With the imminent arrival of her third child, veterinary surgeon, Gillian Hick, decides to abandon the perils of mixed animal practice, in a favour of setting up a small animal practice from home. When neighbouring farmer, John Armstrong, drops in for a cup of tea and stays to build the new veterinary clinic, the dream becomes a reality. As the practice begins to take on a life of its own, the practicalities of running a twenty-four/seven on call business, with the help of her husband and her three exuberantly, enthusiastic pre-school children begins to take its toll. From hatching goslings on a moonlit night, to late night calls to celebrity donkeys; from delivering new-borns, to assisting in the final farewells of much-loved patients, the circle of life continues as Gillian struggles to hang on to, not only her sense of humour, but also the last remaining threads of her sanity!

The Hair-Raising Adventures of an Irish Vet. Whether castrating horses in Dublin's inner city or dehorning cattle in the wilds of Wicklow, rescuing mangled cats from mongrels or tending to stoned guard dogs, vet Gillian Hick's sense of humour never deserts her in this engaging account of the challenging situations she encounters in the course of her work as a newly qualified veterinary surgeon. Not only does she have to deal with the animals and their ailments, but she also has to contend with the perils of matchmaking mothers and macho farmers -- not to mention the guys who want to know 'where is the real vet?'

Vet Among the Pigeons continues the story of veterinary surgeon Gillian Hick's escapades among the animal population. Although by now, not such a green graduate, the animals and their owners keep her challenged in a way never described in the text books. While based in a mixed animal practice in Wicklow, Gillian also travels regularly to inner city Dublin to work in the Bluecross animal welfare clinic but finds that sometimes the two lives are hard to combine. From dairy cattle to turkey cocks, from lofty equines to the not so lofty, from six foot snakes to snuffling hedgehogs, Gillian encounters it all as she struggles to improve her own skills and justify her place in the veterinary profession, along with the help of an ever expanding young family of her own.