It was interspersed with long passages of self justification in the face of an RCVS inquiry, and technical accounts of operations that went over my head.

The narrative of "if you work for it you will get it" was so pervasive I found myself despairing and shaking my head numerous times. There were things in the book I didn't understand but I will read it again in a little while and hopefully I'll understand more. Growing up on the family farm in Ballyfin, Ireland, Noel's childhood was spent tending to the cattle and sheep, the hay and silage, the tractors and land, his beloved sheepdog Pirate providing solace from the bullies that plagued him at school.I am interested in how people make sense of their lives and the world around them but this was very convoluted and repetitive. When I was reading, I really felt like I was there because it was about his life in lockdown and I was reading it during lockdown. What I got was a book verging on despair; full of one part arrogance, five parts low self esteem and damage from bullying as a child. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

Now, in this long-awaited memoir, Noel recounts this often-surprising journey that sees him leaving behind a farm animal practice in rural Ireland to set up Fitzpatrick Referrals in Surrey, one of the most advanced small animal specialist centres in the world.This book is slightly different to the first, in that Fitzpatrick more so focuses on ethical dilemmas and challenges faced in practice. The journey to that point has seen Noel treat thousands of animals - many of whom were thought to be beyond help - animals that have changed his life, and the lives of those around them, for the better.