Friends Letters

From John Heap

“You gave us such encouragement about our Irish Terrier Dooley and he’s grown up so quickly. We’ve survived his puppyhood and now have an amazing, wonderful, naughty loving, bright, gorgeous ‘lad’ who seduces all (adults and children) who meet him.
With love and thanks for all your words and wisdom, John.

Hi Lucy, my "Mick" is 14 months old name Murphy, I live in NZ in a semi rural location, Murphy is a natural hunter and excels at it, I return home and the mayhem he may cause up the forest is matched by the gentle nature he shows with my two kids around the house. I love him he is my dog and my mate and not only acts on command words but reads your expression no words needed, they are a brilliant breed, like you I get stopped all the time "wow what a great dog" I beam with pride, like Murphy as I am Irish too.

Mike Nugent

Morning to you both, I hope you have had a better summer than we have had in Ireland.

Florrie is her usual bouncy self and everybody who meets her can't believe how old she is!

In May, Florrie got sunstroke on our May Bank Holiday in about the only sun we have had all summer. A big lesson for the future as she was actually in the shade for most of the day.

We have been in Dublin a lot this year which Florrie loves as it means lots of public park walks for her and many exciting ‘P mails’ to read and reply to. Apart from her usual fan base which she adds to every day, numerous photos of her have gone back to America. American tourists simply love her, with the usual cry of, “Is that a real live Irish Terrier.” I have so far resisted the reply of “No, she's the latest in Japanese Doggy Robot technology etc.”

I have some pic's of Florrie in the west of Ireland in a curragh which I will send on to you, very picturesque!

We have water-skied through the bad weather and Florrie has found where the mink live by the lake and has become very interested in them. Not sure what is going to happen when she actually meets one!

We have a temporary new addition to the family, a small black kitten, which I found on the road. Florrie is dealing with it very well. The kitten has taken to tormenting Florrie at every possible opportunity and baring a few warning growls. Warfare hasn't broken out although Florrie has taken to wandering around muttering “kill kitty” under her breath. Hoping to find a home soon for the little thing.

Life, as always, is a fuller happier place with herself by my side.

Regards Dermot

Dear Mrs Jackson,

Thank you so much for writing a book about the Irish Terrier. There are no books in Dutch about my favourite dog but your book was perfect for me. It has given me lots and lots of great information. My Irish terrier Diesel will be two years old next weekend. I just adore him. He is a real Irish Terrier and very very naughty. He makes me laugh but also is my best friend in troubled times. He's a friend for life! I can send you pictures if you like.

Sincerely,

Annemarie Dales

Letter from Vera Deak

I am also very pleased to see "dogs from my home" (Hungary) appear in an English website.

Kind regards,
Vera

Have a look on our features page for the photographs

Regards,
Lucy

Hi Lucy,

Just wanted to say what a delight your site is. So informative and with such lovely pic’s of this lovable breed. I haven't been blessed with one myself but it doesn't stop me admiring other people's dogs.

Thanks so much for sharing - it is much appreciated.

Best wishes

Kati

Dear Mrs Jackson,

I hope you will forgive me for writing to you out of the blue, but we have a rather strange request to ask. This Thursday 14th April I’ll be marrying Conor Mullan. We are the very proud and adoring owners of Brocquy a two year old Irish Terrier. We hoped that you would not mind if my oldest friend read out your marvellous poem ‘Love Song’ during my Wedding service next week. I’m sure that apart from actually getting married it will be the highlight of the service. As a small way of thanks we’d like to take you out to lunch and possibly introduce you to our beloved Brocquy.

With warmest wishes

Emily Fitzroy

Interesting email from Australia

My wife Josephine and I appreciate your newsletters, we have had lots of Irish Terriers over the years, bred them, not long ago we had a collection of five all at the one time, but alas time and tide has taken its toll and we are now left with just one in her twelfth year, Cailin Rua (the Red Colleen).  We have a problem with them here in Australia which fortunately does not apply to you. They actually go hunting for snakes and usually manage a kill, however, they only have to lose once.  We have lost two to snakebite over the years and friends with Irish have lost others.  Careless you may think, but given the nature of the breed and the fact that we live in the country on the coast with endless open space and miles of beaches, the only other alternative would be to keep them confined.  Think they would prefer to have their freedom to run and take their chances.  Of course we have had others that lived to fifteen and sixteen.

Regards,

Vincent Browne

A letter from a regular correspondent, Valentine Duck, who after seeing the film Firehouse Dog wrote to the trainer of the four Irish Terriers to get her impression of the breed. This is Valentine’s letter and the trainer’s response.

I currently have my 3rd Irish Terrier, named Casey.  I think these dogs are wonderful and extremely smart. They make great watch/guard dogs, and I have seen my current dog do some problem solving on his own. I was curious about your impressions of this particular breed and how easy they were to train for the Firehouse Dog movie, especially the scenes involving the obstacle course. Did you see any of the four dogs do any intelligent things on their own without prompting from you or the other trainers? 

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Valentine Duck

Response

Dear Valentine,

I believe the Irish Terrier is an incredibly intelligent dog. They are probably one of the smartest dogs I have had the pleasure of training (and I have trained quite a few). You are correct regarding their problem solving skills and personality. The dogs learned how to run the obstacle course, in only a few weeks of training, as well as many of the dogs in the movie that had spent months and or years doing competitions. Not only that but it was one of their favourite things!
I hope you enjoyed Firehouse Dog and thanks for your email.

Regards,

Lucy

The day finally arrived and we picked up the new addition to the family, 10 week old Aoife; and you’re right, life will never be the same.
 
A little Red Devil with the face of an angel.
 
The cup of tea you've just put down disappears almost in front of your eyes, the cats bomb burst in all directions and the flowers that were in full bloom suddenly loose the heads; and in the middle of all this chaos, with a mouth full of bright yellow petals, sitting serenely in the middle of the lawn is Aoife. With a look on her face that says 'Who me?' 
 
She is certainly living up to her name, as I find that I can't look at her without smiling, no matter what she has done, and it's impossible to walk down the street with her, without seeing smiles on other peoples faces and hearing 'Look at the puppy, it's so cute' or 'mummy can we have one of those?' 
 
She's now 15 weeks old, she's twice the size, her teeth are twice as sharp and she twice the trouble, but I wouldn't change her for the world.               

All the best
Andy, Cath and Aoife