Running Head: An Inspiring Pioneer
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An Inspiring Pioneer: The Life and Influence of Alf Wight
Marian Price
University of Central Florida
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An Inspiring Pioneer: The Life and Influence of Alf Wight
Alf Wight is one of the most influential men in the history of Veterinary Medicine. This
man wrote and moved hearts as one of the most inspiring, beloved authors of all time. His
stories about Veterinary Medicine have been printed and reprinted, studied, and taught at
schools. His own medical contributions to the profession are still being used today. Wight
pioneered a technique that helped aid strychnine poisoning victims, using a procedure that many
still consider dangerous. As a country vet in Yorkshire, England, Alf Wight was a very
successful man. He is known around the world because of his writings, and yet few know his
real name. Alf Wight is most commonly known by his nom de plume, James Herriot.
The character of ‘James Herriot’ was born when Alf Wight decided to pick up writing as
a career. In 1966, at the age of 50, he began to write. He borrowed the name from a player on
his favorite sports team, the Sunderland Football Club, of whom he was a lifetime fan. Wight’s
writings brought him into the international spotlight, causing three main questions of his life to
be explored. 1. His aid to the dogs with Strychnine poisoning was revolutionary at the time, and
yet he mentions in his book, Dog Stories, that there has not yet been a cure. Did his approach to
the poisonings lead other scientists to find answers? 2. Alf Wight’s writings were incredibly
influential to readers around the world, but what about the current veterinarians? Were they
inspired to be a veterinarian by Alf Wight’s work? 3. What was the extent of Wight’s influence
around the world? These questions are not to be answered lightly; they hold in them the very
essence of who this man was, what he aspired to be, and his livelihood.
To better understand the reasoning behind the answers, a brief history is required. James
Alfred Wight was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England on October 3, 1916. His
parents were Hannah Bell and James Henry Wight. James and Hannah were musicians when
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they weren’t working their day jobs, and dreamed of a similar life for their son. They passed
down that love of music to Wight, which he enjoyed his entire life. Wight was good at English,
sports, and History, but was plagued by Math all his life. He never could come to terms with
how the equations panned out. Fortunately, Math back then was not required at the same level it
is today, and he managed to scrape by. Wight grew up in the town of Glasgow, which he moved
to 3 weeks after his birth. He would spend the first 20 years of his life there, before moving on
to the University of Glasgow College of Veterinary Medicine. He graduated from the College in
1939, at the age of 23.
After a brief stint in a practice in Sunderland, Wight moved to work in the rural practice
located in the small town of Thirsk. This practice at 23 Kirkgate remained his for the rest of his
career. He lived in or around Thirsk for the rest of his life. Thirsk is not mentioned in his books,
of course. Everything has a different name in keeping with the tradition of the subjects’
anonymity. Thirsk was the Darrowby of Herriot’s books where he lived and worked. It is in this
small town that all of his books take place, and this town that would capture the hearts of
millions. Wight’s vivid use of imagery is part of the draw of his books. It is easy for the reader
to see the moors and hills of Darrowby that feature so prominently in the pages, alongside the
accounts of farm calls and the mishaps of beloved pets. Wight’s stories are mostly true, but he
had to change things in some areas in order to protect people’s privacy. When Wight first started
writing, it was frowned upon to advertise the profession; vets were not celebrities. They were
there to get the job done and help the animals, not get acclaimed fame. Wight needed to write,
however, to help stave off depression. He kept journals periodically throughout his life, and his
books were another outlet. When he began writing, therefore, he changed both his and others’
names, as well as those of all the places where he worked and visited. For instance, his partner
in the practice, Donald Sinclair, became the well-known man Siegfried Farnon. It is unclear
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where some of these names came from. They may have been completely made up, or from other
inspirational characters in Wight’s life that have gone unmentioned over the years. The point
remains, though, that despite certain changes and deliberate misleading, Wight’s stories remain
some of the most inspirational of all times.
There are countless veterinarians who were inspired to join the profession based on this
one man. The dean of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, Dr. Elizabeth
Stone, said, “Dr. Wight's widely read works color the perception of what is a real veterinarian,’
and she said ‘numerous veterinary students have indicated his books have influenced or
reinforced their decision to become a veterinarian” (Cima, 2011) Dr. Stone is not the only one to
speak of Wight’s influence. Alf Wight’s own son, Jim Wight, told an interviewer “By his
writings, he put this profession right on the map. That is what he did… He also put it in a good
light; this is the thing” (qtd. in Verdon) This ‘putting the profession on the map,’ as Wight puts
it, showed potential veterinarians a view of the world that they could not get over. Through his
writings, this man inspired dozens, if not hundreds of people, to change their lives, to take a
chance on a different path. This influx of those seeking a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, or
DVM, has impacted the profession itself. Requirements for getting into Veterinary College have
gotten much tougher, and much more competitive. If not for the writings of Alf Wight, the
Veterinary career would not be what it is today.
Alf Wight did not only inspire young students to become Veterinarians. He also invented
a way to cope with Strychnine poisoning that was revolutionary, if a bit dangerous. In Wight’s
book, Dog Stories, he recounts a time when someone was deliberately laying out strychnine to
kill the local dog population. Strychnine is a poison typically reserved for vermin, and is most
often kept away from domestic pets. There are some cases where a curious nose goes where it
shouldn’t, but the malevolence of these attacks was a different story. In under a week, Wight
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had attempted to treat 9 dogs, and all of them had died from the poison. Strychnine is dangerous
because it gets absorbed into the nervous system, and from there increases the conductivity of the
spinal cord. This causes the muscles to become much more sensitive to stimuli outside the body,
like touch or sound. Even the sound of a door closing can send the dog into violent tremors,
resulting in a tetanic spasm. A tetanic spasm is defined as, “a state marked by severe,
intermittent tonic contractions and muscular pain, due to abnormal calcium metabolism”
(Tetany, 2013). As one can imagine, this exacts a severe toll on the animal in question. The
cause of death is asphyxia caused by the paralysis of the respiratory system and contraction of
the diaphragm. They literally suffocate because they cannot contract the muscles necessary for
breathing. Helpless at watching his friends’ pets die, Wight had almost resigned himself to the
fates of the dogs in town, but as often happens, a special case spurred him to action.
The owner of one of Wight’s patients, a man named Johnny, was blind. He had a seeing
eye dog named Fergus that was particularly near and dear to Wight’s heart both because of the
dog’s job and personality. Fergus was an Alsatian, a breed of dog that is fairly large, but often
gentle. It was likely due to this size that Fergus survived the ‘cure’ Wight gave him. Fergus
somehow managed to get poisoned, but Wight could not bear to let him go. He administered
barbiturate, an anesthetic that was always used with strychnine, but this time he gave Fergus
more than was safe. He did it with the idea that, with a deep enough anesthesia, the poison
would have time to pass out of the system harmlessly. Wight did not do this lightly, however.
“The big dog had received more than the lethal amount before peace began to return to the taut
body and even then I sat back on my heels, almost afraid to look in case I had brought about his
end” (p. 237). Wight would remain plagued by this fear throughout the night. Fortunately for
his nerves, by the next morning, Fergus was out of danger. Wight mentioned that he didn’t know
if it was the anesthesia that saved him or if he had gotten a smaller dose of poison than the other
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dogs. This notion plagued him, and he tried again several times over the years with some
success. Wight’s trial, though, was not without a reward. As of the publishing date of the book,
there was no known cure for the poison. There is still no antidote that works 100% of the time,
but Wight’s approach is one of the most effective treatments known to this day. This ‘cure’ is
one of Wight’s greatest victories, and one that has resonated for over 50 years. Veterinarians
today still use the technique that Wight pioneered out of desperation. “Seizures should be
controlled in small animals with pentobarbital, IV to effect, repeated as necessary. Muscle
relaxants such as methocarbamol at 100–200 mg/kg, IV, also work well; they should be repeated
as needed with a maximum dose of 330 mg/kg/day” (Overview of Strychnine Poisoning).
Modern Veterinary Medicine may have changed a lot since Wight’s time, but there are some
approaches that are tried and true. Wight’s treatment of Strychnine poisoning is one of them.
Alf Wight was an incredibly significant man in the field of Veterinary Medicine, but his
career was not the only important part of his life. The impact of his writings around the world
have inspired countless people. Not all of them take up the task of becoming a Veterinarian, but
are just everyday people. Wight’s old house and practice are now a museum in Thirsk called
“The World of James Herriot.” This museum is open year-round and has received over a halfmillion visitors since its opening in 1999. It reaches out to children and adults alike around the
world, telling Wight’s fascinating story again and again. This museum has allowed his legacy to
live on in the hearts and minds of thousands. It keeps the spirit of his work alive, passing it on to
future generations.
Alf Wight was not the type of man to seek out this kind of fame, though. His son
describes,
I remember in the mid 1970’s when his books were hogging the number one spot in the
New York Times best-seller lists, he would occasionally say, ‘I’m in my fifteenth week at
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the top of the best-sellers in America, isn’t that amazing?’ ‘Great, Dad!’ I would reply,
and the subject would be dropped. That was fine by him; he was really far more
interested in talking about other things… My father liked it that way (Wight 9)…
This humble man was not really interested in the spotlight that came with the success of his
novels. He relished the simple life, the life spent on the moors, taking care of animals and
talking with people. This is not to say that he detested the idea of being famous; he just didn’t
run for the spotlight like so many celebrities both before and after him have done. Wight
remained, to the end, a quiet man leading a quiet life in his small town in rural England.
James Alfred Wight was a great man. Through his work and his writings, he has inspired
millions. His books have been international best-sellers, gaining a success rate that many would
covet. He influenced men and women across the world to become Veterinarians and inspire their
own change in the world. His approach to Strychnine poisoning remains one of the best-known
antidotes today. There have been museums built in his honor, biographies and memoirs written.
And yet, the most amazing thing about this man is that, despite this great claim to fame, despite
his effect on the world, he remained a family man. He was always more interested in the affairs
of his children in school, or the dog down the street, than he was the fame of being a best-selling
author. This man single-handedly redefined the profession of Veterinary Medicine, all while
staying in the small town that he loved and treating the animals that he cared so much about.
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References:
Cima, Greg (June 15, 2011) Modest Veterinarian, Beloved Author. Retrieved from:
https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/110701q.aspx
Khan, Safdar A. (March 2012) Overview of Strychnine Poisoning. In The Merck Veterinary
Manual for Veterinary Professionals. Retrieved from:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/toxicology/strychnine_poisoning/overview_of_strych
nine_poisoning.html?qt=&sc=&alt=
Verdon, Daniel R. (February 1, 2007). Herriot’s Legacy. Retrieved from:
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/HerriottsLegacy/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/408448
Wight, Jim A. (2001) The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father. Print.
Dictionary.com, LLC (2013) Tetany. Retrieved from:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tetany
The World of James Herriot Ltd. (2013) James Herriot. Retrieved from:
http://worldofjamesherriot.org/james_herriot.html