When an unlikely customer needed new shoes, Stuart stepped up to help…
Holding the phone to my ear, I rolled my eyes.
Clearly this is a hoax, I thought.
But as the well-spoken voice carried on talking, I realised she was serious.
‘You’re looking for someone to make shoes… for a camel?’ I repeated.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘He has stretched tendons in his front legs.’
She added, ‘He doesn’t want to go for walks any more. He’s in such a state that the vet is suggesting we might need to have him put down.’
It turned out that, as well as camels, she also owned alpacas, llamas, pigs, chickens and horses.
An animal lover, I’d have done anything if my dog, Harvey, was struggling.
Plus, like my dad, I was a shoe repairer, and he’d always taught me to never say no to a customer.
‘I’ll come and take a look,’ I offered.
Soon I found myself at Little Durnford Manor, a Grade I-listed country house in Wiltshire.
‘Camels are pretty big, aren’t they?’ I gasped, as four of them towered over me.
Lady Chichester, who’d called with the request, showed me Timujin.
He was clearly in pain when
he tried to walk and it was heartbreaking.
‘Leave this with me,’ I told her.
But I felt less confident than I sounded.
Although I’d been a cobbler for 35 years, I’d never made shoes for a camel!
A call to Dad proved unhelpful too.
‘You what?’ he spluttered. ‘How on earth are you going to do that?’
‘A foot is a foot,’ I replied.
I’d worked on countless orthopaedic shoes for humans.
How different can this be? I thought.
First, I needed a mould of Timujin’s foot, but there was no way he’d wait while plaster of Paris set.
What about that kinetic
sand kids play with? I wondered.
After ordering 10kg of the stuff, I headed back with a couple of washing-up bowls.
Timujin was surprisingly helpful as I took imprints of his two front feet.
He lifted them up into the bowl and waited patiently.
Back at my shop, I set to work.
I soon fashioned a rubber sole for grip, plus three layers of leather for the boot, stitching in high-quality memory foam for comfort.
Laces would be too fiddly for him, so I plumped for Velcro straps.
By my third visit, Timujin recognised my van and made his way towards me.
‘Hello, buddy,’ I said, as we got to work.
After a few adjustments, Timujin’s new shoes were ready.
We strapped him into his new kicks and he strutted his stuff around the grounds.
‘He looks like he’s smiling!’ I beamed.
The shoes were a hit.
With his feet protected and the wobble in his knees gone, Lady Chichester reckoned Timujin could join his pals for their daily walk.
‘You’re welcome to visit Timujin any time,’ she added.
So I did. And when I popped by, it was beautiful to watch him happily kneeling down to have his shoes strapped on.
The story soon spread over social media and I had a call from a wildlife park in Liverpool.
‘Could you make a moccasin for one of our rhinos?’ a keeper asked. ‘He has blisters and ulcers.’
This time, I knew it wasn’t a wind-up.
‘I’ll do my best,’ I replied.
Although most of my customers remain two-legged, I’m happy to help all creatures great and small.
It’s no wonder Timujin had the hump.
I’m just glad he can put his best foot forward again.
Stuart Moss, 53, Salisbury, Wiltshire