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ISLEOFMANEXAMINER

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 www.iomtoday.co.im DAVID CRETNEY I t is often saidbut it is completely true. ions allmy life. Perhaps becausemy parentsweren’t together long enough forme tohave any brothers or sisters they have been even more special. My last dogwas Jasper, a really intelligent, loyal, handsome poodle. He came fromSanton andwe shared lots of adventures around the island. I hadnever had a poodle before but he became a very close companion. He lived to a good age but latterly for quite some time he had the onset of what I woulddescribe as ‘doggie dementia’ where hewouldbecome confused andhad to be assistedwith various everyday things. His health gradually deteriorated andwe accepted the in- evitablewouldbe on the horizon andmade a decision that if therewere any signswhatsoever of discomfort or pain that af- fectedhis quality of life his needswould always comefirst. When the time did come I decided that because hewas so special if wewere towelcome another dog into our family it wouldnot be another poodle. Thiswas about two years ago. Fortunately, I was able to spend a lot of timewithSarah’s dogRoxy. An affectionate, fun-loving jack russell terrier, she had spent a lot of timewalking around theManx countrysidewith Jasper andme and sowhenhe had leftusmy timewithher be- came evenmore important. Unlike Jasper shewas in very goodhealth andher health deterioratedbecause of a growth adjacent toher brainwithin aweek. Dogs become an important part of your family. When the time comes to say goodbye it is so traumat- ic and sometimes a familywill say never again. Dogs have as I’ve said onhere before been compan-

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RosieandTed

Man’s best friends and part of family

Itwas very traumatic for every- one concerned and it became inevi- tablewe had to do the right thing for her. I thinkbecause the deteriora- tion fromgoodhealth to leaving us was so rapid itwas evenmore pain- ful and still hurtswhen I think of all the happy timeswe had. She passed inMay this year. For thefirst time inmy life be- cause of our closeness the thought crossedmymindwhether I wanted tohave another dog at all. Having had companions of the four-legged variety allmy life and faced the trauma of loss so sharply withRoxy this has causedme to think long andhard. My younger daughter Julie and husbandTomhave been looking for a pup for quite some time. I remember taking her toCrufts years ago and she liked the Japa- neseChinbreed so I knewher favouriteswere fromthe ‘toy dog’ category. Eventually they settled on aMorkie, aMaltese-Yorkiemix. She has been in touchwith the breeder since the pupswere born and she shared clips of the pups andphotoswithour family. They nowhave a new family member Rasmus anddespite his small size he is a real character and has fitted inperfectly. Well enough said, having seen these little bundles of fluffas they developed over several weeks I started looking at images ofmy fa- vourite breeds. I’ve always been a terrier per- son since I was a boy having shared parts ofmy lifewithLakeland,West Highland, Yorkshire and jack rus- sell breeds. When I was young andhad a Lakeland terrier I went to dog shows and showedhimwhich I en- joyed. At that time I remember clearly aman fromthe north, I thinkAn- dreas,Mr TEKaighen showing lovelywire haired fox terriers.

Fynlowouldbe joining the family! Another little character, both families nowhave special compan- ions. I was in touchwith a very reputa- ble breeder of wire-haired fox terri- ers inBallymena, Northern Ireland, and as good fortunewouldhave it he had a litter bornon June 30. He only breeds this type and only has two litters each year. I was obviously getting closer to a deci- sion and spent a lot of time studying the breed. The litter comprised two girls and one boy. Myfirst thoughtwas that one of the girlsmight suit and thenwon- deredwhether two girlswouldbe good company. Well, suffice to say, a great deal of time and thoughtwas given towhat wouldbe the best. Obviously for me a dog or dogs thatwant plenty of exercisewas a prerequisite and I re- ally do like the look of the breed. When visitingCrufts I have alwaysmade a beeline to look at them. Eventually after days of think- ing about it and hours lying inbed unable to sleep and thinking about options because a decisionwould be needed I decided onRosie and Ted, yes a brother and sister and confirmed this. Againphotos and clips hadbeen

Training in a number of areas will follow in the time aheadbut they are already affectionate, so- cialised and verywelcome family members! I can’t leave this piecewithout commenting on the unacceptable delays inupdating animal welfare legislation for companion animals. After a petition fromRosaleen Harrison toTynwald in2014 I chaired a committeewhichmade recommendations inTynwald to the thenDepartment of Environ- ment Food andAgriculture. Their positionwas that they had plans (in2016) to bring forward such legislation.When I became a member of DEFA some considera- ble time later I chaired a committee which included vets, animal chari- table interests, police and others. We further consulted andmet a number of people interested in the welfare of animals. Brexit came along and the time of legislative drafterswas priori- tised to this. A suggestion that the use of the UK legislation, with some amend- mentswas rejectedby theHouse of Keys. Those elected in a couple of weeksmust ensure thismatter and others in relation to animals receives long overdue priority at- tention.

Former member of Tynwald David Cretney shares his views with our readers

As a little boy I remembered thembeing featured onpush along toys and I think thatmay inpart have influencedmy attraction to the breed. My good friendRaymondCox is a vocal proponent of the qualities of Welsh terriers somy choice if I was to take the decision tohave another dogwas narroweddown to these two breeds. Bothmy daughters, like us, have been close to dogs and appreciated the quality they add to life since theywere little. So, whilst all this examination of breedswas taking place, Sarah, Richard, Ivy andStan, wellmostly Sarah, started looking aswell! Long story short but the next developmentwas the family going up toRamsey tomeet a litter of Par- son russell terriers andmaking the probably inevitable decision that

Fynlo

sharedwithme andbefore I knew it I was on a day trip on the SeaCat to Belfast to collect themonSeptem- ber 2. They have settled in verywell though I had forgotten about a number of things associatedwith pups, like getting up at 3amthefirst night as clearly they needed some comforting! I had forgotten about pups grab- bing everything in the garden, or trying there teethout on every- thing.