Christmas in Blue Dog Valley

For anyone who ever loved All Creatures Great and Small, Annie England Noblin’s newest novel—about a big city vet transplanted to a small Wisconsin town—is pure delight as we meet aging alpacas, stump-tailed cats, goats in tutus, a vagabond border collie named Kevin, and the people who think they own them. And through it all, Goldie McKenzie, DVM, navigating the small town of Blue Dog, Wisconsin.


Welcome to Blue Dog Valley. Home of the Fighting Elk. Population 3,411. 

When Goldie McKenzie, DVM, vet to the L.A. pet stars, arrives from Los Angeles to Blue Dog Valley she realizes three things.

1. Never agree to upend your life when you’re hungover
   
   Pot-belly pigs are not true farm animals
   
   She’s going to need a warmer coat

At first Goldie is nothing more than a fish out of water, with few clients and few friends. But after a less than pleasant encounter with a man whose dog is suffering from a possibly fatal case of bloat, she’s finally earning the trust and goodwill from her fellow Blue Dog Valley citizens. Her clientele grows to include the many farm animals in the town, including a horse named Large Marge, a cape-wearing therapy alpaca, and a yardful of sweater-wearing goats. Add in Kevin, the “worst sheepdog in Blue Dog Valley,” and a Sphinx cat named Airport, and Goldie is having the best time a vet can have. . . aside from the annoying attractive town grump, Cohen, who seems intent on making sure she always feels like an outsider.

With her newfound goodwill, Goldie comes up with an idea to reinvigorate the once flourishing Blue Dog Valley: a Christmas carnival. A petting zoo, pictures with Santa, a baking contest, what more could they want? After only some brief resistance from Cohen and his father, they begin the great plan to reinvigorate Blue Dog Valley.

Will Christmas be enough to salvage this dying town—and be enough to bring Goldie closer to a certain grumpy man?




Genre: General Fiction

"Annie England Noblin is an incredibly gifted storyteller. St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets is heartfelt, charming, and funny." - Meg Donohue

"I was immediately enchanted! Lively and heartfelt, the characters - both human and four legged - in Annie England Noblin's St Francis Society for Wayward Pets come alive. I adored it." - Lori Foster

"Noblin's masterful touch hits the sweet spot of humor and tragedy in this heart-felt book about the truest meaning of family, friends, abandoned dogs, and love, amidst a weave of plot-twisting heroics." - Jacqueline Sheehan

"Feelgood fiction at its finest. Annie England Noblin has crafted an utterly entertaining tale of unexpected chances and small-town secrets, and it's as sweet and comforting as a hand-knit sweater and a warm puppy in your lap." - Susan Wiggs