Abstract
This is an unusual book. I shall take some time to explain the contents. It seems to be aimed at supplying the practising veterinary surgeon with information about preventative medicine. The general tone will be familiar to colleagues who read articles in journals of veterinary management. I am also reminded of reading the introductory chapters of textbooks as it also tries to approach the subject from the clinical perspective. Thus there are sections about why a wellness programme is beneficial for the patient, the client and for the practice and also there are sections of specific advice about, for example, preventative dental care, breeding and socialisation. Throughout there are inserts of paragraphs designed to be reused as client information sheets. The whole text is well presented and very easy to read.
It is a multi-author book and in my opinion the value of the chapters varies markedly. Some chapters—particularly Cecilia Gorrell on the management of dental disease, Sarah Heath on preventing canine and feline behaviour problems and David Lloyd on the influence of environmental factors on health—give the impression of being authoritative and well referenced. Other chapters give the impression of being based more on opinion and are light on facts. The chapter on vaccination completely misses all the current concerns about routine vaccination of cats.
The book is almost completely about dogs and cats with other pet animals only mentioned on the periphery. There does seem to be a dog bias, but this may be apparent to me because of my own interest in cat practice. It may be there is genuinely more opportunity to extend preventative healthcare for dogs than for cats.
The practice owners may find some useful ideas in this book, particularly if they have not been following new trends in preventative healthcare. Most experienced veterinary surgeons who spend their time performing clinical work should learn little clinically from this book but may find some inspiration. I feel that it is a valuable resource for non-veterinary practice managers to provide them with background clinical information in a straightforward manner. The discussions about pet owners' psychology and the general attitude that the book tries to create of positive proactive healthcare and service provision for the patient and client may also be valuable for veterinary students and senior nurses.