Leslie Irvine is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Director of CU’s Animals and Society Certificate Program. She received her Ph.D. from Stony Brook University. Her research focuses on the roles of animals in society. She is the author of several books, including My Dog Always Eats First, which examines homeless people’s relationships with their companion animals. After Hurricane Katrina, Leslie worked in the facility that sheltered animals rescued from New Orleans. The experience formed the basis for her book, Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters. In If You Tame Me: Understanding our Connection with Animals, Leslie provides evidence for a sense of self among animals. Leslie has also studied animal sheltering, animal abuse, animals in popular culture, and the feminization of veterinary medicine.