David Alderton grew up in a home surrounded by pets and originally trained to be a vet. He is behind the website www.petinfoclub.com while his blog can be found at www.davidalderton.com His books have currently sold some 6.5 million copies worldwide and are available in 30 languages. He has won various awards for his work, including the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers' Association of America, and he is well-known as a columnist on various newspapers and magazines, as well as being the editor of "Practical Reptile Keeping" magazine.