Peaceful Kingdom: Random Acts of Kindness by Animals

Stephanie Laland is a former director of the California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' speakers bureau and a well-known speaker on animal issues. She believes that all life is sacred, and in order to make others more aware of this, she also presents workshops for people who wish to increase their connection to animals. When Laland wrote an article for a local newspaper about a dog that had rescued another dog, who was caught in a trap, by bringing it food and eventually leading their mutual owner to the site, she became intrigued by the story, and what it demonstrated about animals' capacity for caring. She began looking for other examples of animal "heroes" and ended up, after four years of research, with enough stories to write a book, Peaceable Kingdom: Random Acts of Kindness by Animals. Laland is also the author of Animal Angels: Amazing Acts of Love and Compassion, and 51 Ways to Entertain Your Housecat While You're Out. She lives outside Santa Cruz, Calif., with her husband and two cats.