CHAPTER NINE:
Herriot remembers his high school years at the veterinarian practice. James was getting used to strange phone calls about many different ills in animals in the most recondite places of town and at the most unusual hours of the night. As well as, he was getting accustomed to listen to Siegfried fighting with his brother Tristan. In this chapter, Herriot affronts a difficult case of a reversion of uterus in a cow and he takes Tristan with him in case he needed extra help with the case.
CHAPTER TEN:
It was the first time that Herriot was invited to take dinner in one of his client’s house, after checking some cows from Bellerby’s family; Mr. Herriot is invited to take dinner with the family, after that they take him to the church.
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
James Herriot examines and old dog belonging to a very old man, the dog was the only company to that old man, the old man was resting on a chair because he had placed his old fellow in his bed. The poor dog was really sick and the man was still keeping hopes about its recovery. The dog had a carcinoma that is specie of tumor, but it was inoperable. The dog was suffering, and its owner was suffering of seeing him suffer. The only salvation for the dog was death and the old man was very affected about the idea, but he accepted the idea just asking for some minutes to say good bye to his good friend.
CHAPTER TWELVE:
Market day, Tristan, Siegfried, and James go to the market to pay bills and to buy the necessary items to their house.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
James Herriot meets Mrs. Pumphrey, she was an elderly widow. She was the owner of the most beautiful house in Darrowby (a city in Yorkshire Dales) she also had a Pekingese with weight problems. Mrs. Pumphrey gives the best treatment to Mr. Herriot and she also proclaims James, her dog’s uncle.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
Siegfried and Tristan fight because Tristan’s work at school. Siegfried says that how come he can do as badly as they do in simple exams. Siegfried also announces the arrival of a secretary to put some order in the paperwork of the office. When she arrives to their house she gets scared about the big mess that these three men have done with the paperwork, bills and money, and she decides to buy a cash box to keep track of every single monetary movement of the clinic.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Siegfried brings some hens and ten pigs to the house in order to avoid the long trip to the grocery store. Siegfried said that if Tristan was going to be at his house he must work ay least for his food, taking care of the pigs and the hens.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
Siegfried was very happy because his hens have given him 10 eggs! Tristan, as usual, was in charge of feeding the animals, but today he was distracted by the hens for some minutes, and the pigs escaped. The pigs were running and making disasters all along the city, when he realized that the pigs had escaped he let the door of the hen house open and the hens escaped too! Siegfried was really angry with Tristan for what had happened and he sent him to look for the animals all over the town.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
The secretary brings a cash box to the clinic; she starts to put things in order there.
CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN:
James has 6 months working with Siegfried and he talks about his experiences with cows, cats, dogs, sheep, and more. He remembers the time when he was seventeen and he saw a horse stand in the middle of a road not wanting to walk, he got closer to it, and suddenly the horse grabbed him from the back of his jacket, taking him up, and every person that was watching the horse got scared and nobody did anything. Two of the most beautiful girls from high school were there looking and laughing at him. At the end the horse released him, but all the saliva from the animal was running down his back.
CHAPTER NINETEEN:
James Herriot is invited to a big feast by his nephew (Mrs. Pumphrey’s dog). It was one of the most special parties in town. James rents an outfit to go to the party. When he arrives to the party Mrs. Pumphrey takes him to say “hello” to his nephew “Tricky “. James was specially attended by a private waiter from Mrs. Pumphrey. The night was perfect and when James when back to his house at around midnight an unexpected call from a farmer broke the peace. He had some problems with a pregnant pig, and James had to go to see it. In fact, the pig had a dead little pig inside her, but there were 8 that were still alive. Mr. James was fighting with the born since 2 am until 8 am. It was a hard job but when the vet looked at the pigs with their mom he realizes that the effort was not in vane.
CHAPTER TWENTY:
Siegfried argues with the secretary about the obsession of order that she has.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
Siegfried operates a big black Labrador and leaves Tristan in charge of it care. When James examines the dog, and he thinks that the dog will not survive; the dog starts to give signs of life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
Siegfried asks for help with the dog to another famous vet in town Mr. Grier. Mr. Grier was known for being one of the roughest veterinarian teachers in town.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
Winter had arrived in Yorkshire Dales and James Herriot had to work at first hour of the day with an unconscious cow. James injected some calcium to the cow and at the next day it was totally recovered. Copper family invites Mr. James to take breakfast with them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
Siegfried argues with Tristan for arriving at 4 am. Mr. James and Tristan were getting ready to go to a village party; moreover Siegfried said that Tristan must go to see a case of a pig’s ear that was infected. It couldn’t wait longer. Tristan was wearing his best clothes and he had to attend his brother’s command.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
James desires the sun, the morning is extremely cold. He starts talking about the beautiful April’s mornings. Later, he talks about the different diseases that attack animals during winter. He is on his way to see a sick horse. He is worried about the horse size because some of his friends have had terrible experiences with these animals at receiving kick on the testicles. When James arrives to the farm he notice that, in fact, the animal was really big and it must have weight a ton! The horse had a tumor in the stomach very difficult to reach; the only way to reach it was being stand behind the horse legs; the perfect place to receive a good kick.
When James was trying to inject anesthesia at the tumor place the horse give him an explosive kick that sent doctor James 2 or 3 meters away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
James checks some calves that he thought had been poisoned with paint. Later, he goes to check a bull that had respiratory problems and a terrible fever. 109 degrees! The bull had something stock in its throat. The doctor helped it by putting some water in its mouth and taking its head up.
James say that there’s no better payment that seeing the release on an animal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
James Herriot, Tristan, and Siegfried operate a cow belonging to a well known colonel. Siegfried wanted to do his best and he was wearing his best suit. The cow had intestinal infection, and when Siegfried cut its skin to start the operation, the intestine started to go out. Siegfried thought that was just gas, and he asked Tristan and James to step back to avoid the smell, he made and incision on the intestine and for his surprise it was not gas… was poop! The intestine exploited throwing poop everywhere!!
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
James is invited by Mr. Crawford to take a beer with him. Mr. Crawford was one of the richest men in town. Mr. Crawford introduces James to his family; they invite him to go to church with them. After that James goes to check a cow that had died mysteriously. The owner assures that the cow was killed by lightening and that he wanted a veterinary to look at it in order to ask his animal’s insurance, but Doctor James didn’t think the same. He checks the cow and said that the cow was killed by natural causes, other that lightening.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
James talks about Siegfried’s dogs he had 5. Later when they were checking the mail they discover a letter from the judge, notifying about a demand against them. The owner of the cow that supposedly suffered from lightening had demanded James Herriot for insulting and mistreating him!
CHAPTER THIRTY:
James goes to see Tricky his nephew (Mrs. Pumphrey’s dog). James was surprised because of the size of the dog it was hugely fat; as a result, of the food that Mrs. Pumphrey gives it. After checking tricky James Herriot is invited to take lunch by Mrs. Pumphrey.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:
James is awake by a midnight call. Another case to attend at 3 am, on his way to check the sick animals he starts thinking about why he had chosen that career. Why is he a vet? And he finishes his book with these words:
It is a pity that they cannot talk because it would be charming to have their views. There are a few things I would like to know. What do they think of their widely varying lives? What do they think of us? Do they manage to get a laugh out of it all?
SUMMARY
“If only they could talk” is the first of many books that follow the same historical line in James Herriot’s life. Like “If Only They Could Talk” (1970) , It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1972) , Let Sleeping Vets Lie (1973), Vet in Harness (1974), Vets Might Fly (1976) ,Vet in a Spin (1977), James Herriot's Yorkshire (1979), The Lord God Made Them All (1981), Every Living Thing (1992), James Herriot's Cat Stories (1994), and James Herriot's Favourite Dog Stories (1995).
The book “If only they could talk” is the semi autobiographical of real life vet James Herriot. A book about a recently qualified Veterinary Surgeon hardly sounds like a great book, but in its own unique way it is somewhat wonderful.
This book covers James Herriot’s first year of being a vet; having just qualified and seeking an Assistant’s post somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales. He had heard horror stories of new vets being made to work all hours of day and night without only board and lodging as their pay, and of reluctance of the gritty northern folk to accept any newcomers into their community. However he finds a job for good money with an amiable, youngish vet called Siegfried. Siegfried is a jolly, friendly fellow with a forward-thinking attitude toward veterinary practice and some very strange habits, but he and James get along fine. The farmers in the area are hospitable; some more than others – but slow to trust and quick to criticize again, some more than others.
In the book, James Herriot has many strong characteristics which help him through his tough, and demanding, career. He has a vast knowledge of his practice, as well as his employer and friend, Siegfried Farnon. James Herriot has a great sense of humor, and is able to take embarrassment excellently. He also works well in strange or uncomfortable situations. James Herriot’s most endearing quality is his deep passion and concern for his patients.
James Herriot has a tremendous memory of all the signs, symptoms, medications, diseases, and sicknesses concerning animals. This helps him very much throughout his career; He is able to deduct a patient’s problem without even needing an x-ray, or anything of that sort in one situation. The beauty of “If Only They Could Talk” is in Herriot’s creating some really memorable characters, and in writing style that fits so well with the rigours of his job and the Yorkshire location. There are some wonderful moments of humor, overall it is funny but now and then it causes a good laugh. At times it’s a little rustic, though there are very few instances of bad language. There is a good deal of medical terminology used. Just as Herriot is starting to get into the swing of things, Siegfried’s brother Tristan shows up, causing more than a little tension in the household. Later on a secretary is introduced, who helps to add even more tension… but all ends well, or at least, James Herriot lives to tell the tale of his first year!
