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Tag Archives: dogs

Aoife shows she can ‘handle’ pressure as she gets set for Crufts

A CLARE teenager is on her way to the most famous dog show in the world after winning the All-Ireland junior handing title Newmarket’s Aoife Garry recently won the Irish final at Navan Racecourse and as a result the 17-year-old will represent Ireland at Crufts in the UK in March. She will also compete at the European Dog Show in Denmark in May, and at the World Dog Show in Switzerland in August. Explaining Junior Handling, her mother Joan said, “It’s on the child’s handling, not the actual dog. During the year you have a lot of competitions and you have to qualify. There might have been about 40 kids in total during the year and 16 qualify. Marina White, one of the Crufts presenters, and a high profile personality in the world of dog shows came over from England to judge the Irish event, which Aoife won. The final was held at Navan Racecourse, with judging taking about three …

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Daisy on the lookout at Glengowla Mines.

Daisy’s Connemara Adventures

I was rudely awakened early one morning from the dreamless and before I knew it I was strapped into the car and we were off down the road. It turned out herself had an early appointment and that’s what had disturbed my morning. I slept away in the back of the car so I didn’t immediately realise that instead of going home, we were going on to Galway city. As usual when we’re in Galway, himself took me for a stroll around the city, with plenty of wandering around book shops. I’m not a great dog for reading myself – it’s hard to hold the book with paws – but I had no objection to walking around and being admired and stopping at McCambridges for a swift dogguccino. Later on, we met up with herself, her friend Susan and Susan’s granddaughter Amber and we had a great chat over a drink in Tigh Neachtain. After another stroll around town, we …

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Dog owners warned of expensive liabilities if pet causes accident

DOG owners risk losing thousands of euros in damages claims if their pet is left uncontrolled and causes an accident on the road, the county’s dog warden Frankie Coote has warned saying, “You could lose your house if there was a serious accident”. The stark reminder comes as Éilís Neville, chairperson of the Clare Ladies Cycling Club reveals two of the club’s members have been hurt in recent weeks following incidents involving dogs. According to Mr Coote a dog must be on its owners property unless it is with the owner or a responsible person and under control. He is aware of successful large claims for compensation by people injured on the road as a result of an uncontrolled dog. “There are dogs that chase bikes, dogs that just walk out and even dogs just outside on the road sleeping, but if a dog is outside the property and if there are any injuries or damage caused by them, then the …

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Shocking year for animal rescue services in Clare

AN “EXPLOSION” of abandoned cats has prompted a West Clare animal sanctuary to issue an appeal to owners to take greater responsibility for their pets.   Dr Rhona Lucas who runs An Cat Dubh Sanctuary said that since the lockdowns eased, she has been inundated with abandoned cats, often in need of urgent care. “In the month of September, I took in 46 cats,” the 78 year-old outlined. “It has been a shocking year for admissions. I’ve actually been too frightened to count the total number of cats taken in this year.” Rhona said that the problem of abandoned and straying cats is particularly severe, but that she is also taking in more dogs than usual, as well as other animals. “It seems that many people got pets during the lockdowns while they were at home,” she said. “Now they’re back in the workplace and sadly many pets are being abandoned. Normally, I would have a busy summer and then a …

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Big drop in abandoned dogs and animals put down in Clare

THE number of dogs being surrendered to the pound has dropped by half in Clare over the last five years, new figures show. However, there were more dogs abandoned in this county in 2019 than almost every other. Only Tipperary saw a higher number of surrendered dogs last year. The number of dogs being put down, meanwhile, has seen a 12-fold drop in this county since 2015, largely down to greater cooperation between the dog control authorities and rescue organisations. Data released by the Department of Rural and Community Development show that a total of 182 dogs were voluntarily handed over the to the pound in Clare last year. The only county with a higher rate of surrenders, Tipperary, had 191 dogs given over to the pound in 2019. While still higher than the national average, the number of surrenders has been steadily decreasing in the last five years and is down from 393 in 2015. “The figures are still …

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Dog Friendly Day

My friends at the Dogs Trust charity have come up with a wonderful idea I want to tell you about. Next Friday week, June 21, is Dog Friendly Ireland Day, a day when all business owners are encouraged to open up their premises to us canines. We’ve a lot of work to do in this area. Despite 40% of all households in Ireland taking the enlightened decision to have a dog about the place, we lag far behind the rest of Europe when it comes to dog-friendly facilities. When I went on holidays to Devon and Cornwall a few years ago – come to think of it, it’s high time I went back – everywhere I went I was welcomed with open arms. Nearly every pub, café or restaurant had a sign that said ‘Well behaved dogs welcome’. I’m always well behaved and it was lovely to sit under a chair while my humans enjoyed a drink or meal and …

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Enjoying the sunshine during breakfast on the terrace.

Half a Century at BrookLodge

Keep it to yourself but one of my humans recently celebrated his 50th birthday. That’s ancient – around seven in dog years. Seeing as he’s always so good to me and looks after me so well, I decided to do something nice for him. I checked my bone account to see what it could stand and thanks to the excellent Bone/Euro exchange rate, on account of Brexit worries, I found that I could manage a few nights in BrookLodge in County Wicklow. It’s one of my favourite places as I get to look at the hens, chickens and geese that roam the grounds. My humans love it for the peace and tranquillity, not to mention the organic food for which it’s renowned. There’s a further attraction – the two resident dogs, my pals, Oscar and George, who are always good for a laugh and a chat. It was late afternoon when we arrived so after checking in with my American …

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Merry Christmas to all our readers

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, …

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