Spinning Tales

Dr. Douglas Carlson ('71)
Wagging My Tales began simply enough. Doug Carlson began writing down stories from his childhood of growing up in rural Iowa. He wanted his grandchildren to know what it was like living on a pig farm. After his daughter bought Carlson’s Illinois veterinary practice from him, she asked for some other stories from his veterinarian days to put on the clinic’s website. “She wanted some interesting stories about some of my unusual patients over the past 42 years,” said Carlson, who now lives in Spring, Texas. “I have always enjoyed telling stories but since I have had Parkinson’s for 18 years, my voice has become weak. Writing stories makes up for that problem.” The result is Wagging My Tales, a series of short stories from Carlson’s childhood and veterinary career. The book is available on Amazon and other on-line outlets. Most of the book looks at some of the more unusual patients Carlson encountered at the Village Animal Clinic in Carol Stream Illinois.