Moo-ving tales of four-legged friends

Animals 

SECRET LIFE OF COWS 

by Rosamund Young (Faber £9.99)  

Cotswold dairy farmer Rosamund Young says she thinks of herself less as an author and more as a ghost-writer for cows, and her account of life on her organic farm does give a new voice to these fascinating beasts.

Young has spent years observing the behaviour of her cattle: she knows each animal by name and can tell each cow from its milk. She claims that ‘cows are as varied as people’ and that they babysit, form devoted and inseparable friendships, grieve, get angry with each other and even self-medicate (they munch on willow because it shares similar properties to aspirin).

Originally published by a small press in 2003, this book was rediscovered when a sales rep spotted a reference to it in Alan Bennett’s Diaries (Bennett writes a lovely foreword in this republished version).

Thank goodness, otherwise we might have been deprived of this charming bestseller.

 

A FARMER AND HIS DOG by Adam Henson (BBC Books £20)

A FARMER AND HIS DOG 

by Adam Henson (BBC Books £20)  

You will probably recognise Adam Henson — and maybe even his dog — from the BBC’s much-loved show Countryfile. This doggy memoir pays tribute to all of the four-legged companions Henson has met in his life, while exploring the deep-rooted connection between owner and pooch and explaining why certain dogs are suited to certain activities.

Have you ever wondered what makes a collie perfect for herding sheep? Or why Airedales were the most suitable dog to carry information across the trenches in World War I?

This cheerful jaunt through the life of a farmer and his pets will make the reader long for a farm of their own — and there’s no way to finish it without a blub or two.

 

THE ANIMALS AMONGST US by John Bradshaw (Allen Lane £20 )

THE ANIMALS AMONG US 

by John Bradshaw (Allen Lane £20)  

Have you ever stared into the dopey eyes of your dog and wondered just why you love it so much? Well, this book holds the answer.

Anthrozoologist John Bradshaw explains the relationship by turning his gaze not, as in his previous books, on the pets, but rather on the owners. He cheerily debunks many human delusions about pets: that they make us fitter, healthier and more attractive — the evidence for those claims, he says, is anecdotal and can usually be attributed to a placebo effect.

He also dismisses the ‘cuckoo theory’ that pets have duped us into looking after them. Simply put, we have evolved to keep pets for the oldest reason of all: the need for an animal-human bond.