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