Brown, Bradford B. 1929–

PERSONAL:

Born June 15, 1929. Education: Graduate of Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Vassalboro, ME.

CAREER:

Writer; former veterinarian, now retired.

WRITINGS:

While You're Here, Doc: Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, Tilbury House (Gardiner, ME), 2006.

Just One More Thing, Doc: Further Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, Tilbury House (Gardiner, ME), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer and retired veterinarian Bradford B. Brown was born June 15, 1929, and grew up in Vassalboro, Maine, on the family farm. His upbringing inspired him to go into animal care, and he attended the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in order to become a large-animal veterinarian. He then returned home to Maine and went into practice with his brother. His reputation soon spread, and he became well known across the state as a superior veterinarian, the one many area farmers relied on to help care for their livestock. Over the years, Brown has amassed a collection of humorous tales revolving around his experiences as a vet, dealing with both the animals that have been put into his care and the anxious owners who want the best for their beasts. Brown's first book, While You're Here, Doc: Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, mines that collection of stories and gained its title from a common phrase that people would use when Brown was making a house call. Because of the size of the animals he treated, he often traveled to them so that ill or injured creatures would not need to be moved, which might have risked additional problems. However, Brown charged his customers by the mile, basing his fees in part on how far he was forced to travel to take a look at their animals. Thus, it was common for a farmer or other animal owner to take advantage of Brown's presence by asking him to look at other concerns or issues with their animals, rather than being forced to ask him to return in a few days, resulting in an additional bill for mileage accrued. The book is comprised of just some of the adventures and amusing experiences that Brown racked up while visiting his patients, including chasing after a stallion in a snowstorm. Nancy Bent, in a review for Booklist, commented that "these stories of backwoods veterinary care are sure to be popular among James Herriot lovers." The sequel to While You're Here, Doc has a similar title, spawned from the same situation: Just One More Thing, Doc: Further Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian. Terri Schlichenmeyer, writing for the Land Web site, praised Brown for both his storytelling and his kindness, remarking that "Brown is thoughtful and folksy in his writing, willing to dish gentle dirt on his clients but not one bit insulting." A reviewer for SciTech Book News opined that the collection is "sometimes deeply moving but most often hilarious."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Brown, Bradford B., While You're Here, Doc: Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, Tilbury House (Gardiner, ME), 2006.

Brown, Bradford B., Just One More Thing, Doc: Further Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, Tilbury House (Gardiner, ME), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Nancy Bent, review of While You're Here, Doc: Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian, p. 12.

SciTech Book News, December 1, 2007, review of Just One More Thing, Doc: Further Farmyard Adventures of a Maine Veterinarian.

ONLINE

Land,http://www.the-land.com/ (September 7, 2007), Terri Schlichenmeyer, "The Bookworm Sez: Large Animal Vet Shares Folksy Tales of Big, Bad Critters."

Tilbury House Publishers Web site,http://www.tilburyhouse.com/ (June 16, 2008), author profile.