Zen Heart: What I've Learned From Animals and Life

A cheeky baboon, a cockatoo sending a heading dog out to round up sheep, a family of pukekos crossing the road, a dog saying ‘bugger’, an octopus taking a photo.

Think of an ad you love, or a New Zealand-made movie, and if it has an animal in it chances are Mark Vette was behind it. He’s trained almost every species you can think of.

But the famous animal behaviourist and trainer who captured global attention with 'Dogs Who Drive Cars' and 'Dogs Who Fly Planes' is not just an animal maestro. He’s a long-time Buddhist, who brings to his relationships with animals a true emotional bond, enormous respect, and the sure knowledge that we humans are just one piece of this great, interconnected puzzle we call Life on Earth.

This is his story, and the stories of the animals he has worked with over the decades. From a classic Kiwi childhood of outdoor activities and sport, with plenty of time on the farm, through a growing conviction that killing animals wasn't for him, to his embracing of Buddhism and his developing work with animals of all kinds, Mark's life and beliefs unfold in a thoroughly relatable way - with jaw-dropping and laugh-out-loud moments thrown in.