7Dan 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, whom he met as an ICU technician at Tufts University along with their adventures living in four states. Eventually settling down in Franklin, Ma and raising two sons, Austin and Carter. 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.