Mary Carlson didn’t intend to become a veterinarian, let alone the caretaker of many cats, two huskies, and horses (some with manners, some without). A suburban Chicago young lady, she only knew about the American West from her uncle’s tales. But thanks to him, she shifted to Colorado for college-and, after falling deeply in love with a veterinary college student, settled there for good. Her husband’s function motivated her to keep teaching, become a vet herself, and open a feline-exclusive clinic. On the way, there have been grueling many years of veterinarian college, a shattered hip, an long lasting love, illness, and death-and the rediscovery that life, especially one filled with wonderful animals, is worth living.