"The Chimp Who Loved Me" by Annie Greer and Tim Vandehey

From Goodreads: "Twenty-six real-life stories of animal adventures from Annie Greer, farmer's wife, pet chiropractor and all-around magnet for bizarre creature tales. Sexual assault by chimpanzee, drill sergeant sheep, stoned veterinarians and much more will make you laugh and wish the book didn't have to end. 20% of proceeds go to the ASPCA."

When I first saw this book I knew that I had to get my hands on a copy of it because it deals with one of my most favourite things in the world, animals and it sounded like it would be a more grown up version of James Herriot‘s short stories.

When I first started reading this book I was a bit disappointed, I almost felt like I was in a lecture hall hearing a professor drone on and on about primate mating behavior ad things of that nature and it quickly became tiresome (growing up I was totally one of those kids who used to check those animal encyclopedia’s out from the library, you know those ones that are like three or four inches thick? And I found that a lot of stuff was repetitive from my primate classes), however I came to realize that the average reader probably wouldn't possess this knowledge (because they normal and didn't lug those gigantic books home from the library when they were all of 6 years old) and therefore the book was good in providing a contextual background for said readers. Furthermore, I was disappointed in the beginning because I didn't find myself experiencing uncontrollable bouts of laughter like I had expected to (I mean, come'on, the subtitle is "And Other Slightly Naughty Tales of a Life With Animals").

However all of that changed with the fifth short story in the book, “Panther Bait”, I found myself shaking controllably with laughter with this story and it only continued on with the remaining stories. I think that why this book is so successful and legitimately funny is because Annie is not afraid to tell it like it is. For instance when she was explaining a situation where a panther had escaped and her and her husband, Kent, had to catch it she writes, “At times like this, I’m afraid that my true nature comes out, and it’s not flattering. I couldn’t have cared less about Kent. As far as I was concerned it was each man for himself as I bolted for the door. I started running with no intention of stopping” (pg. 58), or when talking about how much she disliked her goats she stated, “But eventually, coyotes came in one night and killed them all, which was a convenient solution to the problem really” (pg. 105). Furthermore, because the book is composed of short stories (on average 5 pages a piece), you can read a few here and there (and even not in order!) and still comprehend everything that is occurring. 

All in all, this did turn out to be a quite funny book and I would highly recommend it to any animal lovers out there!

Rating: 9/10

I received this book from the author/ distributer. I was not compensated in any way for my review. Special thanks to Dorothy Thompson, Pump Up Your Books, Annie Greer, and Tim Vandehey.