9 Quotes & Sayings By James Herriot

Sir James Alfred Wight was a Scottish veterinarian and writer. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 5, 1908. After working briefly as a veterinarian in the Scottish Highlands, he qualified as a vet in England. In 1939 he moved to Yorkshire, where he opened a practice and began writing his first book, All Creatures Great and Small Read more

That book was published in 1940 and became an immediate best seller. In 1945, the first of his six books about his life as a veterinarian were published. The second book in the series, It's A Dog's Life, came out in 1946 and went on to become the bestselling book of all time for any British author.

His books have been translated into over 40 languages.

If having a soul means being able to feel love...
1
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. James Herriot
2
And the peace which I always found in the silence and emptiness of the moors filled me utterly James Herriot
3
My mind went back to that picture in the obstetrics book. A cow standing in the middle of a gleaming floor while a sleek veterinary surgeon in a spotless parturition overall inserted his arm to a polite distance. He was relaxed and smiling, the farmer and his helpers were smiling, even the cow was smiling. There was no dirt or blood or sweat anywhere. That man in the picture had just finished an excellent lunch and had moved next door to do a bit of calving just for the sheer pleasure of it, as a kind of dessert. He hadn't crawled shivering from his bed at two o'clock in the morning and bumped over twelve miles of frozen snow, staring sleepily ahead till the lonely farm showed in the headlights. He hadn't climbed half a mile of white fell-side to the doorless barn where his patient lay. . James Herriot
4
I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs. James Herriot
5
Cats are connoisseurs of comfort. James Herriot
6
I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love. James Herriot
7
I wish people would realize that animals are totally dependent on us, helpless, like children, a trust that is put upon us. James Herriot
8
For years I used to bore my wife over lunch with stories about funny incidents. James Herriot