A Triumph of Surgery by James Herriot
Quick answer: A Triumph of Surgery by James Herriot, Class 10 Footprints Without Feet: summary with the ending, Tricki Woo and Mrs Pumphrey, the irony of the title, themes and exam answers.
A Pekingese so overfed he looks like a bloated sausage is carried off to the vet's, and the cure turns out to be no surgery at all, only a fortnight of scraps and rough company. A Triumph of Surgery, first in Class 10 Footprints Without Feet, comes from James Herriot's memoirs of veterinary practice in Yorkshire.
The story in brief
Mrs Pumphrey, a wealthy widow, feeds her dog Tricki Woo cream cakes, chocolates and malt, and reports him listless and sick. Herriot has warned her before and she has never managed to diet him. Now the dog is grossly fat and bloodshot. Herriot insists Tricki be hospitalised at the surgery for a fortnight, and Mrs Pumphrey, near collapse, sends him off with day bed, night bed, cushions, toys and three bowls.
At the surgery Tricki gets only water for two days, then joins the surgery dogs at their trough, fights for his share, and is soon racing round the yard with the pack. Mrs Pumphrey telephones daily and sends eggs, wine and brandy to build him up, all enjoyed by the staff. After a fortnight Tricki is lean and hard. She arrives in her limousine, he leaps into her arms, and she tells Herriot through tears that it is a triumph of surgery.
The characters
Themes and meaning
Exams expect the dangers of pampering pets, an owner who cannot see herself, and the irony of the title. The sharper observation is that Herriot never lectures Mrs Pumphrey or corrects her final phrase. He lets her believe in surgery because the truth, that she is the illness, would hurt and not change her.
The craft
The turn is Tricki pushing into the trough after two days of fasting; from there recovery is inevitable and the comedy shifts to the humans. The wine and brandy are the running joke of the middle. Herriot's deadpan narrator reports his own small dishonesty without apology, and giving the last line to the deluded character closes a comic piece cleanly.
For the exam
Summary in 100 words: Mrs Pumphrey, a rich widow, has fed her Pekingese Tricki Woo so lavishly that he is fat, lethargic and ill. The vet James Herriot insists on taking him to the surgery for a fortnight. There Tricki is given only water for two days, then feeds with the other dogs and joins their games in the yard, growing lean and lively. Mrs Pumphrey sends eggs, wine and brandy for his recovery, which the surgery staff happily consume. When she collects her transformed dog, she thanks Herriot for what she calls a triumph of surgery, unaware that no operation was performed.
What writers can take from this
- Say plainly that no surgery took place; the irony question depends on it.
- Give the two days of fasting and the fortnight's stay as your factual anchors.
- Use the eggs, wine and brandy to show the story's humour and the narrator's mischief.
- Writers: let the deluded character speak the last line and keep the narrator silent.
- Report a small dishonesty without apology and the reader will side with you.
Try it yourself
Write a comic story in which a professional cures a problem by doing almost nothing, while the client showers them with gifts for their skill, and end on the client's grateful misunderstanding, uncorrected.
Questions
Why did Herriot take Tricki Woo to his surgery?
Tricki was dangerously overweight and lethargic because Mrs Pumphrey overfed him. Herriot knew she would never diet him at home, so he hospitalised the dog for a fortnight where he could control the food.
What is the irony in A Triumph of Surgery?
Tricki was cured by fasting, plain food and exercise with other dogs. No operation took place, yet Mrs Pumphrey, delighted at his recovery, calls it a triumph of surgery.
How did Tricki Woo recover at the surgery?
He received only water for two days, then joined the other dogs at their feeding trough, fought for scraps and raced round the yard. Within two weeks he was lean and energetic.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working writers. Updated September 2026.
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