Michael Arthur Findlay (1944 – 7 December 2014) was a Scottish veterinary surgeon, author and broadcaster.

Early life

Findlay was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, Scotland. He was educated at

Strathallan School Strathallan School is an independent boarding and day school in Scotland for boys and girls aged 7–18. The school has a campus at Forgandenny, a few miles south of Perth. School roll The school has 73 full-time staff, and 18 part-time staff ...

and the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Findlay graduated from the

Glasgow Veterinary College The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow is one of nine veterinary schools in the United Kingdom, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Veterinary Medicine. It was established in 1862 as the independ ...

in 1966 having read veterinary science.

Career

Upon qualifying Findlay became an assistant vet with Henderson and Keywood in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

, London. He then bought his own practice in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

. However, he did not enjoy the administrative side of the business and turned to

locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

work. In 1984 he joined

Ciba-Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

Pharmaceuticals as public affairs advisor. Thereafter, a freelance public relations advisor in 1993. He became one of the main architects of the

National Vocational Qualification National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

scheme for those caring for animals, helping to devise the course standards and materials. Latterly, he was chief executive of the PRO Dogs charity. In the early 1980s he was the regular vet on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

children's tv programme "

Saturday Superstore ''Saturday Superstore'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1982 to 18 April 1987. It was shown on Saturday mornings with presenters including Mike Read, Sarah Greene, Keith Chegwin, and John Craven. The s ...

". He was also a regular broadcaster appearing on Jimmy Youngs radio show,

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...

and

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

. Findlay was a member of the

Governing Council of the Cat Fancy The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats a ...

(GCCF) Veterinary Sub-committee (now Veterinary Advisory Committee) for 46 years. He was a duty vet and had officiated at GCCF shows for as many years. Findlay was also vice-president of the London Cat Club and a member of

The Kennel Club The Kennel Club ("KC") is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also opera ...

Publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Michael 1944 births 2014 deaths People from Ayr People educated at Strathallan School Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish broadcasters Scottish veterinarians British animal care and training writers