James Middleton says his dog knew his wife was pregnant before dying

In his latest book - titled Meet Ella - James explained how his dog's death in 2023 impacted him and his close family.

The 37-year-old recounts how Ella inadvertently introduced him to his now wife, Alizee Thevenet after the dog wandered over to her in a bar in Chelsea, London.

He also suggests that Ella sensed that Alizee was pregnant with their son, Inigo - who was born in October 2023.

"Dogs have this fantastic sort of intuition," James told People.

"They know things before we do. I'm sort of absolutely certain that she knew that my wife was pregnant. And that in times of timing, now is the time to slip off, so to speak."

The entrepreneur, who runs ethical dog food company James & Ella, recalled other ways his late pet aided him during his darkest days.

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James said when he saw Ella on one evening in 2017, it helped him turn away from his suicidal thoughts.

"An ambition [of mine] is to get dogs to be on a prescription from doctors, because I think there is an undeniable amount of things that dogs can do for us," he said.

The author, whose book is released in the US on September 24, added that dogs can get "us up in the morning and outside.

"It's incredible what it can do for us if you don't mentally want to do it, but you're doing it for something else".

James said his family now talk more openly about their mental health.

"We have a lot to learn from dogs, which is that they live every day as today. They're not thinking about yesterday," he shared.

"They’re not annoyed about yesterday or worrying about the future. They're living in the moment.

"If we all focus on that a little bit more then I think we will be happier."