Dumfries animal hospice founder set to have a sell-out performance at book festival

The founder of an animal hospice in Galloway is set to have a sell-out performance at the Wigtown Book Festival later today.Alexis Fleming will be speaking about her book - "No Life Too Small" - which explores her experiences of caring for sick animals, and how it helped her cope with her own chronic health condition. She said: "A lot of people are facing death alone and one of the things I'm interested in is doing for them the equivalent for what I do for animals. Just visiting people in their own homes, talking to them, perhaps helping them feel more comfortable and at ease."

These are feelings closely related to Alexis' own experiences of desperation and the battle she faced to make it through. 

Some years ago Alexis Fleming was bedridden with a severe chronic illness and wanted to end her own life - but thanks to her beloved dog Maggie, she made it through.

Maggie died two years later of lung cancer on a vet's operating table and Alexis founded the "Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice", based near Kirkcudbright, so that other animals would not die alone and in distress.

She also set up its sister project the Karass Sanctuary for Farmed Animals.

Wigtown Book Festival takes place from 24 September to 4 October.