If Animals Could Speak

If Animals Could Speak, the first in a series of books for animal lovers, covers stories about my menagerie during a nine year period starting in January 1974. During this time my animal companions included five dogs, five cats, three horses and assorted fowls. One dog was rescued from rising floodwaters. A young cat and an even younger pup were saved from starvation. One dog was adopted from an animal shelter and a 'disposable' kitten was given a loving home. The stories are based on fact but of course the 'conversations' are my interpretation of what I've witnessed. Many tales are humorous since animals of all species and ages can be truly amusing. However life doesn't always go according to plan and as a result some of the reminiscences are quite sad. Most however, just tell the story of my animal friends being themselves and displaying their own sort of intelligence and wisdom, patience and compassion, curiosity and sense of adventure. If Animals Could Speak seeks to answer many questions. Have you ever wondered what animals think about? What are dogs saying when they bark at each other? And what do birds twitter about as they cheep and chirp to one another? Over the years I've chosen to stop, to watch and to think about the actions and reactions I've witnessed. Along the way I've made many interesting discoveries and have come to the conclusion that animals react to the world around them as best they can with their limited understanding. They can definitely communicate with us and so I've had fun learning their 'language' and translating it into human-speak. I've also learnt a lot about dog-think and cat-think. Also included in the book are stories about the mistakes I made as well as the lessons I learned. In addition I mention attitudes that have changed over the decades.

If Animals Could Speak, the first in a series of books for animal lovers, covers stories about my menagerie during a nine year period starting in January 1974. During this time my animal companions included five dogs, five cats, three horses and assorted fowls. One dog was rescued from rising floodwaters. A young cat and an even younger pup were saved from starvation. One dog was adopted from an animal shelter and a 'disposable' kitten was given a loving home. The stories are based on fact but of course the 'conversations' are my interpretation of what I've witnessed. Many tales are humorous since animals of all species and ages can be truly amusing. However life doesn't always go according to plan and as a result some of the reminiscences are quite sad. Most however, just tell the story of my animal friends being themselves and displaying their own sort of intelligence and wisdom, patience and compassion, curiosity and sense of adventure. If Animals Could Speak seeks to answer many questions. Have you ever wondered what animals think about? What are dogs saying when they bark at each other? And what do birds twitter about as they cheep and chirp to one another? Over the years I've chosen to stop, to watch and to think about the actions and reactions I've witnessed. Along the way I've made many interesting discoveries and have come to the conclusion that animals react to the world around them as best they can with their limited understanding. They can definitely communicate with us and so I've had fun learning their 'language' and translating it into human-speak. I've also learnt a lot about dog-think and cat-think. Also included in the book are stories about the mistakes I made as well as the lessons I learned. In addition I mention attitudes that have changed over the decades. It is my sincere hope that those who read this book will enjoy my companions' adventures in their own right. And if perchance readers gain a little more insight into how their own animal friends relate, either with the humans in their life or with each other, then I have fully achieved my goal.

Chris Gray has always loved animals and the first to enter her life was the family dog - a Smithfield Kelpie named Bobby. The friendship that developed left her with a yearning to be surrounded by animals who would become friends, just as Bobby had been. Over the years Chris has found life often gives just what you need when you most need it. The first animal to enter her adult life was a dog that she literally dragged out of rising floodwaters. And that was just the beginning of thirty five years (to date) of rescuing and adopting a long line of strays and waifs. These have included nine dogs, nine cats and seven horses. Of course not all her animal companions came from such dire backgrounds. Chris has always been creatively inclined and that first showed itself when her high school English teachers encouraged her to consider writing as a possible career. That decision was obviously delayed for quite a few years. During the intervening years she pursued a variety of careers including self-taught civil and structural engineering drafting/tracing, courier driver, receptionist, accounts clerk and personnel officer. When Chris married her second husband Keith, also an animal lover, she took a few years off work and expanded her interest in reading, cooking, gardening and sharing time with family and friends. These interests she still pursues today. Eventually she felt the need to satisfy her creative leanings so she set about establishing her own fashion label. When Keith was diagnosed with a terminal illness she decided to walk away from her business and spend her time looking after her soul-mate. After Keith's death she re-entered the workforce and resumed office work. Around this time she met her third husband Roger who also has a deep love of animals, although by that time there was only one dog and two cats sharing Chris' home in suburbia. Eventually Systemic Lupus Erythamatosis made it impossible for her to continue working. After surviving a near fatal illness due to complications, Chris decided the best therapy through the long slow recovery period was to get back to something creative. So a range of unique hand-crafted jewellery was created along with her own website. It was also during this time she gained a Certificate in Interior Design and hence is a qualifed interior decorator. But the yearning to write proved too much, so the jewellery business has been put on hold for a while. She'll get back to it at some time in the not too distant future. The concept for this book originated with her desire to honour the memory of the numerous animal friends whose company she's enjoyed over the years. Never having experienced the joys and trials of motherhood, her animal companions became her 'children'. Over the years she's chosen to stop, to watch and to think about the actions and reactions she's witnessed and has concluded animals are very intelligent. In her own words: "I've had fun learning their 'language' and translating it into human-speak. Hence the book. Another goal is to donate a proportion of the net profits of her writing to animal welfare organisations. Chris has spent the past fifty years in glorious south-east Queensland and has alternated between suburban and small acreage living and is definitely more comfortable on the latter.