets in Ireland and as a locum in Australia and New Zealand. His warmth and compassion shines through and you can feel the calm vet is in his element no matter the situation.

There were times when I thought that the descriptions of the places and the people were too detailed. The chapters were too long and I wanted him to compact the stories, giving me much shorter tales. But he did manage to make me cry and smile and laugh. As I got into the second half of the book, it kept improving and, upon finishing the last line, I had a smile stuck to my face and thought, touché Austin Donnelly, that was good.

Reviewed by Alice Wilson