Meetings With Remarkable Animals

Pre-order this remarkable account of the moving and sometimes astonishing ways animals have enriched our lives, from national treasure Martin Clunes

Guide-dog Laura needed a new home. And, after listening to her owner, Jaina, talk on the radio about what would happen to her much loved guide and companion when she retired, Martin Clunes picked up the phone. He'd always been a soft touch when it came to animals. One more couldn't hurt.

Adopting Laura opened his eyes to the extraordinary care provided by assistance dogs, but also piqued his curiosity. Throughout history, our meetings with remarkable animals have eased, enriched, and sometimes saved our lives in countless and surprising ways.

Our canine friends have guided us, rescued us, led us, protected us and even given early warning of illness, but dogs are only part of the story. From the horses that went to war with the Light Brigade, to the mine-clearing Gambian Pouched Rat called Courage that helped make the peace, and from the pigeons carrying life-saving messages to the wild dolphin called Jock who befriended a traumatised young woman in Australia, in peace and war animals have always been there for us.

Together with his own life-changing encounters with animals around the world, Martin has celebrated the intelligence, loyalty, and companionship of some truly extraordinary creatures whose lives have been entwined with our own. By turns heart-warming, inspiring and always fascinating, Meetings With Remarkable Animals gives us a chance to meet them too.

About the Author

Martin Clunes has been a familiar and much-loved face on our television screens since the 1990s. Alongside appearing in hit shows like Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin, he has presented numerous documentaries from around the world including Lemurs of Madagascar, Islands of the Pacific and A Dog Called Laura. He was awarded the OBE in 2015 for his contribution to drama, charity and the community in Dorset where he lives with his family and lots of animals.