Dear Irish Terrier Friends

At last the Spring has arrived and the world is full of daffodils and my favourite dear little celandines which are scattered around the garden.

At the beginning of the Spring I bought 12 little pots of pink, white and purple Sweet Peas and left them in the garden, I was woken by the late news warning of a hard frost and had to dash out into the garden to rescue my little shivering sweetness in the middle of the night!

I was very sad to miss Crufts again, but Ann Bradley has kindly said we can use her piece about it, as she was there in full swing, of course! I have years of Crufts behind me and have loved every minute, but what defeats me is the effort getting to Birmingham, finding the way into the car parks and then negotiating the enormous NEC with miles of places to shop (how many dog leads does one need? and the same for raincoats and warmers!) It seems that my Crufts friends still ask “How’s the lady who used to wear a hat is doing?” (that’s me!) – which is very kind.

The dogs at Crufts were sensational at their ‘agility’ and their speed and performance seem to increase every year. The trick that worries me most is the speed at which they go through the sticks – they seem to go so fast and I sometimes tremble as it must be very hard on their backs for the long term.

I used to so enjoy the little Glen of Imaal Terriers, they’re very loving and plucky but one fears that as a breed, there are so few of them now. Our Micks are doing well and most people recognise them now. I think the website has something to do with that!

Marybel is on great form, she’s what we should call a socialite, she waves from the gate for half the day and after her walk, curls up on my bed – what a wonderful life!

We did however, have a strange ‘slip-up’ with Marybel last week – we were looking at the little film that we made, it’s here . . .  and then the very funny moment when I say “They don’t always do as they’re told” and Miss Libbs takes a great leap off my lap barking loudly, it’s very funny.

But poor Marybel obviously recognised Libby’s bark and thought she was somewhere in the house – it made me very sad and I felt I should have seen that coming. She has such an upbeat, living for the moment character and soon settled down for her afternoon nap.

 

She’s very good at leaping through the suspended hoop on her very shaky gym equipment – I refuse to call it agility! She spends a lot of time walking round, waiting for an audience – she has her own version of everything and it always ends up with a little pose on the garden table as she waits for the clapping.

She got stuck in the tunnel which is only half wired and she seemed to forget which way was the way out, she was tussling around inside it and eventually shot out through the open end to the usual applause. It’s not a matter of teaching her, improvisation is her strong point and she always makes us laugh.

 

It’s strange to me that it’s taken so long for dogs, who are born to be our greatest healers, should only now be recognised as such a valuable part of the medical and care community.

 

I’ve known it all my life, from being a tiny child and throwing my arms round the neck of our beloved Jocky Boy – he always put the world to rights.

 

 

 

The most popular card we have is this one of my granddaughter Imo cuddling her beloved Tessie her first puppy.

 

We’ve just put up a lovely article about Solo, an Irish Terrier who helps with the wilderness therapy training, you can read Robin’s beautiful story here

 

The walk along the sea wall has remained a great favourite of mine, I always remember Miss Libbs chasing her Beaus from one end of the wall to the other and then running back exhausted – I never knew such a flirt!

I do hope you’re enjoying this year’s calendar, we’re always looking for pictures and stories so please do send them to lucy@weloveirishterriers.com

With many blessings and my special love to the dogs.