Ladyrhian on November 28, 2008 for Deep Thoughts blog:

"The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes" collects 28 true animal stories from Veterinarians employed by Zoos and other animal institutions such as aquariums and game parks. The 28 stories are broken down into seven collections of four stories each, from stories of animals and humans with a special connection, to stories of new treatments tried out on animals, sometimes for the first time.

The cover story, the one of the Rhino with glue-on shoes, is one such story, about a Rhino named Mohan who had such terrible foot problems that the only solution was to surgically trim the excess skin and flesh that would grow out of his feet every 6 months or so.

When Mohan's Veterinarian travelled to a conference, she met with a man who offered both an explanation of Mohan's problems, and a solution: Rhinos are toe-walkers, but the hard floors of most Zoo exhibits are of concrete, metal or stone. Because of the hard floors, Mohan's toenails had been damaged, converting him into a sole-walker. Protecting the sole of the foot with a metal plate superglued in place would allow his toenails to regenerate while protecting his sole. As he healed, they could work on the floor of Mohan's exhibit, replacing it with the sort of marshy ground that Rhinos are accustomed to living on in the wild.

They did so, and the treatment worked. Even though the plates only stayed affixed for 3 months or so, it was long enough to solve the problem, and with the change in the floors of the exhibit, the problem hasn't recurred.

The other stories are equally delightful. Some are sad, as in the story of Brass, a red-ruffed Lemur with a strange facial swelling caused by a TB injection. They were never able to find out why his face kept swelling, and it eventually caused his death. But even the necropsy gave no clues as to the reason for his death. Each though, is full of detail and worthy of reading.

The center of the book has pictures of the animals in question, although some have no pictures and are represented by another animal of the same species. This is a wonderful book, both sad and heartwarming, and anyone who loves animals, is considering a career in the Veterinary sciences, or who just loves interesting stories, would love this book. I plan to recommend it to everyone at the library.