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Dr. Coates is a veterinarian based in the other “Sunshine State” – that's Colorado to the rest of you – where she lives and plays with a varied range of animals. She shares her professional and personal experiences, Monday through Friday, here on petMD's blog, the Fully Vetted. Log in for your daily dose of her insight and wisdom.

 

Sorry for the short (and late) post but this vet is reading the new Harry Potter'¦

July 22, 2007 / (9) comments


OK, so I know it’s late to be posting on a Sunday. I have no excuse. It’s just that I’ve been reading the new Harry Potter since I picked up my reserved copy yesterday after work and I haven’t been able to put it down (except for the innumerable interruptions a nine year-old child can manage to provide when he’d rather be playing at something else and occasionally wrenching a good book out of your hands).

If you’re not one of the Harry Potter obsessed minions you should know you’re missing out on some of the most idealistic reads of the new century. Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and other epic tales of heroic survival are all rolled up into this irresistible, seven-part text, and I’m as hooked as anyone else who’s dutifully collected the hard-cover first editions of the previous six installments.

This being the last book (of which I’ve consumed five of the eight-hundred pages), I’m having a hard time composing this post instead of reading the remaining 300 pages. Nonetheless, I feel it my duty to write something vet-worthy today.

Consider then, my proposal for a children’s book in the mold of the Harry Potter series: A young girl, consumed with a passion for animals, discovers her occult talent for communicating with non-human creatures faced with death. Shelter pets, slaughterhouse candidates and other animals nearing the end of their natural lives manage to appeal to her ability to free them from their bonds of slavery and mortality.

OK, so it’s smarmy and bizarre, but not without its potential for excitement, intrigue and good versus evil drama. I’ll never write it (I have no such talent) but there’s something about a good read like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that gives would-be writers the desire to pen the next great children’s book. That alone should be an endorsement for what lies between its covers.

Get it and enjoy…

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COMMENTS (9)
1
by on 07/26/2007 05:53pm

p.s. I loved Dr. Patty's picture. I found another of the most tolerant cat in or out of the wizarding world...

http://funpic.hu/en.picview.php?id=30750

2
by on 07/26/2007 05:21pm

Waiting impatiently for a friend to finish it up so I can discuss it with her! I have a few quibbles with it, but I feel very satisfied. **SPOILER ALERT*** I can see why many would think the epilogue a bit much, but I am sentimental, and really appreciated knowing where characters went. **END SPOILER**

Dr. Patty, when you talked about another series featuring a girl who can communicate with animals, I immediately flashed on Tamora Pierce's 'Immortals' series. It doesn't take the same turn as yours (and I find Daine's carnivority incompatible with her magical abilities), but Pierce creates wonderful fantasy worlds.

3
by on 07/25/2007 05:12am

I promised myself when Harry Potter started becoming "big" that I would not be sucked into the media hype and avoid it.. I remembered this when I was standing in the line, clone-like and grinning, as I fingered the new book like it was some enticing drug or chocolate bar......

It's very good. What I want to know.. is what's next ?What can fill this rather empty void I now find within myself?

I for one hope she keeps writing and creates another equally delicious world for us all.

4
by on 07/24/2007 05:32pm

Another DVM HP fan, here! Fortunately, the book came out on one of my rare full weekends off, and I had most of my chores done on Saturday while my wife was reading HP7. I polished this one off yesterday evening, after a harrowing day at work!

Without giving anything away, I'll say the end of the series was satisfying and in many cases, very surprising. I'll have to go back through the first six to put everything together, but a lot of questions have been answered.

Andy

5
by on 07/23/2007 10:35pm

I loved it myself--I was even in tears at the end of the (somewhat) treacly epilogue. I think it's pretty clear that the epilogue is a set-up for another series, by the way.

6
by on 07/23/2007 07:11pm

Finally finished it this morning. And I agree. I had to finish it in part so no one would kill it for me. It was her best. I hope she writes more, too. She clearly has the gift for volume--and that's a good thing in this case. I wish I had more!!!

7
by on 07/23/2007 12:46pm

Not only is it very hard to put down because it is so very excellent, there is the added pressure of wanting to get it all read before someone ruins it for us. (I'm finished thankfully) I also avoided the news shows and reading online news for fear something would be leaked and spoiled.

I hope she writes something else. (not that she ever needs to work again) She obviously has a great talent for writting an excellent story.

Now we just have a wait to see how well they do the last two movies.

8
by on 07/23/2007 08:32am

Trust me, you'll cry - and it'll be a good cry.

9
by on 07/22/2007 11:49pm

Keep reading--it's so good!

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About fully vetted

Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA

Photo of Dr Khuly

Dr. Khuly is a former petMD blogger and small animal veterinarian in Miami, Florida, where she practices medicine at Sunset Animal Clinic and serves on the board of the South Florida Veterinary Medical Association. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and The Wharton School of Business.

As a significant sideline, she writes...a lot. She authors pet health columns for USA Today, The Miami Herald and Vetstreet. She also writes a popular monthly column for Veterinary Practice News and serves as regular contributor to Veterinary Economics, The Bark, and the Veterinary News Network.

Dr. Khuly lives in South Miami with her brood of hens, goats, dogs, cats...and humans.

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