Vicki Hutton is passionate about animals and their welfare, having lived with, worked with, observed and written about animals for many years. After starting her career in the health and community sectors as a mental health therapist, crisis counsellor and group facilitator, Vicki moved into education and research while completing her doctorate in Applied Psychology. Vicki has published widely in the human-animal relationship field, as well as the areas of mental health, stigma and discrimination and social cohesion. She currently lives with an assortment of animals who all contribute in their unique ways to her writing.