Books we should all own

Lately there have been a few threads that have mentioned various medicines that we are giving to our pets, and, as usual, I am currently medicating a couple of my 4-leggeds. Like many animal caretakers, I maintain a pretty well-stocked pharmacy in a bag on top of my fridge and various other drawers and cabinets. Sometimes, though, I forget what's used for what if the bottles have been in my med bag for any length of time. So when I call my vet about a problem and he asks, "Which antibiotics do you have on-hand?", I'm not always certain of the answer. That's why I keep my "bible" close at hand and refer to it often.

The Pill Book Guide to Medication for Your Dog and Cat has been an invaluable resource for me. It is the veterinary equivalent to The Physician's Desk Reference, in that it provides information about almost all drugs available for use in dogs and cats. It describes each drug in depth including brand and generic names, drug activity, drug and food interactions, cautions, dosing guidelines, and overdose information. It has helped me properly administer drugs to my animals when I wasn't given complete information by my vet (as in, such-and-such drug should not be given with food, or such-and-such drug may cause such-and-such problems in a cat with renal insufficiency). I simply couldn't do without this book, and it's so inexpensive ($6.99 new - under $4.00 used) that every animal caretaker should have it on their shelf. Its only drawback is that it hasn't been updated since 1998.

What animal care books have you found to be must-haves? Let's help each other out here.

Laurie