Newcomer to City’s Canine Colony Scores Stage Success

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27039, 25 March 1949, Page 4

Newcomer to City’s Canine Colony Scores Stage Success

Dunedin’s canine colony has had a distinguished addition in the form of a small Scotch terrier named Susan. Although she has been in the city only a matter of weeks, Susan has scored a resounding stage success with an impeccable performance in “ The Barretts of Wimpole Street.” But this is nothing to Susan, who had already had the unusual distinction of being a large part of the reason why her owners decided to leave England and come to settle in New Zealand.

Susan is one of the two Scotties owned by Mr and Mrs W. Barkaway who arrived in Dunedin by air from London only recently in order to set up their home here. “We were worried about our two dogs—there was simply nothing for them to eat in England,’ Mrs Barkaway told the Daily Times Meat was not available and the fisr. they could get was not sufficient foi dogs nor good for them in quantity from the viewpoint of balanced diet So Susan and Lass were consigned by sea, in the care of the ship’s butcher.

while Mr and Mrs Barkaway set out by air for their country of adoption. “ The butcher certainly looked after hem,” said Mrs Barkaway. “They vere tremendously fat when they u-rived, despite their exercise chasing he ship’s cats and the butcher was reactant to part with them.” When the Repertory Society was .ompleting preparations for the production of “The Barretts of Wimpole Street,” somebody suggested that one of Mrs Barkaway’s Scotties would be suitable for the role of Flush. Susan, the younger of the two —she is actually one of Lass’s puppies—was given the assignment. Her opening night tour de force was achieved after only four rehearsals and with no previous acquaintance of any of the members of the cast. Mrs Barkaway has only two criticisms to make of New Zealand so far —the people do not appear to be enthusiastic animal lovers, and there are restrictions about the carriage of dogs on all forms of transport. Susan arid Lass, however, are finding the country to their liking and are lear ing 10 al dog lore fast under the tutelage of an amiable Scotch terrier named Angus, who is thoroughly in accord with the idea of bringing traditionally Scottish dogs to a traditionally Scottish city.