Not since Dr. James Herriot have the life and times of a country veterinarian given us a first hand look at the miracle of medicine and compassion, the formula for the healing art. Tending Critters in the Ridges carries the reader from the hustle and bustle of a fast-paced America to a small rural town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is the story of a veterinarian who moves his family of five from the low country of South Carolina where the heat and humidity are unbearable to the cool mountains of Western North Carolina.

Humor is paramount throughout the book. There’s everything from the farmer who learned too late that cow gas is indeed flammable to the memorable ride home with an irate rooster given as payment for a late night calving call. There are the City Slickers who come to the mountains for the weekend to tend a ranch for a friend and quickly learn that cattle farming is not for the faint hearted. The touching moments are there, too when a elderly man learns his faithful Labrador Retriever has a malignancy that cannot be treated. The sterile surgery room, the mountain lion’s habitat, the muck of the hog pen and cattle stall are all there as are some of most unforgettable town characters you’ll ever want or care to meet. Dr. Clyde Brooks takes you on an adventure that you wish would never end!

When Cream Puff first meets Sir Hops-a-Lot, she’s a bit nervous. She is not sure what to say or how to act because she’s never seen a dog with a “disability.” But when she gets to know Hops and hears his story, she learns that he’s not so different after all.

“Veterinarian Clyde Brooks delighted readers with his humorous book Tending Critters in the Ridges. In this new book for children, he shares the uplifting story of a little dog who proves he can do just about anything he sets out to do, even after a tragic accident touches his life.

As a former elementary education teacher, I believe this book is appropriate for children ages 5-10 years. It is an excellent medium for teaching children kind and caring behavior toward disabled people.”

Elizabeth K. Padrick
Master of Arts in Education