Archive: Around Town

http://web.vet.cornell.edu/public/petloss/other.htm. This hot line and website have been very comforting to us in our time of sorrow.

As a result of our pet’s loss, I also learned about Dr. Orzeck. Richard Orzeck, DVM is a local veterinarian who practices in Trumansburg at the Trumansburg Veterinary Clinic. Several different people recommended books Dr. Orzeck had written about pets he has seen in his practice of veterinary medicine. Dr. Orzeck was very kind and sent me copies of these wonderful books.

As I am writing this column on a very rainy Wednesday afternoon, I can’t think of a better way for someone to spend an afternoon or evening than to read one or both of Dr. Orzeck’s books. Since the holidays are coming, I thought I would recommend them to my readers. One or both of them would make a terrific gift for anyone who loves pets.

The first book, published in 2000, is entitled Sometimes It Breaks Your Heart. It is a collection of short stories that, according to Dr. Orzeck’s preface, "explore the anguish and heartache of pet loss, as seen through the eyes of a country vet."

Dr. Orzeck is a born storyteller, a warm and compassionate person. In his stories, he also gives sound advice about animal care that every pet owner should know. Since Dr. Orzeck has been a dairy and sheep farmer for much of his life, his stories deal with larger animals, such as sheep and elephants, as well as small animals, such as cats and dogs. In his stories about two little lambs, Lambie Pie and Lace, I learned that sometimes even advanced veterinary medicine and the best veterinary minds cannot determine exactly why an animal has died. I read about Cooper and his unexpected reaction to anesthesia. I read about owners who inadvertently killed Buddy by giving him over-the-counter medicine which should only be taken by humans. I even read about Babe, the elephant. The more I read, the more I realized that these stories were not about death, but about life; they were a true celebration of life.

Dr. Orzeck’s second book, Sometimes It Makes You Wonder, published in 2003, is more varied in its story topics. It includes stories on varied subjects such as how Dr. Orzeck helped round up a herd of buffalo that had escaped from an Indian reservation and what Dr. Orzeck’s life was like when he was a vet who made house calls. Many of the stories were peppered with anecdotes about his life as a veterinary student, his eccentric professors in veterinary school and his early surgeries. Perhaps best of all was his story entitled, “Just Gotta Know” which is an account of how he tried to explain a pet’s condition to its owners. His hilarious approach shows how this experience may have proven far more challenging to the vet than actually treating the pet.

The best word I can think of when I try to describe these books is “heartwarming.” In the epilogue of Sometimes It Makes You Wonder, Dr. Orzeck writes about how sometimes he thinks about:

"[T]he greater picture….I thought about how determined and magnificent this fragile force is that we call life; of how full of wonders – some heartbreaking, but most full of joy and awe – our universe is; of how the natural order of things – birth, living and death – could probably all be summed up in a single moment by watching… " [my old sheep, Old Flo]… "feeding her newborn lamb on …[a] …beautiful autumn morning."

Dr. Orzeck’s books may be ordered through his website, www.doctoroz.com, through Amazon.com, the online bookseller, or by calling him at 607-387-3490. By the way, if you check out Dr. Orzeck’s website, you will be treated to an assortment of informative as well as whimsical articles and quotations.

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