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Cybill Shepherd's mother - her name is Patty - is a good friend of mine.

Walking around the streets with our dog is what we did all the time in Washington. Making friends with new people is something we did a lot in Washington. Traveling overseas is something that my wife Robyn and I really enjoyed together. This is really who we are.

I've always been an animal lover. I've grown up with dogs my whole life. I think that is what helped me get the role on 'Lassie', I was comfortable around the dog, where many of the kids were afraid or intimidated by Lassie.

I've worked with the great and the not-so-great. But mostly I've worked with men and women who loved their profession, and who like me, had kids to raise and houses to pay for.

My childhood was spent with dogs, and I work with dogs surrounding me. This relationship is hardly unique - man-and-dog stories date back to ancient history, up to 10,000 years ago - but it feels that way to me. I used to have a love-hate relationship with dog stories because some got the dynamic right but most were dead wrong.

I was really glad to meet Jane Clark because it did give me an insight. I couldn't imagine what kind of woman she was. I was hugely impressed by her energy, straightforward nature and enthusiasm for life.

First and foremost I am a commercial writer, and I hope to entertain people. But having said that, I'm in love with the relationship between humans and dogs, and the more I learned about what our military working dogs are doing, I wanted to at least share with people what an important role these animals have in all our lives.