Tag Archives: Daisy

Clare Champion dog, Daisy, would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas. She has also issued a warning that this time of year can be hazardous for pets, so keep an eye on them. Chocolates and some fruits, including grapes, are very harmful to dogs, so they should be supervised at all times. Most of us are planning Christmas dinner and, next to gifts, food and drink play a huge part in our celebrations. But just as we should be careful not to over-indulge, we need to make sure our pets are looked after as well. Coffee, hot chocolate and caffeine products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cocoa seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some fizzy drinks. When ingested by pets, these can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, panting, excessive hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and sometimes, in excessive amounts, …

MY mate Daisy is causing a bit of a ripple in the newspaper community. Last week’s episode of The Local Eye saw Daisy having a break at The Twelve Hotel in Barna, County Galway and visiting Bubbles and Barks Doggy Day Spa. Most people don’t know Daisy’s story and why she is Ireland’s only canine columnist and Clare Champion mascot. This little white terrier is an ancient Scottish breed and is part of a breed type ‘trio’, West Highland white or Westie for short; the Cairn terrier, the red coloured cousin, and the black cousin, the Scottish terrier or Scottie. The Scottie and the Westie dogs are familiar mascots of Black & White Scotch Whisky. The West Highland White terrier originated in Scotland and was used for hunting fox, badger, otter and for killing vermin such as rats. There’s not much evidence to determine the exact history of the Westie but many believe the breed can be traced back to …

Episode two of the RTÉ 1 series on local newspapers will air this Thursday at 7.00pm. Over six weeks, the series follows the fortunes of three local newspapers, The Clare Champion, The Mayo News and The Munster Express. This episode sees Daisy, the ‘Champion mascot, going to Barna to get a blueberry facial and mud bath at Bubbles and Barks Dog Spa, before checking in to review The Twelve Hotel as a dog-friendly hotel. Check out the trailer below and don’t forget to tune in.

Its been a while since I took over Bev’s column to tell you of my latest travels. I’m only thrilled this time as I’m going back to one of my favourite hotels, The Twelve, in Barna. Last Christmas, my humans took a photo of me wearing my Santa hat while posing on a copy of The Clare Champion and entered it in The Twelve’s Christmas competition. Despite the stiff opposition, I won! The prize was a night at the hotel with dinner in The West restaurant. It’s a terrible state of affairs though that I’m not allowed in the restaurant, even though I’m a Westie. Maybe I’ll get a little doggie bag. They really welcome dogs at The Twelve but I’ve heard they’ve upped their game with a new Dog Concierge service. It sounds wonderful and I had to try it out. As an added bonus, would you believe that RTÉ are sending a film crew along to record my …

It’s been a while since I took over Bev’s column to tell you of my latest travels. I’m only thrilled this time as I’m going back to one of my favourite hotels, The Twelve, in Barna. Last Christmas, my humans took a photo of me wearing my Santa hat while posing on a copy of The Clare Champion and entered it in The Twelve’s Christmas competition. Despite the stiff opposition, I won! The prize was a night at the hotel with dinner in The West restaurant. It’s a terrible state of affairs though that I’m not allowed in the restaurant, even though I’m a Westie. Maybe I’ll get a little doggie bag. They really welcome dogs at The Twelve but I’ve heard they’ve upped their game with a new Dog Concierge service. It sounds wonderful and I had to try it out. As an added bonus, would you believe that RTÉ are sending a film crew along to record my …

I’ve hijacked this week’s column from my friend, Bev, to tell you of my travels. Every year around this time, I like to take my humans on a little trip. It’s surprising how hardly any Irish hotels take dogs, but a few enlightened ones do, including Brook Lodge in Wicklow, where we went last year. This time around, we all went to the Twelve, in Barna – just a few minutes outside Galway city – as a birthday treat. I was told about the hotel by my good friend Siobhán. Because they only have one dog-friendly room, I was guaranteed exclusivity, but it meant I’d have to be on my best behaviour at all times having no other dogs to blame in the event of any accidents. We drove straight out to Clifden on our first day as I had never seen any part of Connemara. What a beautiful, rugged landscape. We stopped in Clifden for a coffee but I’m …

… and Shelly too On our holiday to Devon and Cornwall two years ago, we were struck by how dog-friendly everywhere was, so we made up our minds that we’d come back some day with Daisy, our West Highland Terrier. Some day turned out to be last month, as we sailed again to the South of England. Ford provided an S-Max this time, a fine choice, with extra space and plenty of comfort. Not only had we all of Daisy’s stuff to bring, but my wife, Shelly, is by no means a light packer, so even starting off, we were fairly well loaded. [doptg id=”29″] We chose to travel with Irish Ferries on their Swift Service, as it involves a journey time of just two hours. Daisy would have to travel in a kennel on the car deck, so we wanted to minimise the journey time. It was terrible having to put her into the kennel and lock the door …

Reptiles difficult to keep THINK very carefully before buying a reptile as a pet. Have you decided on the species of reptile that you want to keep? Read as much as possible about the different species available and talk to some local herpetologists and other keepers. Find out if there is a reptile club in your area that you can ask for advice. Take into consideration the space you have for the vivarium, the animal’s home, and how much you can afford. A good set-up for a small animal can be around €200 to 300. Many factors come into consideration; snake, lizard or amphibian? What size will it reach as an adult? Will it need high humidity or dry desert conditions? What size should its vivarium be? What do you feed it?  Where can you buy good quality food for it? Start small, get used to having a small animal and get used to the equipment you will need. Some …