Saving Molly—A Research Veterinarian's Hard Choices for the Love of Animals

The puppy was scrawny and dying. She presented herself to Jim Mahoney while he was enjoying the clear water, sun, and slow time of a long-awaited vacation in Jamaica. Molly, as he would later call her, was not the first dying animal the research veterinarian had seen, nor the biggest nor the smartest nor the most famous. Still, the rescue of a mottled bush dog of modest origin left Mahoney redeemed.
Mahoney's story spans fifty years of living with mice, horses, dogs, cats, Rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and the two-legged primates who live and work with them. Mahoney is one of the few researchers to earn the respect of both scientists and animal rights activists by simultaneously agitating for humane treatment of animals while affirming humanity's need for animal research. It's a delicate balance.
This is the tale of a man who surveys his life's work and discovers more questions than answers. How can he spend his days with chimpanzees locked behind bars and still say that he loves them? What does he owe them for their participation in his research? Why does he care? Why does saving a puppy mean so much to him?