I grew up in southern Africa surrounded by animals: big, small, wild and domestic. For as long as I can remember I have been passionate about their welfare, and deeply interested in how they are able to express their thoughts and feelings without the help of words.
My childhood family included a ridiculous number of dogs, from large double-coated bounders to small short-coated ankle nippers. From pure-breeds with impressive pedigrees to mixed breeds and rescue dogs. We had litters of puppies, and males used as stud dogs for breeding. There were obedience classes for the biggest dogs, and competitions too …
There were also the many dogs my family rescued, and when I started my own marketing company, we took on the region’s SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) as our key charity client.
I now live in Oxfordshire, England, with my extended two- and four-legged family, and work as a writer and editor. Commissions include everything from non-fiction to marketing communication across a broad range of industries, and my aim is to deliver clear messages in easy-to-read plain English. (Of course, I grab any opportunity I can find to write about animals, dogs especially.)
In an ideal world, all prospective dog owners would take on rescues, or dogs that need rehoming, at least until they were in short supply. But there is also good reason for choosing a puppy, so if that is your decision, be sure to use those early days, weeks and months well, because puppies blessed with a good start in life are unlikely ever to find themselves in rescue centres or animal shelters.
This is my hope for the ‘You and Your Puppy’ series of books. In a nutshell, it’s to help you to give your puppy the best possible start in life, with a relationship built on love, kindness and mutual understanding.
Carry is a professional member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America.