After finishing school,John Sauvage went straight on to the RVC and qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1973.
His book relates John’s personal andfamily history from his English and Belgian parents and grandparents and theirroles in two world wars.
John recountstales from his RVC studies and goes on to discuss various major debates whichoccurred during his career, including vaccinations and the anti-vaccine lobby.The role of badgers and TB is also discussed. The tale of his experience ofmeeting children with the drug-induced injury of thalidomide is bothlife-affirming and tear-jerking.
The backgroundtheme to the whole book is the leaps forward taken by both veterinary and humanmedicine in the last 70 years, especially in disease prevention by vaccination.The story is brought up to date with the coronavirus pandemic and itsvaccination programme. The stories are always self-effacing and amusing wherepossible, but the big questions in our relationships with animals are openlydiscussed.
