By Dr. Jan Pol Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life As a Country Vet (Lrg) [Hardcover]

Dr Pol doesn't mess with words, he tells it as it is. Life is not fair, nor is it easy and being a large animal vet is hard work and requires difficult decisions. This is not like his show, instead it is an inside look to his thoughts and how he does his job.I enjoyed reading his blunt and realistic thoughts and ideas. Indeed there are some funny stories as well as some tough stories that hit close to home. I highly recommend this book, but caution the reader that this is real life and death country vet life. Don't expect a gentle and soft life, expect reality.

At first I was leary about getting this book. I love the show The Incredible Dr. Pol so much that I was worried that the book might be done by some ghost writer and I wouldn't like it. I just couldn't figure out how Dr. Pol would have time to write a book. I was greatly surprised. Read this book is like what I would imagine an evening with Dr Pol must be like. Him telling you all about his life as a vet. To me even though I don't know the Pol's it was like sitting down with an old friend. The book has great stories and commentary and I loved it. My only complaint is the book is too short. lol. If you watch the show, you won't be disappointed, if you don't watch the show, you won't be disappointed. I feel that most people will love this book.

I watch The Incredible Dr. Pol show all the time, and I thought it would be interesting to read his story. I learned lots of facts I didn't know about both small and large animals and watching the show helped to understand some of the animal conditions described in the book. I learned some interesting facts like dogs have many more blood types than humans, and it is rare for cows to have twins. What I liked most about the book though, was not the stories about the animals, but the stories about Dr. Pol and his family.Learning about how Dr. Pol grew up during WWII in Europe was quite interesting. He came here from the Netherlands and followed the American Dream. Dr. Pol came to America as an exchange student and stayed for a lifetime. He got married, started his own business in his garage with his wife, and they've worked side by side ever since. Now over 40 years later, he truly is living the American Dream. Many of his qualities remind me of my grandfather: Never be afraid of hard work, never give up, find a job you love; treat others as you want to be treated (even animals), stay grounded, and it's great to be young at heart.If you are interested in animals or if you like reading about hard working people who came to America and became a success story, this book is worth the read.

I stumbled upon this book due to my previous book interests and it wasn’t until I started reading that I realized he was on a TV show. After reading the book, I would love to watch the show since I quite enjoyed the book. It was interesting, informative, and entertaining. It flowed well and never seemed to lag. It was a great veterinary documentary although my favorite is still James Herriot. I really enjoyed this book though and was disappointed when I read through it so fast because the stories were all so interesting!Recommend for:Ages 7+Animal loversVeterinary field interestsFarming interests

Couldn't put the book down. Tells about Dr. Pol's experiences with his clients, animals and employees. What a great vet. Loved his sense of humor and his caring concern for all animals. Wish we had more vets like him. His knowledge is incredible and such a humble man. Yes, watch his show every week. Have learned so much about caring for animals. He has a God-given insight in the care for animals. What an enjoyable read. Please read this book.

I flew through this book, and I don’t think I’m that fast of a reader so that’s saying something. The book is written as if you feel like Dr. Pol is speaking directly to you. There are so many lessons to be learned from this man, and I wish the book was 10x longer. No doubt he has an insane amount of stories he has left out due to length. Dr. Pol is not just a rare gem in the vet world, but just in the world in general. This is not a fuzzy, feel-good perspective on his career and life. He gets down to all angles (good, bad, ugly, funny, gross, emotional, touching, terrifying, surprising, frustrating...you name it). I appreciated all of the different stories and angles that allowed me to gain quite a bit of perspective. The perspective of the rural farmer, the rural vet, the WW2 Netherlands rural life (during and post), the old school vet education. I also loved that Dr. Pol always tried to do right by the owner and animal in so many ways. It’s truly a testament to his character. This may be a shorter and quicker read but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in any way! I’d give this book to anyone and everyone I know...and I will more than likely be rereading this soon!

Easy to read, interesting life ! Recommended for young vets or children who like animals and want to became vets one day. Ideal for young people who want to study veterinary medicine.

An amazing book that I have been waiting to get in my collection

Very happy with the book

As it was a present for my mother. I asked her opinion and she really enjoyed reading this book.

La storia del mitico dr Pol è qui narrata da lui in prima persona. La scrittura e veramente fluente e la sua capacità di spiegare problemi medici in modo semplice ed efficace è straordinaria. Il mondo degli animali da reddito e dei pet viene ben delineato ed oggettivato rendendo a tratti il racconto molto divertente. Lo consiglio a tutti, non è una favola, ma un racconto di vita vera.