Pamela Dickson

Pamela Dickson, who idolized the famous movie star German Shepherd, Rin-Tin-Tin, as a child and eventually did groundbreaking work using pet therapy to help ease the pain and suffering of countless patients, young and old, died at her home on Nov. 1 in Middleburg, Virginia, where her Fursman Kennels was a local institution for more than a half century. She was 89.

Pam was born Oct. 20, 1936 to James Fursman Dickson and Annie Downton Dickson and trained dogs and horses all her life, beginning with her childhood on a farm 40 miles east of Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. A short holiday in the United States in the mid-1960s convinced her that she had to move to Middleburg, where she had stayed downtown, across the street from the Red Fox Inn.

"I thought to myself, 'That's the place,'" she once told an interviewer.

She arrived for good not long afterward, a stereotypical story of an immigrant with just a few dollars in her pocket. Pam worked on farms in Florida and then Virginia for months to make ends meet, before establishing her kennel outside Middleburg, where she boarded dogs and cats, many belonging to some of the area's most prominent residents. Fursman Kennels off the Zulla Road remained in operation until the spring of 2025.

Her clientele over the years included luminaries like Today Show stalwart Willard Scott, actress Elizabeth Taylor, broadcaster David Brinkley and Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the former Washington Redskins. Cooke, who died in 1997, once sent Dickson a note that read, "I believe that no-one can match your work...Coco, my Cocker Spaniel, has never before looked as handsome since you have taken over."

She also was known for her own talented, highly trained dogs and wrote a book about them called "Noble Friends" in 1996. She started using her dogs to raise money for worthy causes in 1972 when floods triggered by Hurricane Agnes flooded a neighbor's home. Pam held a benefit where her first performing dog, a German shepherd named Rocky, carried a bucket through the crowd for donations.

Her second German shepherd, Treasure Chest, was an abused puppy who once helped raise money to send a terminally ill girl and her family to Disneyland, one of countless fundraising efforts over the years. Pam also frequently took her dogs to perform at schools, hospitals, and assisted living facilities all around the Washington area.

A farmer's daughter, she was brought up in the small village of Lower Penn on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, England. After graduating from Woodfield Avenue High School, she attended Staffordshire Agricultural College. She was a member of both Albrighton Young Farmer's Club and Kidderminster Young Farmers' Club.

After college, she ran her own riding school, rode with the Albrighton Woodland foxhounds and managed the family farm and boarding kennels. She moved to the U.S. in the mid-1960, after her father's death, to follow a dream of owning a future Rin Tin Tin.

The team of Pam and her first German Shepherd "Rocky" were instrumental in pioneering the concept of pet therapy for human beings with physical or emotional problems. A number of local newspapers printed stories of his exploits.

She also started using her animals to raise money in 1972 when floods triggered by Hurricane Agnes flooded a neighbor's home. She held a benefit at which her first performing dog, Rocky, carried a bucket through the crowd for donations.

Her second German Shepherd, Treasure Chest, was an abused puppy who raised money to send a terminally ill girl and her family to Disneyland and appeared on the PBS series "Living with Animals" and the Children's Hospital Telethon.

At another event in 2002, Treasure's son, Treasure Jr., also a performing German Shepherd, was among the main attractions at a memorable "Day in the Country" for children with cancer or disabilities, young cancer survivors and disadvantaged children she held at her 15-acre property.

"We want it to be the most beautiful, memorable day of their lives," Pam told The Washington Post before an event that saw her dog perform on an agility course that included jumps, walking a narrow plank over a pond and sliding into a three-foot pond. Treasure Jr. also carried a branch in its mouth, with an American flag and the flag of Dickson's native Britain on both sides. At either end of the branch were doves, one white and one fawn.

Pam only had one regret before an event that raised thousands of dollars.

"I've been trying to get an olive branch," she said, "but I don't know anyone with an olive tree."

Pam was pre-deceased by her parents. Her marriage to Robert Kerns ended in divorce.

Funeral service will be held on December 16, 2025 at 11: 00 a.m. at Royston Funeral Home, Middleburg, VA.

Memorial contributions can be made to Children's National Medical Center or to the Middleburg Humane and Fauquier SPCA.

Arrangements made by Royston Funeral Home, Middleburg, VA. Please visit www.roystonfh.com to express online condolences to the family.

A special thank you to Len Shapiro for writing this story of Pamela's life.