GIVEAWAY: Luke Gamble's The Vet: the big wide world - SIGNED!

Reading the biography in the back of Luke Gamble's new book is exhausting; his work at his New Forest surgery, Pilgrims Veterinary Practice, the emergency service for animals he runs in Dorset and his pet travel company would keep anyone busy - but to combine that with founding the fantastic Worldwide Veterinary Service charity, with which Dogs Trust has worked, is really incredible.

In this second book about his adventures in animal health and welfare around the globe, Luke continues his tale from The Vet: my wild and wonderful friends to reveal how he embarked on his fantastic career, and how the foundations for the WVS were laid. Luke writes with the typical exuberance and energy that made the Sky 1 documentaries about the work of the WVS so watchable, and his devotion to animals shines through on every page.

Luke has kindly provided us with two signed copies of his brilliant book for Dogs Trust supporters.

This competition has now closed, and the winners have been notified. Thank you for taking part!

If you're not lucky this time, we do urge you to grab a copy for yourself! The Vet: the big wide world is available from Amazon and high street book shops now.

Good luck!

WIN: Five copies of Emma Milne's Tales from the Tail End to give away!

Imagine having your very first job as a newly qualified vet chronicled on a popular BBC television series... that's just what happened to Emma Milne! A widely respected figure in the animal welfare world and a Patron of Dogs Trust, Emma has now revealed the full story behind eleven seasons of Vets in Practice. 


Tales from the Tail End: Adventures of a Vet in Practice is full of amazing stories, from handling unusual conditions to the diplomacy required in dealing with owners.

Dogs Trust supporters now have a chance to win one of five copies of this weird and wonderful memoir! And if you're not lucky this time, remember that Emma's brilliant book is also available from all good book shops, and Amazon.


How to Enter

Please email your answer to the following question, along with your name and address to feedback@dogstrust.org.uk*

Which BBC television series featured Emma Milne as a newly qualified vet?

Closing date and time: Monday 19th March 2012, 5pm.


*UK and Ireland only. Winners will be chosen at random and contacted by email after the closing date. Information will not be saved to our database. Dogs Trust reserves the right to re-draw names if the entry is incomplete, so please remember your name and address.

Friday Fun Caption Competition: Win SIGNED copies of Marc the Vet's book!

Do you like books about vets? Do you like competitions? Do you like silly pictures of cats? Today is your lucky day...

Below is Izzi, who belongs to one of our lovely fundraising officers, Michelle. We're not sure what she thinks of one of our Dogs Trust mailings, but perhaps you can tell us.

The best part is, if we like your answer you could win a signed copy of Marc Abraham's book, Vet on Call: My First Year as an Out-of-Hours Vet. It's an honest, funny and heartwarming true story of the beginning of the now well-known TV vet's journey caring for animals and we have seven copies to give away to our most creative supporters!

How to enter:

The competition is now closed, but feel free to add your captions for fun if you'd like to!

Although it was a very close call with some excellent entries, and we've picked seven winners, the digital team's favourite so far has been:

"Iz bilingual, I speaks cat and dog but trying to read this human stuff makes me want to hock up a hairball."

Well done Jeri in Aberdeen for that one!

Marc, aka TV's 'Marc the Vet', is a much appreciated friend who has often come along to our Dogs Trust Honours events and we're really happy he chose to let some of our supporters gets their hands on his great book this way.

If you're not lucky, you can always pick up a copy from Amazon.

Friday Fun: WIN copies of In Defence of Dogs by John Bradshaw

Have you ever wanted to know what makes your dog tick?

John Bradshaw, a leading biologist and dog expert, thinks he might have found the answer, and he's written a book, In Defence of Dogs, all about it.

Analysing the evolutionary history of dogs and the way in which canine biology and psychology determine behaviour, he think it's time we moved beyond the idea of dogs as wolves in domestic clothing. He explains how biological science can now tell us a great deal about whether our understanding of dogs is accurate or not.

Want to know more? Well, we have five copies of In Defence of Dogs, to give away!

Watch the video below to find out more of what John Bradshaw has to say. In just three minutes he touches on which human emotions dogs feel too, and why dogs suffer from separation anxiety:

To enter: The competition is now closed and winners will be informed by email. Thanks to the giveaway's popularity, the publishers kindly gave us 10 copies, so each entrant had twice the chance of winning!

Closing date: Monday 8th August, 10 am.

And to whet your appetite in case you're a lucky winner, you can read an extract from the first chapter on Penguin's website. And if you're not, In Defence of Dogs is available from Amazon in both hardcover and Kindle editions now.

*Winners will be chosen at random after the closing and informed by email. Comments on this blog will not be counted as entries and may be unpublished to protect the commenter if they contain personal contact information.