James and Kym Shields are such big terrier fans they are taking Scotties By the Sea sculpture ‘Bru Dog’ home to Oz to meet their other three real life terriers.
But the Australian couple are leaving with more than an iconic piece of Fife art – after bonding with the St Andrews family who designed it over their shared experience of childhood cancer.
When Australians James and Kym’s youngest child Hamish, now 17, was just four he was diagnosed with leukaemia.
While doctors diagnosed St Andrews ‘Bru Dog’ designer Maisie Dury, now 20, with a brain tumour when she was only two and a half years old.
With both children now grown and thriving, the two families have swapped their stories, brought together by the colourful Irn-Bru-themed Scottie sculpture.
James says: “So we came over 12 months ago for the Scottie art trail, and ran into Vanessa [Dury – Maisie’s mum] multiple times.
“We got talking and discovered that we had a very common bond.”
Hamish’s diagnosis was life-changing for the Australian family.
“We basically had to change our life around. I worked for a US company, and I was literally living out of a suitcase, always flying every week.
“They immediately changed my job to work from home and I went and lived at the hospital.”
James and Kym were advised to try to keep life as normal as possible for their two older children Erin, now 24, and Euan, now 21, so Kym stayed at home with them.
After more than four years of treatment Hamish, now 17, was able to get back to school and normal life.
James says the Shields family are now “constantly looking for opportunities to give back to people that assisted us.”
What brought the Shields family to Scotland?
The Shields family show their Scottish terriers in Australia and travelled to Scotland in September 2023 to see the Scotties By the Sea Trail.
The trail saw 30 ‘giant Scotties’ and 15 ‘wee dugs’ displayed around St Andrews and other coastal communities. Sale of the sculptures later raised more than £256,000 for cancer charity Maggies.
The Shields family also had a family connection to Scotland through James’ dad, who hailed from Glasgow.
It seemed as if the Scottie Trail was calling them to visit Fife.
And it was there they met Olly and Vanessa Dury, whose daughters Maisie and Anna created the mini Scottie statue Bru Dog.
Maisie’s mum Vanessa says: “When Maisie was two and a half she was diagnosed with a brain tumour,”
She lives in St Andrews with husband Ollie and Maisie’s younger sister Anna.
“Luckily it was discovered early and surgery was successful and she has overcome all of the initial prognoses and expectations.”
Thriving as young adults in St Andrews and Australia
The Scottish and Australian sets of parents are proud of all of their children – but there is an extra sense of achievement for Maisie and Hamish.
The pair have overcome so much to grow into determined and successful young adults.
Maisie is in her third year studying psychology at the University of Edinburgh and has chosen to spend this year studying in Madrid.
Hamish is about to start uni too, preparing to read engineering at Griffith University.
“Hamish is very focussed,” says James,
“That’s one thing we have noticed and a similar story to Maisie’s. You can tell when you speak to him that he’s got a grasp of the idea of mortality.”
Kym agrees: “Remember that he was in hospital with other kids and some of those kids never got to go home.
“He wasn’t interested in his high school muck up day (end of term antics) – or being involved in partying. He just has a very different focus.”
Giving back to cancer charities in Australia and Scotland
When James and Kym did the Scottie Trail last year, they fell in love with Bru Dog and the special connection with his creators made them even more determined to bring him home to The Gold Coast.
So they returned to St Andrews to collect their own wee Scottie and catch up with Vanessa and Ollie.
Both families say support from a whole host of experts has helped them throughout their diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
“I just felt it was a good synergy for Maggie’s because of the connection that Vanessa and I established,” explains James.
“Because of our children and the story that goes with it, we were supporting Maggie’s.”
The family are also big supporters of cancer charities such as Camp Quality and Giggles.
“That’s very important to us,” James says. “We’re obviously trying to support cancer charities back in Australia, we thought it was important to offer support here too.”
Where’s Bru Dog off to now?
James and Kym think that Bru Dog will soon be the best travelled of the ‘dogs’ from the trail, large or small.
Earlier this week, he accompanied his new owners on a trip to visit the Maggie’s Centre in Dundee.
James and Kym saw first hand how the money that they donated will be used to support people with cancer.
A whistle-stop Scottish tour looks set to include some famous spots such as Prince Albert’s Pyramid at Balmoral and John O’Groats.
And they can’t miss the Duke of Wellington statue in Glasgow that inspired Bru Dog’s traffic cone hat!
The couple have set up an Instagram account called @bru_dog_travels to share their new Scottie’s adventures.
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