Got a beautiful message from a veterinarian Dr. Gretchen Goode of Cincinnati. She wrote that as a veterinarian she has a hard time some days being strong. “It’s hard euthanizing someone’s pet, but I take pride in trying to make the pet and the owner as comfortable as possible. I routinely tell people “Your boss or co-workers might not understand, but I do.” But rarely does someone outside our profession understand the “compassion fatigue” we suffer from.” She read my interview with Reuters and my quote”It’s important to remember that the animals are not grieving with us. They’re very accepting. They’re not lying there thinking “How could you do this to me? Why aren’t you keeping me going?’Pets don’t do the human things of guilt and anger and recrimination that we do. They come and go with great acceptance.”

The quote, she said, “made a hard week better.” That was very nice to hear. I got the idea for “Going Home” from vets at the North American Veterinary Conference where I was speaking two years ago. I always thought of the book as being helpful to people who have lost pets, but the idea that it could also help vets themselves is very powerful and gratifying. Thank you, Dr. Goode

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For personalized, signed copies of “Going Home,”  or the “Going Home” video call Battenkill Books at 518 677 2515, or e-mail them at [email protected]. Connie Brooks has received nearly 400 pre-orders and I am going to be at the bookstore from noon on,when the books arriving, signing all of them, hopefully and getting them out Tuesday, pub date. Honor your pet and support a great independent bookstore, my bookstore, if you are so inclined. I’ll be taking as many calls (Maria too) as I can for people ordering books.