After Anne takes Doggie off the lamppost and into her home with Lily and and her mum, Pilot, he has such amazing adventures that he finds himself the star attraction at school, when he joins Lily for her Pets As Therapy Read2Dogs assignments. For his compassionate part in helping animals have lives that matter, he quickly becomes a media celebrity, and is even rewarded by royalty at Buckingham Palace.
Many characters and events in Doggie’s story are real, inspired by a real event with the author’s own dog Lily, who is a Pets as Therapy dog. Charming, original illustrations by the author seamlessly blend reality and fantasy. Doggie’s story, with Lily, Pilot and Anne, shows the value of love and friendship.
Laura was born in Canada and later lived in the USA with three dogs and three cats before moving to England to marry Jim, a British Airways captain.
After Jim died from cancer, Laura bought a Golden Retriever who she named Pilot. Now, seven years later she also has Pilot’s offspring, Lily, who was born with a life-threatening swallowing disability. Lily's amazing story is told in Laura's first book, “Lily: One in a Million, A Miracle of Survival.” Lily now also features in a children’s book, “The Adventures of Lily and the Little Lost Doggie,” which was both written and illustrated by Laura.
In 2019, Laura Hamilton was given a Citizen of Honour Award for her work with Lily and Pilot in Pets As Therapy's Read2Dogs programme in Fareham, Hampshire. Both Laura's books mention the work her 'girls' do in Read2Dogs.