Tod Collins

Tod Collins has been a country vet in Underberg for 51 years, having studied agriculture at the University of Natal and veterinary science at Onderstepoort in Pretoria. His articles and short stories have been published widely – including in the Natal Mercury, owned and edited by the Robinson-Collins clan for many decades (the newspaper having been established by the family of his great-uncle, Sir John Robinson, the first Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal). He has self-published seven books “in the mould of James Herriot of Yorkshire”. Collins describes writing “as part of my therapy for my bipolar disorder”, on which topic he gives regular informal upliftment talks at a local clinic for addiction, depression and the other cerebral foibles. He is also an active contributing speaker at veterinarian conferences.