A veteran of Scotland’s animal welfare sector is marking 50 years of service with the Scottish SPCA this year.
Sharon Comrie has worked across the length and breadth of Scotland for the animal charity since starting out as a schoolgirl volunteer.
As she passes the remarkable milestone, the 63-year-old is honoured to have spent her whole working life in a job she loves as much today as when she started out.
And the dedication Sharon showed in the early days is as strong as ever.
‘I hounded them to help out’
“I was always interested in animals and we lived near the centre at Stirling Street in Dundee,” she said.
“From probably about the age of 11, I was along there hounding them for a job helping at weekends.
“I was too young then, but I think I wore them down and eventually they let me help out.
“For a lot of weeks I never even got near the animals, I was just helping with all the cleaning.”
For the 13-year-old volunteer back in 1973, it was the start of a journey which took her from kennel maid to overseeing the charity’s entire network of centres across Scotland.
In 2020, Sharon moved into a fundraising role in 2020 for the organisation which is entirely reliant on public donations to fund its vital work.
She said: “It is incredible to think that I’ve been with the Scottish SPCA for half a century.
“Since I joined this amazing organisation, animal welfare in Scotland has come on leaps and bounds.
“Spending most of my career in our rescue and rehoming centres, there’s no doubt there are times when it has been tough and emotionally challenging.
“However, I would not change a single day of it.
“It isn’t really a job for me, it’s a way of life.”
Petterden Paddy remembers Sharon
Sharon has gone above and beyond for thousands of animals during her career.
They included Paddy the dog, one of the many pets Sharon looked after when she managed the Petterden centre, between Forfar and Dundee.
Vets said he’d be unlikely to survive but Sharon couldn’t stand the thought of Paddy being on his own.
So for several nights she slept beside him in his kennel.
Against the odds, Paddy pulled through and went to a loving home.
Several years later, Sharon was walking through Dundee city centre when she heard a commotion nearby.
A dog bounded up to her and began to smother her with kisses – it was Paddy, who remembered her kindness after all that time.
And she has encountered her fair share of unusual animals.
“We once had a crocodile in a bath in Edinburgh,” she recalls. “And there were a couple of raccoon dogs which we managed to re-home in a zoo down south.”
Her driving principles, however, remain the same.
“I wanted to be a voice for animals,” said Sharon.
“There have been a lot of changes for the better and our inspectors have more powers now to issue orders and remove animals”
“But it isn’t always just cruelty, there can often be a wide and complex picture around issues such as the owner’s mental health and things like the cost of vet care.”
She is particularly saddened by the demand which fuels the vile trade of puppy farming.
“It’s very much an ‘I want, I’ll get’ culture we live in and that means people are handing out thousands of pounds for dogs which can have a whole host of problems.
“It’s easy money for those trading pets, but it comes at a price for either the animals or the owner, often both.”
But another constant, this time a positive one, has been the public’s support for the organisation.
“The generosity of people is amazing and we are so grateful for that,” said Sharon.
“I keep saying I’m heading towards retirement but I love what I do so I’ll just play it by ear.”
‘Force of nature’
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn, who has worked with Sharon for 35 years, said: “Many people who work for the Scottish SPCA or any animal welfare charity will tell you that it is a vocation, not a job.
“I cannot think of a single person who sums this up more than Sharon.
“We’ve been lucky to have her, as have the tens of thousands of rescue animals who have benefitted from her love, care and dedication over the past five decades.
“Sharon is a force of nature, and nothing can come between her and helping an animal in need.”
