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22/05/2013

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Ramblings

Image for Pen Farthing on Dartmoor

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Pen Farthing on Dartmoor

Ramblings, Series 21 Episode 5 of 6

Duration:
23 minutes
First broadcast:
Thursday 21 June 2012

Clare Balding is walking with dogs (and their owners) throughout this series of Ramblings.

Prog 5: Pen Farthing on Dartmoor

Pen Farthing is a former Royal Marine; while serving in Afghanistan he rescued an Afghan fighting dog which he named NowZad after the village where his unit was based. He brought NowZad back to the UK (which in itself required military-style planning) and when he left the Marines started a charity which runs a shelter in Afghanistan for stray and abandoned animals. The central aim of the charity is to catch, neuter and release stray dogs to prevent the population growing yet further.

Pen lives in Tiverton in Devon and, for this edition of Ramblings, he takes Clare Balding on a wild walk across Dartmoor. Accompanying them is Patchdog (a massive Afghan Kuchi) and Maxchap (rescued from Iraq). Sadly Nowzad is a little old for such a long walk, but his story is central.

Producer Karen Gregor.

  • Clare and Pen Farthing with Nowzad and Tali

    Clare and Pen Farthing with Nowzad and Tali

    Tali is the white dog being held by Pen

  • Nowzad

    Nowzad

    Nowzad didn't go on the walk, but Clare met him before we set off.

  • Clare and Pen with Maxchat and Patchdog

    Clare and Pen with Maxchat and Patchdog

    Maxchat is on the left and was rescued by soldiers from Baghdad where he was being swung around by his tail. He's still very sensitive about his tail being touched.

    Patchdog is an Afghan Kuchi, traditionally used as a herding, or guard dog.

  • Maxchat

    Maxchat

  • View across Dartmoor

    View across Dartmoor

  • Clare with Maxchap

    Clare with Maxchap

    This moment didn't make it into the programme, but if you're ever at the Letterbox Memorial on Dartmoor Clare left a message in the book recording her visit.

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