Canine companionship: three dog lovers talk about life with furry friends

Ahead of International Dog Day, three canine lovers speak to Jonathan deBurca Butler about the role pups play in their lives

Rick O'Shea, Niamh O'Sullivan and Tom Dunne, with their canine companions

While this Saturday’s International Dog Day is a chance to reflect on the joy, love, and loyalty offered to us by man’s best friend, most dog owners need little excuse to celebrate their canine companions.

Rick O'Shea with his dogs

For RTÉ Gold broadcaster and event host, Rick O’Shea, every day is a feast full of fun and the quirky antics of his two dogs TJ and George.

“I was fairly sure that dogs weren’t for me,” the 50-year-old says. “I had had cats before and they come and go as they please but dogs are different altogether. There is so much more commitment involved and I was just too busy to even think of getting one let alone two. Then covid came along and changed everything.

“My wife was now working from home so when we were a few months into it, we had a conversation about getting a dog. She had been following the DSPCA for a long time on Instagram and one day she sent me a post from their feed, with two dogs in it.

“They had both come from the same home, so they were looking for people to take them together. I just looked at the picture and said: ‘Yes, it’s those two’.”

As we speak, there is a sudden outburst in the background. TJ, who Rick describes as a Jack Russell Chihuahua cross, has spotted another dog audaciously passing in front of the house. He is soon joined by George, a Border Terrier Pug cross, who barrels in with a few high-pitched barks of his own. They soon pipe down as the offending dog prances quietly away from their turf and the first of that day’s doggy dramas ends.

“TJ is the older of the two,” Rick says. “He had been in an accident when he was a puppy so he has a gammy paw and it’s difficult for him because he is the excitable and yappy one. If you let him off the lead, he’ll go like a bolt. He’s ten but he has the energy of three dogs. He’s the affectionate one who will sit on your lap.

“He likes being close to people and always has done.

“George was a bit more standoffish at the beginning and it’s only in the last three months that he will come and sit on your lap. We’re still joking that his persona is developing. But both of our guys are people-centric.”

Rick is quite sure that adopting TJ and George “kept him grounded and sane during covid” and because they need quite a bit of walking it also kept his weight down while stopping him from simply “eating [his] way through the pandemic”.

But more than anything it is the love and the sense of being appreciated that lifts his spirits the most.

“You get so much affection from dogs,” he says. “There are days when I come from work and my dogs are the most excited that they could possibly be to see any human. They go berserk when I come in the door. It’s like I come home from the war every day. It’s very hard to beat.”

Niamh O'Sullivan and her dog

Niamh O’Sullivan’s 10-year-old Cairn Terrier Maggie is also a rescue.

“We rescued her from the DSPCA by complete accident really,” the food and fashion influencer says. “I wanted to work closely with the charity to promote adopting dogs rather than people buying them, so I went out one day to highlight some of the dogs that had been there for a while on my Instagram and when I met Maggie it was love at first sight.”

Like all good love stories, serendipity played its part. That very same day, Maggie was being sent off to test the waters in another home and Niamh was resigned to never seeing her again.

“Thankfully, it didn’t work out,” the 31-year-old adds. “She came to us and it’s been amazing having her. There’s always life in the house. She is sassy. She is very much the head of the household. She has a huge personality for such a tiny dog. It’s like she looks in the mirror and sees an Alsatian.”

Niamh, who grew up around dogs, was about a year-and-a-half without one before adopting Maggie.

“It was weird not having dogs around for that period,” she says.

“Myself and my fiance both work for ourselves but I work from home and I really wanted the companionship. So it was me pushing to get one really. At this stage, David is equally as obsessed as I am. As well as keeping me company though, it also gets me out of the house and you meet people by just getting out and getting some air. When you work alone, like I do a lot of the time, that can be very important.”

Tom Dunne with Murph

Tom Dunne’s day usually starts off with a short walk to a nearby park with his Cocker Spaniel, Murph.

“We go there every morning at 8.30 and meet up with other dog owners,” the broadcaster and singer says.

“It’s become a bit of a ritual and he’s very popular with everyone. He’s very friendly and loves people. He gets on well with other dogs too. Happy character.” As it happens, Murph is celebrating his tenth birthday on the day we speak. This prompts all sorts of fond memories for Tom.

“We got him from a woman down in Kilkenny,” he recalls. “He was the last one left of a litter and for years we thought he was actually the runt.

“We later discovered the breeder actually wanted to keep him but her husband had said no. His father’s name was Murph so he was named after his father.” Just a few weeks after meeting him for the first time, Tom brought Murph home to meet his daughters then aged five and seven.

“When the girls were younger we used to take him training every weekend and they would try to teach him things,” Tom says. “ They had to look after him and feed him and make sure he was OK and I think they’ve shared in his life journey in a way.

“He’s been sick three times and that’s given them a sense of not taking things for granted. Murph is a real glue in the house. He’s the centre of the house. He’s kind of everyone’s hero. One of my daughters came home from the Gaeltacht yesterday and it was the dog she was down on her hands and knees saying hello to. We had to take our place in the queue.” 

Though he is “very gentle”, Tom admits that there is, like most Cocker Spaniels, a little divilment in him. There’s nothing Murph likes more than getting hold of a good sock and putting you through your paces as you try to retrieve it.

“He is a great companion,” he says. “I walk him a lot, at least an hour a day. It has become a huge part of my life. I love it. I take him along the coast and listen to books. I look forward to it every day. I am just so used to having this positive companion who is delighted to see me.”