Barking Big

Dan Castillo recalls the unusual path he took to become a veterinarian in Barking Big.

He recalls his early childhood as a wild youth growing up New York and explores his familial connections to the Dominican Republic, where he vacationed. It was there that he went to veterinarian school, where classes were taught in Spanish.

He lived through two elections in the Dominican Republic, where the entire family would stay up all night surrounded by armed guards. They'd wait for the vote count and hope no one had the stupidity to try to overthrow the government.

He also shares his love story with Ellen, an ICU technician that he knew for years before they began dating. The joke was that she stalked him all those years and he would decline her advances because he was above that.

While studying, he worked with all types of animals: dogs, cats, cows, pigs, sheep, and whatever else came his way. Often, farmer families would greet him with gifts, and he'd see farm kids with missing fingers because of accidents.

Get an insider's look of what it takes to be a veterinarian from a practitioner who took a very unconventional path with this memoir.