A former American diplomat who traded her career to become a Wandsworth pet nanny has published a book.

Secrets of a Pet Nanny, A Journey from the White House to the Dog House, by Eileen Riley, compares her experiences with politicans with pooches.

The book details how sometimes her dealings with pets and owners often stretched her diplomatic skills to breaking point.

Ms Riley, of Collamore Avenue, Wandsworth, served in Cameroon, Washington, London, Belfast and Papua New Guinea when working as a US diplomat.

Highlights of Ms Riley's career included tramping through jungles with astronaut John Glenn and providing advice to Mohammed Ali.

She also worked as a liasion officer for the White House as well as helping develop America's human rights policies in Africa.

When she arrived in London Ms Riley met her husband-to-be and decided to settle down aged 32, using her spare time to house four-legged lodgers.

She said: "Finding a chewed hole in great-grandad’s Chinese silk carpet was a nightmare and it was slightly amusing when one owner suggested that we tear out all the rose buses because the thorns might damage the fur of her delicate pet.

"But all in all, I love my job.  You get all the perks of owning a dog without any of the problems of ultimate responsibility. And I can write about it and appear on radio."

 

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