I was born on February 17, 1944 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where I was raised and educated, graduating in 1970 with a DVM degree (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in nearby Guelph, Ontario.
After graduating I went to London, England on a travel fellowship, to work as a veterinarian at the Zoological Society of London's Regent's Park Zoo. A year later I joined a veterinary practice in Knightsbridge where I remained for two years. In 1973 I set up my own practice, the Portman Veterinary Clinic, and married my wife, the actress Julia Foster.
We have three children. Emily is a graphic designer. Ben (BenFogle.com) is a writer, journalist and broadcaster, and Tamara is an accessories and fashion designer (TamaraLovesLeather.com). In the 1990s Julia gravitated into the antiques trade and is today Britain's leading authority on Swedish painted furniture from 1700s and 1800s (JuliaFosterAntiques.com). We share our home with Macy, a golden retriever. Ben's black Labrador, Inca and Tamara's Labrador, Lola (Inca's daughter) also consider our place to be theirs and visit almost daily.
Professionally, I'm a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the British Veterinary Association and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association. I hold honorary memberships of veterinary associations in Japan, Norway, and Catalunya, Spain.
I've written original scientific articles published in refereed journals in UK, USA and Canada and commissioned review papers published in scientific journals in Australia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Spain and Sweden. For statistic gatherers I've been fortunate enough to be an invited speaker at symposia and veterinary faculties in 24 countries.
Outside of my profession I'm the co-founder and vice-chairman of the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. I'm also a founding member of The Society for Companion Animal Studies in the UK and the Delta Society in the USA. I've been a professional consultant to several international pet food and pet insurance companies and in 1999 was the co-founder and content provider for a pet care website selected by Forbes Magazine as the "World's Best Pet Care Website". In 2000 I was Veterinary Consultant to Microsoft Encarta and in 2002, Veterinary Advisor to the Encyclopedia Britannia.