Peggy Grayson Retires from the Dog Press. (2012)

Peggy Grayson Retires from the Dog Press.

Peggy Grayson, a much respected International dog show judge and breeder of gundogs and terriers is hanging up her pen. Having struggled to write her weekly column for the dog press over the last few years due to Macular Degeneration (Dry kind)she has been forced to retire. Macular degeneration affects around five hundred thousand people, and by 2020 they expect another forty-four thousand more to be diagnosed. There is little treatment offered for this horrible condition, although the wet kind can involve injections with some success. The disease causes a loss of central vision, thus disabling people such as Peggy who research or write.

Peggy started her long career in 1938 sending a few lines about Cocker Spaniels to Our Dogs (still in circulation weekly) and it appeared in the breed notes then entitled Spaniel Sparks, during the days of such eminent spaniel people as H.S.Lloyd and Warner Hill who were renowned for their beautiful dogs and large breeding kennels. From then on she continued to send notes on the breed and during the war was an enthusiastic collector for the Our Dogs Fighter Fund. Her memories of this particular paper go back over seventy years. Her offerings have been accepted by three generations of the Marples family who founded the paper and so when Bill Moores took it over they struck up a firm friendship. For over seventy years she contributed to Our Dogs and Dog World papers writing articles, show reports as well as covering many shows.

In 1982 Feffie Somerfield from Dog World asked if she would write a weekly column and she accepted leaving Our Dogs. By then the agreement to be able to write for both papers had been withdrawn so it was some years later that she returned to Our Dogs.

Looking back at all the words she has written and all the knowledge she has imparted in her writing from the press releases she sent to the local papers when still a teenager to the many books she has written on dogs, horses, her novels and broadcasting, she is an amazing lady.

Not being very forthcoming about general questioning, after the interview I managed to extract the following:

Most memorable show: Judging BIS at The Setter and Pointer Show she says ‘I felt very honoured to be asked to judge this wonderful show.’

Most memorable dog: she says, ‘this is not a fair question as there have been so many memorable dogs over the years I don’t feel as though I can select just one.’

Favourite country visited: She says, ‘ I have only travelled abroad for judging as I don’t do holidays, but my favourite country was Australia where I was lucky to visit more than once.’

Favourite book: Robbery under Arms by Rolph Bolderwood

Favourite film: Henry V with Laurence Olivier

The Macular Disease Society

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