Author: Clare Cogbill

I am an author and a lecturer in veterinary nursing and companion animal welfare. I've now written six books and a vegan cookery book: A Dog Like Ralph, Lilac Haze', 'A Soldier Like Jack', and 'The Diary of a Human and a Dog (or three!)' The vegan cookbook is imaginatively entitled 'Vegan Cookbook'! I love animals and despise any form of animal cruelty. I've been vegan since 2002 — my only regret about this is that I didn't become vegan sooner. I dream of a world in which there is no human or animal suffering, one in which governments across the world take seriously (and act upon) the threats posed to our fragile environment and its people and animals. I live with three dogs and love spending time with them and my husband and son. Like most writers, I love to read, and particularly like to read books about animals. On here you’ll find some reviews of books that I’ve read and loved in which animals are the main focus. My first non-animal novel Picture Me Now (although some animals do creep into its pages), presented a new challenge for me in that I had to delve into the depths of my imagination much more that I had to with previous books. I loved getting lost in another world! Please get in touch and let me know what you think about my books.

10th Anniversary hardback edition of A Dog Like Ralph

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A special 10th Anniversary hardback of A Dog Like Ralph is now available! I wrote the original book in 2012, a year after Ralph came into our lives, and have now updated the story in hardback.
Old Ralphie is now around thirteen and a half and, as you can see from the cover photograph, just as handsome as ever!
While the new edition has a short update at the end and has been re-edited, it is essentially the same book as the paperback and Kindle edition, so please do not buy if you’ve already read it 🙂
But you perhaps have a dog-loving friend or relative who would LOVE to find this in a parcel on Christmas morning 💕🎅…

#bookfordoglovers

#dogbooks

#christmasgiftsfordoglovers

#rescuedogs

#adoptdontshop

Picture Me Now

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My new book Picture Me Now is quite different to anything I’ve written before, however some canine and feline characters manage to find their way into its pages!

It is a book set against an existential/metaphysical/environmental theme. Her is the blurb from the back of the book:

An awkward and socially clumsy artist stumbles upon a possible connection between a stranger and a painting. Both become an obsession, threatening the life he has with his wife and daughter.
Does he have a connection with the woman?
Will regression by a hypnotherapist provide the answers he is searching for?
And will that stop the dreams which are haunting his sleep?

Set against an environmental theme, this novel examines the concept of life after death and whether connections could be re-established across lifetimes.

Perhaps there are times when we catch a glimpse of someone, and we know for sure deep in our heart that our worlds have been connected before.

This book is for people who believe this to be possible.

It is also for those who question such things.

I hope it is enjoyed by readers – I certainly enjoyed writing it. Please get in touch and let me know what you think 🙂

Lucy-Lou

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Lucy-Lou … Several weeks ago our sweet little Lucy-Lou was put to sleep. She was a little trooper to the end, and despite her terrier feistiness, she was the most lovable little dog. She was Mum’s little companion for three years before Mum died, and I hope we did a good job in being her human companions for the rest of her life. We miss you little girl, your tiny paw prints are forever in our hearts. I’m missing my little shadow dancing around the house with me. Run free with your pal Peggy in the sky our dear, sweet Lou.

Peggy

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It’s been really difficult to put the words together to write this, but we had to have Peggy put to sleep two weeks before Christmas. She’d been on pain relief for her old racing injuries for some time, and combined with her general aging and increasingly arthritic joints, she eventually went completely off her back legs.

She really was the gentlest, funniest, and kindest dog we’ve ever had the privilege of sharing our lives with. Ralph is definitely missing his sidekick, and little Lucy seems out of sorts. There’s a big Peggy-shaped hole in all our hearts.

Photo0187Farewell our gorgeous girl Pegs – run free in the great sanctuary in the sky. You were the best friend we, and your comrades Ralph and Lucy-Lou, could ever have wished for.

Clare Cogbill’s Personal Summer Writing Challenge

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At the start of the six week summer holiday from my job as a lecturer, I set myself a word goal to encourage myself to move forward with two writing projects I’m working on. One is fiction (my first ever fictional piece). The other, which may come as no surprise, is about dogs.

On 1st January I set myself an annual goal of 75,000 words, this was based on my failed attempt last year to reach 100,000 words, in that I managed about 71,000 words and was a bit disappointed in myself, although I acknowledge that life has important distractions (like being with family, walking the dogs, watching films or TV box sets, and work!).

Anyway, up until the beginning of the holiday, just twelve days ago, this year I had written 18,655 WORDS (so not doing so well towards my annual goal!). My goal for the summer holiday is to increase this to 55,000 WORDS, because I know that once I return to work the amount of time available to write will be limited.

Since the holiday began I’ve written 8198 words, so my word count for the year has so far reached 26853 WORDS . . . only 28147 WORDS TO GO. This means I have to up the ante otherwise I’ll be about 6,000 words short if I continue at my current holiday daily word rate.

I’m a bit nervous about sharing this in case I jinx it – in case I feel pressured, but hey ho, it’s worth a bash and a bit of a challenge.

Please follow me on my summer writing campaign. I’ll give updates every couple of days to let you all know how I’m getting on. And hopefully by the time I return to work in the middle of August I’ll have another book to its first draft stage – perhaps two (now that really is too much pressure!) J Onwards and upwards!

Watch this space . . .

A great example of the human-animal bond by a great author

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This is a fantastic book about the human-animal bond. Mark Rowlands writes passionately about ‘his’ wolf and the difficulties he has with his ‘domestication’. I don’t think I’m giving any ‘spoilers’, but in the past having taken my own (much more domesticated) dogs into the classroom while I teach, I’m in awe of the fact that he managed his lectures with a wolf in the room. My dogs eventually became very good at lying on their beds or resting their heads on some lucky students’ laps. It is an enthralling read – I loved it from beginning to end. I would recommend it to anyone who loves animals. I think it is probably my most favourite book!

A perfect example of the human-animal bond. Loved it!

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I adore this book! I love the way the author constantly reminds the reader of the bond between the dog and ‘her’ humans. There are few books I would read again, but this is one I shall return to in the future. As well as a deep passion for animals, I have an interest in world conflicts, and so for me this ticked so many boxes. I also appreciate that the author clearly understands dogs, and although this book is set in WW2, his concept of dog behaviour is extremely modern. Judy’s story is told with great insight, and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs and appreciates the value of the human-animal bond. I would also recommend it to those who have an interest in human conflict; this book does not shy away from describing the horrors of war.

A soul-searching book

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The Diary of a Human and a Dog (or Three!)

Writing The Diary of a Human and a Dog (or three!) has helped me in dealing with my own grief after losing my mum. While writing it has helped me to align the thought processes that have taken place over the last three years, mixed up in the mayhem I felt was going on around me, there has been Mum’s sweet (but mostly tyrannical) little dog, Lucy.
Grief is a strange thing; it takes its own path and wraps you up in some strange cocoon of mixed emotions, and writing these feelings down has proved to be quite cathartic.
I’m in a much better place now, and Lucy has become a great companion to us and our other two dogs, Ralph and Peggy. I hope that on some level what I have shared in the book will help others who have found themselves in a similar situation.
This is not a deliberate sequel to A Dog Like Ralph, but it moves the story of the three dogs onward so we now see them well into their middle age. As in A Dog Like Ralph, they have their own opinions about each turn of events – and they never quite expected to ever be living in the same house!

 

 

Farm Sanctuary – please read if you truly love animals

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This is a beautiful book. My son bought it for my birthday, knowing I would enjoy its stories of rescue and yet be enraged by the attitudes of agribusinesses. Gene Baur draws you in to the story of the origins of Farm Sanctuary and details the many ways in which animals have crossed his path in the decades since its humble beginnings. He and the team work seemingly tirelessly to change the attitudes of governments towards animals, promote a plant-based lifestyle, and care for the animals that live in the sanctuaries they have created. The animals they care for are the lucky few amid billions of animals that serve an appetite for animal products that is both unnecessary and unhealthy. I am vegan and have been so since 2002, before that I was vegetarian since 1977. Reading a book such as Farm Sanctuary reinforces my shame that I did not become vegan sooner! I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves animals – it will, as the tagline says, ‘change hearts and minds’!

Here’s the link to Gene Baur’s book about the NY sanctuary