Dog Collar Diary

A minister of the Church of Scotland who can operate on a road-accident damaged cat - or a vet who is at home in the pulpit?

Both roles come together in the person of Alec Cameron who, in Dog Collar Diary, leads us on a gentle, humourous tour through the stages of his eventful life. His enthusiasm and strong Christian faith shine through each page as he tackles his veterinary work with gusto, whether dealing with the recalcitrant owners of a sick horse or describing a caesarean operation on a sheep, anaesthetised on a kitchen table.

With sympathy and common sense backed by his strong sense of duty he tells of the everyday troubles and pleasures of his various ministerial charges. His quiet ministry in the Borders brought him into contact with the Buddhists at Eskdalemuir and with the Lockerbie bombing.

From his humble beginnings in an Ayrshire village to his retirement in the North-east, scene of one of his ministries, the humour of his 'Diary' will delight all those who are interested in the life of a man who has allowed God to lead him throughout his life and has placed his trust in Him.

Born in New Cumnock, Ayrshire, in 1926, Alexander Cameron moved to the Maybole region of Ayrshire when his father, a railway stationmaster, received promotion. His great love of animals led him to take up a career as a vet, first in his home area, later in Devon, but eventually he responded to another and stronger call. After ten years as a vet, and having become a senior partner in the practice, he returned to Glasgow to train for the ministry. His first charge was in his native Ayrshire, after which he moved to one of Scotland's largest churches, in Nairnshire; when he published an account of those days, as Vet in the Vestry, it became an immediate success, selling world-wide and in many editions.

Meantime, for health reasons, Cameron moved again, this time to minister to four scattered rural charges in the Borders; but the peaceful idyll was shattered when the Lockerbie disaster and its aftermath brought his parish into greater prominence.