I have worked in the NHS for over 15 years and am currently the manager of a children’s surgery network which means I spend my time trying to help clinical colleagues make improvements to children’s surgery across a large region from Gloucestershire to Cornwall.

In my spare time I love playing games with my extended family and having fun with 15 nieces and nephews. Tilda, the character in the book, is inspired by one of my wonderful nieces who really really loves Buddy!

I wanted to support the children in my extended family to be comfortable around Buddy and importantly wanted to ensure he was equally comfortable around them. I have no experience in canine behaviour so took advice from the rescue centre and joined a Facebook Group called the Dog Training and Advice Support Group <link here>. I read their articles, benefited from their advice and did my own research and wider reading for reflection. The more I read the more I was aware of the mismatch between many social media images of children interacting with dogs and the reality of what we should be encouraging with regards safe and positive child/dog interaction. A number of conversations with close family members made me even more aware of the mismatch and challenges of day to day dog ownership; for example people not realising that letting your child go up to and hug a stranger’s dog was inappropriate, rude and potentially dangerous.

In my role in the NHS I was also aware of a number of sad incidents with children being bitten by family pets and with incidents of dog bites rising, particularly in younger children, I wondered if I might be able to write a fun and friendly story that would hopefully remind children and adults of the best ways to play and spend time with our four-legged friends.