Battersea Dogs & Cats Home was founded in 1860 by a courageous lady called Mary Tealby in Holloway and now has three sites. The Home has cared for over three million lost or abandoned dogs and cats and each year takes in over 12,000 of them, many lost which are reunited with their owners within just a few days. Its staff are volunteers. It is wonderful to read the many stories of the Home's wonderful ex-residents and to see how they have changed and touched the lives of their new owners. No longer timid, nervous or withdrawn, Phoebe is possibly the most affectionate, friendly cat you will ever meet and will gladly let you fuss her all day. She places her head under the lips of anyone willing to give her a kiss and will leave it there indefinitely. She is incredibly pretty and sleek with a beautiful coat and watches her owner Hilary apply her make up every morning. Another tortoiseshell tabby, Millie joined the Hinckley family a year after Phoebe. She is a complete tomboy and a house-wrecker with bags of character and charm and is always forgiven. Freddie, Lola, Fish, Sophie, Thames found by the river, Colin found living at the bottom of a garden in Kensington, and William who is nicknamed Shakespeare because he is so intelligent and dignified. A charming collection of true stories, adventures, fame, misfortune, courage, compassion, love and friendship. 96pp, beautiful colour artworks.

Big heavyweight glamorous reference book with over 700 wonderful colour images, this is the purrfect reference book for cat lovers. Part one opens with a brief history of the cat from wild predator to domestic friend. There is advice on buying and choosing a cat, inoculations for kittens, providing a safe environment indoors and out and choosing all the necessary equipment, all about feeding and nutrition, grooming and training, healthcare, boarding and quarantine, breeding and showing, and all is supported with step-by-step demonstrations. The second and major part is a photographic encyclopaedia of all the main breeds from ever-popular Persians and Shorthairs, Burmese and Siamese to rarer breeds such as the Maine Coon cat, Ocicat and Ragdoll. There is information on important characteristics such as temperament, grooming needs and average size. Non-pedigree cats are also featured. Here are the dangers of climbing into a still-warm washing machine, cosy images of mother and kittens in front of an open fire, 12 week old kittens demanding three meals a day, a nursing queen providing the perfect diet, the art of communication with ears pricked and alert, understanding your cat's anatomy and coping with death. For each breed there are point colours and breed fact boxes in a beautiful big clear layout on these glossy white pages. 256 large pages, can?t recommend this highly enough.

'I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots; her coat is of the tabby kind, with tiger stripes and leopard spots.' All day she sits upon the stair or on the steps or on the mat: she sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat! During the day Jennyanydots might look like an ordinary cat, but at night she runs a special school for mice... and cockroaches! Perfect for reading aloud to little tots, singing or performing, complete and unabridged large format square Faber & Faber softback picture book with appealing new illustrations by Arthur Robins and a companion to Macavity's Not There! code 91726.

Far from home and faced with the horrors of combat, hundreds of men and boys fighting in World War Two found comfort and companionship with the animals they adopted at training centres and in war zones around the world. The book is sub-titled 'Heart Warming Photos of GIs and Their Dogs In World War Two', and author and historian L. Douglas Keeney sifted through many of the more than 2.5 million photographs at the National Archive to discover some of the greatest mascot and pet photography taken between 1941 and 1945, compiled from the collections of all branches of the US Military. A B-17 crew in England rigged an oxygen mask for their dog. A stray dog ran through a hail of bullets up the gangplank of a coastguard landing ship in the Pacific. A GI was caught stuffing a dog into his duffel bag. They were photographed and these photographs sent home and published in newspapers and magazines and became part of the theme the home front needed - that the boys were doing alright. Sinbad is a fighting dog from a fighting ship who slept through it all in his bunk when the cutter ran into a U-boat pack, depth charged six submarines, and sank the last by ramming it. Meet Soogie the mascot of a coastguard manned LCI operating in French waters, three years since he came aboard in Galveston, Texas. There are puppies, one abandoned on a sinking ship and rescued by Commander Dixon and Doc Sunshine on cheering-up duty shaking paws bunk to bunk as soldiers recover. The images are by turns funny, moving and inspiring showing the men at work and rest, soldiers, sailors and pilots, and although dogs were the most popular mascots, a few chickens, crows, rats, goats, monkeys and parakeets endeared themselves to US soldiers. Chapters include Dog Tags, Dogs and Dog Faces, Dog Fights, Salty Dogs, Semper Fido and Mascots of the US Marine Corps and Humour in the Face of War. Max the Boxer was a fully-fledged paratrooper in the Army who earned his wings after five jumps. Skippy is a Pitbull/pointer who played a big part in his bomber crew so much so that some of its members painted him on their B-17 Flying Fortresses and fitted him with a custom oxygen mask. Hobo was the Navy dog who followed his pals onto the landing craft when they took a beach. Big archive photos on every page, 175 page large softback.

First published in 1950 we have a lovely 2019 Scholastic facsimile reprint illustrated by Susanne Suba. 'It was the day before Aunt Cathy's wedding. Everything glistened and gleamed with excitement. Then the blow fell. Father said: 'We must get some neighbour to take Osbert tomorrow.' Osbert had been in the family since he was a month old. When first he had come to the house it had been thought that maybe he would develop into some kind of terrier. As he grew, it was discovered he was mostly black poodle whose hair had forgotten to curl. He was as much a part of the family as the children.' A vintage classic, the book is a charming time capsule for readers of any age. If the dog was too unsightly for the family wedding, the outraged children must work a miracle. Slim elegant hardback. Colour illus.

Slim, exquisite, Pinkie was a black cat. His tastes were elegant. He took great pride in his looks and was often to be seen peeping in mirrors... he was a pernickety eater... when offered ice cream he would accept a portion only if it were pink... Pinkie the cat works at the ballet theatre. He loves watching the dancers, but he's scared of the mice he's meant to catch! What's a ballet-loving cat to do? With all Susanne Suba's original illustrations from the 1951 original, here in splendid facsimile reprint, a charming time capsule of a book. Colour illus.

5" x 7¼" wipe clean hilarious slogan cards, use a wipe clean pen to reuse and present to anyone who has been naughty. Designed for our feline friends who are caring, loveable creatures until they break all the rules, just place the card next to your cat after their mishap and before you have tided up and take a photo! TODAY I ATE..., OOPS! IT WASN'T ME!, WANTED! REWARD: I AM A SMELLY CAT, I DID IT...AGAIN, FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER, SNORE!, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, CAUGHT IN THE ACT!, TODAY I FOUND..., GRUMPY CAT DO NOT DISTURB!, I REFUSE TO USE THE LITTER TRAY, I WENT MISSING FOR DAYS, I SCARED, MY NEW HIDING PLACE and a Cat Identity Card for the name, date of birth, colour, distinguishing features, temperament, likes and dislikes of your kitty. A quality item of stationery, kitty fun designs and sturdy cards, a super way to make a memory. Apologies if stickered.

Sub-titled 'Famous Writers and Their Pets', behind every great writer there is a beloved pet, providing inspiration in life and death, and companionship during what can often be a lonely working existence. They may also offer personal protection against angry rivals or critics, although a few may eat first drafts or bite visitors. Taking an alphabetical walk through a fascinating range of anecdotes, from Beatrix's Rabbit to Zola's Pomeranian, along with Edward Lear's half-tailed tabby Foss who developed a taste for chewing the author's letters, we also read about Elizabeth Barret Browning's spaniel Flush, who was the victim of several dognappings and became the unlikely subject of a biography by Virginia Woolf. We meet Charles Dickens's pet raven Grip, who inspired Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem 'The Raven', and Dante Gabriel Rossetti's wombat Top, who was allowed to snooze at the dinner table. Lord Byron erected a large marble monument in memory of his Newfoundland, Boatswain, and Agatha Christie dedicated her novel Dumb Witness to her favourite dog, Peter - the ultimate tribute. A smart British Library publication, 160pp, paperback, illus.

Military dogs work tirelessly and relentlessly against the world's deadliest insurgents. Many have been rescue animals, neglected or mistreated by their owners before being trained and loved and given a new lease of life on the front line. In the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and in the war against terror on home soil, they work day and night to keep our soldiers and civilians safe. Until recently their courage and sacrifice has not been fully appreciated or understood and the book is dedicated to all serving and former dog handlers in the British and coalition forces who have been killed or wounded in action or training. We meet Benji, an ace arms and explosive search dog wearing a soaked rag around his neck to help keep him cool and Benji with the Black Watch enjoying parcels packed with goodies from well-wishers. A soldier carries his four-legged buddy in the desert heat. Regarded as 'unclean' animals by some people in Afghanistan, dogs are often used in organised dog fights. Dogs can get into every nook and cranny to search for bombs and arms caches in crumbling buildings, and when injured they are given life-saving intravenous drips and the best veterinary care. 202pp, colour photos. Paperback.

A lavish Thames & Hudson publication with 338 colour illustrations, many double page, of some of the finest examples of taxidermy, many staged and in curious settings and others curiosities such a cojoined twin lambs under glass domes - four ears, one mouth and eight legs. Art installations include a taxidermy barn owl with bluebottles and thistle seeds by Claire Morgan 2011. This real cabinet of curiosities is beautiful, strange and intriguing and sometimes repellent, just like the history of taxidermy itself. 20 years' experience has been brought to the creation of this beautiful book that catalogues and illustrates this resurgent artform. Now stuffed animals appear everywhere from chic apartments to luxury boutiques and museums have been dusting down their collections to put them back on display while contemporary artists have rejuvenated the practice. From its beginnings as a tool of natural history research, through crazes and anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and fake taxidermy to its rediscovery by the art, fashion and design worlds of the 21st century, this heavyweight glossy softback will not fail to astonish and amuse. There are of course the Boxing Squirrels by Edward Hart and the Cat's Whiskers with period dress and parasol, mice in a small French tableau with butler in attendance, four squirrels depicting stages of a boxing match from handshake to knockout, birds in domes, giraffes and stags in realistic attitudes, moose heads, a scarlet ibis, antlers and horns, elephant tusk lined staircase, taxidermy snakes which were confiscated on their way for sale in the USA and trophy mounts, thankfully now out of fashion. See diorama interior design as used in pubs and restaurants, luxury jewellery photoshoots, a Ted Baker store in London featuring taxidermy white rabbits in quirky attitudes and positions, and a fake preserved dragon pickled in 2003 - these images amaze the beholder. 256 large page softback, colour.
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