The book was positively reviewed in the London Medical Gazette, The Athenaeum and The Veterinary Record.
[9] Fletcher commented that we should show respect for "the interest and feelings of every sentient being that holds life.
"[5] Upon walking the streets of London, Fletcher would stop and look at poor jaded cab-horses and give a shilling to the cabman who was most attentive to his horses as a way of encouragement.
[2] There is a moral as well as a physical character to all animal life, however humble it may be, enveloped indeed in obscurity, and with a mysterious solemnity, which must ever belong to the secrets of the Eternal.
Let us then approach with caution the unknown character of the brute, as being an emanation from Himself; and treat with tenderness and respect the helpless creatures derived from such a source.