One woman and
her dog... the surprising tail of a would-be shepherdess and the collie
afraid of sheep
Who
says you can't teach a dog new tricks... BBC Local Radios
Surprise Yourself campaign proves you can
Therese
Southgate has always wanted to be a shepherdess... despite suffering
from Spina Bifida and despite the fact that her collie dog was afraid
of sheep.
So
when BBC Radio Cumbria ran an appeal to find a listener who would
like to try something they had always wanted to do to fulfill their
potential, Therese phoned in.
This
marked the start of a challenge that would dominate her life and
would depend not just on her ability to master something new...
but the determination of her dog Brett.
Brett
turned out to be so frightened of sheep that he was referred to
an animal behaviourist.
This
involved weeks of running about in the mud and rain, practising
shepherding exercises. It even involved role play with 51-year-old
Therese pretending to be a sheepdog herself.
Now,
Brett and Therese, of Asby, Cumbria, are shaping up to look and
act like the real thing, with Therese aiming to be a volunteer on
a National Trust farm.
Next
week (Monday 18 March onwards) her story will be featured on BBC
Radio Cumbria and all the other BBC local radio stations across
the country as part of the nationwide Surprise Yourself campaign.
Surprise
Yourself Week (18 to 24 March) aims to encourage listeners in their
midlife to unleash their potential. Stations are holding events
where listeners can sing, salsa, referee, learn massage, juggle
and make cocktails.
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