Herriot tells us that even at an early age "I was fascinated by dogs...I could never quite take dogs for granted. Why were they so devoted to the human race? Why should they delight in our company and welcome us home in transports of joy? Why should their greatest pleasure lie in being with us in our homes and wherever we were?...As a vet I could be with dogs all the time, attending to them, curing their illnesses, saving their lives." And although-as James Herriot was soon to find out-being a vet in the Yorkshire Dales meant caring for cows, sheep, and horses, with precious little time left over for "small animal" practice, somehow dogs continued to play a large pare in both his personal and his professional life.