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| Dr, Scott Sims |
Can you imagine being a veterinarian in Hawaii? Not much of a stretch if you love animals and choose to live in a sunny locale. But what if you built your own plane and flew it from island to island to treat you patients? Does that sound like the plot of a novel? Well, maybe, but it's reality for Dr. Scott Sims. Yes, he really does pilot a plane that he built, going from island to island to treat his patients including, of course, the ones that are on the remote islands.
It may not be the plot of a novel but it is a new TV series on Nat Geo WILD. Viewers will be going along on house calls to everything from house pets to wildlife. Dr. Sims treats them everywhere from near waterfalls to beaches and mountaintops. Even the tailgate of a truck provides space for him to treat a patient. Whether he's rescuing a sea turtle from a fishing line or an unconscious horse stuck in a riverbed, you'll be able to vicariously share his adventures.
"I love flying and want to help animals on other islands," Dr. Sims explains. "I began expanding my veterinary services to the Hawaiian islands because there were animals that needed medical attention. It brings me great joy to know that I am helping them," he says.
Beginning this Saturday, March 21st, you'll be able to share Dr. Sims' workdays in Aloha Vet on Nat Geo WILD. Check your local listings.
I don't want to miss a minute of this new series. Hawaii, Animals, and a dedicated veterinarian. What a great combination.
Below find a sneak peek of a clip from the show
Sometimes a book comes along that captivates you in a very special way. Such a book is Paw Tracks, A Childhood Memoir by Denis O'Connor. O'Connor, now retired, was a psychologist and teacher who was published in academic journals. How he got past his childhood and has had such a successful life is the miracle of this story.
Denis was raised in Northumberland where woods and riverbanks became his salvation, his escape from a brutal, unloving father. Verbal abuse or physical abuse would each be bad enough but the young Denis suffered them both with no real defense by his mother. He found loving people in his grandmother and a couple who owned a nearby farm.
What really saved him were the animals in his life. He found a way to communicate and work with his neighbor's aggressive dog, he gentled an untamed horse who had a similar background of abuse, a white cat that he had to say was his mother's in order to keep it. And worst of all, his beloved dog was put down by his father. Why? Because Denis loved the dog and the dog loved him.
O'Connor describes his childhood and surroundings in clear and vivid detail, including the enchantment of nature and how it came to mean so much to him. While many would not survive such a childhood, O'Connor was determined to better his life and get away from his father, the father who could never be proud of him. He knew that freedom would come through education and so he worked exceptionally hard to assure that he would go to university.
Paw Tracks is not a very lengthy book, only 214 pages that seem to fly as one moves along through Denis O'Connor's childhood and it leaves the reader wanting more.
Published by Constable & Robinson in London, the book is available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Paw-Tracks-Denis-OConnor/dp/1849019975/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352765127&sr=1-1&keywords=Paw+Tracks
