8 James Herriot Quotes Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

James Herriot is the pen name of James “Alf” Wight, an English author whose humorous anecdotes of his life as a vet in Thirsk Yorkshire has made him a household name in the UK.

Born on 3rd October 1916 in County Durham James grew up in Glasgow where at 23 years of age he qualified as a veterinary surgeon at Glasgow Veterinary College and after a brief spell in Sunderland moved to Yorkshire where he would spend the rest of his life and become a much loved author.

A lifelong frustrated author, Herriot had always intended to write a novel but was always too busy with his veterinary practice and family life to actually put pen to paper; then when he was fifty his wife challenged him to finally fulfill his dream of becoming published but he was initially unsuccessful having attempted to write books on subjects such as football which were resoundingly rejected by all. Then in 1969 he turned the subject he knew best and If Only They Could Talk was published.

The first book in a series which followed Herriot’s life as a vet, his RAF training, and his home life and published in 1970 the book was initially a slow seller but after Thomas McCormack, of St. Martin’s Press in New York City, received a copy and decided to publish it and its sequel as a single copy sales exploded and All Creatures Great and Small was a huge success. With numerous sequels, movies and a successful television adaptation the life of a vet has never been so perfectly documented and here we share with you a few snippets from the books with 8 James Herriot Quotes Straight from the Horse’s Mouth.

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“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”

“No animal is a better judge of comfort than a cat.”

“I hope to make people realise 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.”

“I could do terrible things to people who dump unwanted animals by the roadside.“

“Animals are unpredictable things, and so our life is unpredictable. It’s a long tale of little triumphs and disasters and you’ve got to really like it to stick it.”

“A farmer once told me one of the greatest luxuries of his life was to wake up early only to go back to sleep again.”

“I seem to have spent a good part of my life – probably too much – in just standing and staring.“

“Dogs like to obey. It gives them security.”

James died on 23 February 1995, aged 78, at his home in Thirlby four years after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and in a fitting tribute in October 2014, a statue of Wight was unveiled by actor Christopher Timothy (who played the part of Herriot in the television series) at Thirsk Racecourse.