Lucy's Law

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm always worried when I pick up a book about animals, especially dogs, when I know there will be sad parts. This book definitely had its sad parts. Poor Lucy went through so many years before she got her forever home with a loving dog mom and doggy siblings.
I am a huge believer in adopting rescue dogs and I will never buy a dog from a breeder, no matter how responsible they are. I currently have 2 rescues, both with special needs.
This book was sad yet uplifting to see how good people are trying to get laws in place in the UK regarding puppy farms.

Thank you for my review copy via NetGalley.

I had a basic understanding of Lucy's Law before reading, having adopted our own rescue King Charles Cavalier 20 months ago.

However this book gives the full details of how Lucy was rescued from a puppy farm, adopted and then met an extraordinary vet - Marc Abraham. Marc details in his book how a small group of people managed to change the law to protect 'man's best friend'.

The book should be read by animal lovers, future vets, future politicians and anyone looking at how to change the law. It is heartbreaking in places so perhaps for age 14 and above.

I hope that the main campaigners will be honoured for their work to stop the puppy farms.

An interesting, heart-breaking, emotional, and heart-warming read.

This is a book I kept hearing about and seeing before it was out and I just wanted to read it. I loved the look of the book-the little pics of paws at the starts of chapters, and how can you resist that gorgeous photo of Lucy on the cover? An interesting, heart-breaking, emotional, and heart-warming read.

I was brought up on James Herriot books so I love vet memoirs-and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into this one. The book is about Marc Abraham’s life as a vet and his ten year campaign for Lucy's Law to put an end to puppy farms; unscrupulous breeders, terrible conditions resulting in dogs with very poor health.

Some relatives of mine had been Kennel Club breeders, and having boarding kennels. I had loved helping out there in school holidays/staying some weekends with my parents. The animals came first, and were well cared for. Used to that environment, I'd never heard of these puppy farms.

After qualifying, Marc Abraham, or Marc the Vet as he is known, worked at a practice in Watford. He has also worked abroad, eg. in Mumbai, doing rescue work for Welfare for Stray Dogs. As well as his work at an emergency vet clinic, he started working on The Paul O'Grady Show with a Pet Clinic slot, and as a TV Vet, he’s had segments on many well-known programmes.

I loved the book for the most part, but found it a big heavy-going in places. A bit long-winded and repetitive sometimes. I loved to read about his life as a vet, and the animals. The excess political stuff not so much, it went on a bit too much. A very important campaign and achievement though. An important book, and wonderful tribute to Lucy the rescue Cavalier.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is the story of a vet with a big heart and an even bigger ambition. Working in an emergency clinic, he is overwhelmed by a hoard of sick puppies. Two would not recover but the others did. He was curious to see if there was any connection between these puppies and discovered they all were from the same breeder. Further investigation revealed the horrific circumstances from which they came. He knew something had to be done because as terrible as the puppy mill conditions were, they were also perfectly legal.
Along the way he met Lisa and her former puppy mill dog, Lucy. Lucy was an ideal spokes dog against the commercial breeding industry but it was after her death, when she became the face of the movement, Lucy was instrumental in changing the law first in England, then Wales and finally Scotland.
It is a heartbreaking story at timeS and frustrating at others as those angels who were trying to help dogs and cats mass produced in appalling conditions fought government and corporate greed. As they moved along, they gained supporters and became much better at selling their story. The book details the decade long fight and praises those who joined in the battle both the famous and the regular folk. At the heart of it, Marc and his key group were relentless. Perhaps it was his grandmother’s close escape from the gas chambers of Nazi Germany that made him believe it could be done.
All of us dogs and cats should thank him for his efforts. He and Lucy are heroes. Five purrs and two paws up.