Famous People and Pets

George the <a title=”Guinea Pigs” href=”Guinea_Pigs”>guinea pig</a> (2007-August 11, 2009) was a grey American Shorthair who was best known for serving as a turning point in <a title=”Education” href=”Education”>education</a> to <a title=”Veterinarians” href=”Veterinarians”>veterinary</a> hospitals after his death, because the public perceived his story as perfect example of the average animal hospital’s lack of knowledge of […]

Sam Simon was a television writer and a producer, co-creator of the animated comedy, “The Simpsons.” But Sam’s most meaningful and central contribution to the world was his love and care for animals, helping their humans in the process. Sam was born in 1955 and left this world too soon due to complications with terminal […]

Many famous people were pet-lovers. Most of the United States presidents kept pets (see U.S. Presidents and their Pets)) and Winston Churchill had a series of pets. Some famous historical figures have had unusual pets as companions: Ramses II (14th century BC) owned a pet lion. The lion went to battle with him and is […]

Winifred Gibson Strickland began competing in dog obedience trials in the early 1940s. Winifred was the first trainer to incorporate humane methods although she still used physical punishment in training. After winning numerous obedience competitions, she retired in 1955. Her book, Expert Obedience Training for Dogs, is still used by many in spite of some […]

In the heyday of the Western, the horses cowboys rode were as famous as their riders. Hopalong Cassidy played by William Boyd rode a white Arabian stallion named Topper. Hopalong’s original horse was King Nappy, but when injured, Topper took over. Clayton Moore played the part of “The Lone Ranger” in early TV. Many of […]

Nathan J. Winograd is the Executive Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center which promotes shelter reform and protection for animals. Nathan graduated Stanford Law School and was formerly a criminal prosecutor and a corporate attorney. Nathan has lectured through the United States and internationally in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the Czech Republic […]

Incitatus was Roman Emperor Caligula’s favorite horse. The name is Latin for impetuous. Because Caligula took cruelty to extremes and his behavior was so bizarre, it is thought he may have been suffering from a mental disease. But the one thing Caligula did love was his horse Incitatus. Stories about his treatment of Incitatus abound. […]

James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, a Scottish veterinarian who was born in 1916. In 1969 Wight wrote If Only They Could Talk, the first of the now-famous series based on his life working as a vet. This book and some of his other stories were collected in a book called […]

Beatrix Potter, most famous for her book The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was an author and illustrator of children’s books depicting animals, as well as a sheep breeder and conservationist. Potter was born in London in 1866 and was educated at home by governesses. She had many pets including frogs, newts, ferrets, a pet bat […]

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a prolific writer, poet, scholar of English literature and defender of Christianity. His most famous book is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published of his Chronicles of Narnia series. The Narnia books include many animals, some of them talking, as well as mythical creatures such as unicorns […]