Articles from An American Abroad - From 'Many Tears' to East Anglia – With Love

As a working dog (a bordercollie breed), Peggy might have enjoyed at least a short outdoor life tending sheep, but even this was not to be. In any case the bucolic life of a working collie is often a short one. After a few years in the great (and frequently bitter cold) outdoors the herding collie is replaced by a more agile youngster – and then shot! Peggy was denied even this short period of grace. Instead she was consigned to a puppy farm producing young working dogs and when her productivity there was over she faced the same abrupt end as the herding dog.

Through luck, the good work of a local kennel (appropriately called "Many Tears" in Wales), and the persistent efforts of Sue, an Ipswich volunteer with North Shore Animal League, International of Colchester, Peggy's life was about to undergo a grand transformation for the better. Not that she presented a winning appearance. She was a mess. Her coat was disheviled; her eyes dull. She was a thoroughly frightened being. Her immediate reaction to any approaching person was to hide – hardly a positive trait in a kennel where tail wagging competitors are actively striving for notice and friendly attention. Peggy was hoping not to be noticed.

But Sue, as a knowledgeable and insightful volunteer had a secret weapon. She had in her portfolio North Shore's "Pets on Prescription" program the goal and provisions of which are to match just the right pet with just the right adoptee. In this case she knew both that Beryl Quinney, a warm, caring lady in Aldeburgh, wanted to welcome a collie into her home, and she was confident that Beryl's sympathetic care would overcome the trauma of Peggy's life to date and win her affection and confidence.

That was three months ago and the transformation that has taken place could not be more extraordinary. Peggy's coat is healthy; her eyes are bright and she is fast overcoming her fears as the impact of a steadfastly stable, loving home becomes the regular experience of her normal every day life. To celebrate her newfound health and well being, Beryl has given her a name more suited to the lively companion in her home. She is now Trixie.

Beryl, on her part, has the double satisfaction of having provided a friendly home to a dog with the bleakest of outlooks, and she has found a grateful and beautiful companion who contributes measurably to a happy household.

This mutual benefit is what Pets on Prescription was designed to accomplish.

Henry Suhrke, Trustee of NSALI and our American Abroad