James Herriot

When I looked up the word "hero" in a dictionary the following words came up 'a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities'. This is exactly why I picked James Herriot to be my hero; he had distinguished courage and ability to treat animals, but especially a noble and brave heart. Animals, as you may know, are not easy to treat, they don't understand that they need treatments they may not like, and they never say thank you.

So why, you may ask yourself, why treat them?... because they say thanks with their lovable actions.

James Herriot is the pen name of James Alfred Wight, because in those days they didn't let veterinarians write books and publish them. (3 October 1916- 23 February 1995), a British veterinarian surgeon and writer. Wight is best known for his semi-autobiographical stories, as All Creatures Great and Small. Where he talks about his journey as a vet and his many adventures.

He was born October 3 1916, at Sunderland, County Durham, England. At the age of 23, he graduated as a veterinarian surgeon from Glasgow Veterinary College. In January, 1940, he took a job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland, but moved in July to work in a rural practice based in the town of Thirsk, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, where he was to live for the rest of his life.

Wight wanted for years to write a book, but with his time consumed by veterinary practice and family, his writing desires never took flight. Challenged by his wife, at the age of 50, he began writing. After several rejected stories on subjects like football, he turned to what he knew best. If Only They Could Talk was published in the United Kingdom in 1969, but sales were small and slow until Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin's Press in New York City, got a copy and arranged to have the first two books published as a single volume in the United States. The outcome for the book, titled All Creatures Great and Small, was an overnight success, creating another six sequels (published as four outside the Uk), movies, and a successful television adaptation.

If I decided to write about this man, it was because of his book, which I was given as a present from my grandmother because I love animals. I really admired his work and his way of seeing things, but I guess this I cannot put down in words, since it is such a unique book, words seem to flow out of its pages.