St. Francis of Assisi has been, for decades, depicted in illustrations, paintings, and even garden birdbaths as a saint with a love for animals. But he is not the only Christian saint associated with animals. Early Christian martyrs, the Desert Fathers of Egypt, monks and hermits from Ireland to Italy, Belgian nuns, and saintly French noblemen all have fascinating accounts of animals as part of their legends. The tendency is to either naively accept...