‘With two dogs and three cats, plus four children, my house is total chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way' – Jennifer Whitmore on her rescue pets
The Social Democrats TD wouldn't part with her rescue dogs and cats, but highlights the need for better animal welfare
Today at 21:30
With two dogs and three cats in residence – not to mention four children – my house is total chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's wonderful for children to have pets around; each of our kids has their own go-to pet and that's lovely. You can learn a great deal from being close to animals and our lot definitely bring so much to our lives.
Our oldest dog Bobby is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We don't really know his backstory because he was a rescue dog, but we think he's 17 years old now. It's a great age, alright, but he has always been a very relaxed dog – when he first arrived with us when he was young, he was only in the house a few days before he was very well acquainted with the sofa. He totally took over! We also have Daisy now. She was three when we got her from Wicklow Animal Welfare.
She's a lovely Llewellin Setter – like an English Setter – and she is such a baby. She didn't have a good start in life because she was kept outside in a horsebox all the time and used purely for breeding purposes. I'll never forget how she looked when we first saw her – she was so sad. Poor Daisy; she'd never had a puppyhood. Well, she may be five years old at this stage, but she's having it now!
As if the two dogs aren't enough to deal with, we also have the cats. Teddy Blue was rehomed with us from the North, and then we also got George and Lizzie. They're all great cats but George in particular seems to get loads of attention – my husband adores George and even Daisy the dog is besotted with him. Daisy just sits there, staring at him; you'd love to know what she's thinking.
We have a house full of pets but I didn't have any at all when I was growing up in Wexford. When I lived in Australia for 10 years or so, my husband and I did have two indoor cats but, to be honest, owning and looking after pets has been a great new experience for me. There's sadness too, of course. We had a Golden Retriever called Holly and she died about three years ago; it is so heart-breaking when you lose a pet.
There are some very serious issues around animal welfare in this country. It's a big problem and we need to introduce proper reform. There are far too many dogs being bred here. Just look at the rescue centres – all of them are full of beautiful dogs that have just been dumped. As a society, we really need to get our act together.
When it comes to my own pets, I'm lucky; they bring so much to my life. I just love just sitting quietly at times and snuggling with them. It's actually quite meditative. Bobby is happy enough these days with a short walk along our road but Daisy loves going to the beach for a run.
Yes, my house is certainly chaos with the dogs and cats all mooching around, but I wouldn't be without a single one of them.
As told to Roslyn Dee
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Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
‘With two dogs and three cats, plus four children, my house is total chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way' – Jennifer Whitmore on her rescue pets
The Social Democrats TD wouldn't part with her rescue dogs and cats, but highlights the need for better animal welfare Today at 21:30 With two dogs and three cats in residence – not to mention four children – my house is total chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's wonderful for children to have pets around; each of our kids has their own go-to pet and that's lovely. You can learn a great deal from being close to animals and our lot definitely bring so much to our lives. Our oldest dog Bobby is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We don't really know his backstory because he was a rescue dog, but we think he's 17 years old now. It's a great age, alright, but he has always been a very relaxed dog – when he first arrived with us when he was young, he was only in the house a few days before he was very well acquainted with the sofa. He totally took over! We also have Daisy now. She was three when we got her from Wicklow Animal Welfare. She's a lovely Llewellin Setter – like an English Setter – and she is such a baby. She didn't have a good start in life because she was kept outside in a horsebox all the time and used purely for breeding purposes. I'll never forget how she looked when we first saw her – she was so sad. Poor Daisy; she'd never had a puppyhood. Well, she may be five years old at this stage, but she's having it now! As if the two dogs aren't enough to deal with, we also have the cats. Teddy Blue was rehomed with us from the North, and then we also got George and Lizzie. They're all great cats but George in particular seems to get loads of attention – my husband adores George and even Daisy the dog is besotted with him. Daisy just sits there, staring at him; you'd love to know what she's thinking. We have a house full of pets but I didn't have any at all when I was growing up in Wexford. When I lived in Australia for 10 years or so, my husband and I did have two indoor cats but, to be honest, owning and looking after pets has been a great new experience for me. There's sadness too, of course. We had a Golden Retriever called Holly and she died about three years ago; it is so heart-breaking when you lose a pet. There are some very serious issues around animal welfare in this country. It's a big problem and we need to introduce proper reform. There are far too many dogs being bred here. Just look at the rescue centres – all of them are full of beautiful dogs that have just been dumped. As a society, we really need to get our act together. When it comes to my own pets, I'm lucky; they bring so much to my life. I just love just sitting quietly at times and snuggling with them. It's actually quite meditative. Bobby is happy enough these days with a short walk along our road but Daisy loves going to the beach for a run. Yes, my house is certainly chaos with the dogs and cats all mooching around, but I wouldn't be without a single one of them. As told to Roslyn Dee
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
28 people deported to Nigeria detained prior to flight
Twenty-eight of the 35 people who were deported to Nigeria on a charter flight from Ireland this week were held in custody prior to their deportation. The average length of their detention was 27 days. The figures were provided in response to a request to the Department of Justice by RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin. In a statement, the Department said a person who is subject of a deportation order can be held for up to 56 days "for the purpose of ensuring their deportation from the State". It added that this was "to facilitate the procurement of travel documentation and the making of arrangements for the deportation flight". Details were not provided on where those deported this week were detained in advance of the flight to Nigeria. However, the Department said there are a number of "prescribed places of detention" which include Castlerea Prsion, Cloverhill Prison, Cork Prison, Limerick Prison, Midlands Prison and Wheatfield Prison. It is understood women detained prior to deportation are held at the Dóchas Centre in Dublin. Detainees can also be held at any garda station. Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Fianna Fáil Minister of State Charlie McConalogue said that in some instances it was necessary to detain people in advance of deportation, but this was "hopefully in a small number of circumstances". "The information I have in terms of the women and children involved, there was no detentions there, that there was a date given in advance," Mr McConalogue said. The breakdown of figures for the flight to Nigeria included 21 men, nine women and five children - indicating that at least some women were held in custody prior to their enforced deportation. Speaking on the same programme, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said: "There is no doubt that part of what the very high profile nature of Minister O'Callaghan has done is to try and distract attention away from their failures in terms of running an international protection system that is compassionate, that is human rights rooted, but also that is fair, efficient and ultimately enforced." Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said the events of Thursday morning was "the stuff of nightmares" for the children deported - as well as the children who witnessed their friends being taken away by gardaí.
The Journal
3 days ago
- The Journal
Children deported this week are 'victims for a state wanting to look tough', Dublin TD says
A DUBLIN TD has said that children should not face deportations from the state as outcry continues over the removal of a number of kids on a chartered flight to Nigeria by the Irish government this week. Social Democrats deputy Gary Gannon said that children were being made 'victims for a state wanting to look tough', adding that Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan has 'serious questions to answer' over this week's deportations. It comes after the principal of St James school in Dublin 8 that saw two of its pupils deported to Nigeria on Wednesday night criticised the decision to deport , saying that staff and pupils have been left 'devastated'. Five children and thirty adults were removed from Ireland on the chartered flight as part of the Department of Justice's new crackdown on immigration. School principal Ciarán Cronin had told The Journal that two of the children who were removed from the state had been pupils at his school for three years, and have in that time become an integral part of the community there. 'They've been part of our football team, part of our school fabric, part of our school lives,' he said yesterday. Defending the use of the flights yesterday, O'Callaghan said that deportations 'aren't a very pleasant part of the job,' but said the system becomes 'meaningless' if it won't make a difference whether people are granted asylum or not. Gannon told RTÉ Radio One's Today with Claire Byrne that there should be a regularisation scheme for children who have been in Ireland for a year, allowing them to stay here. 'If the system doesn't working at the moment we cannot punish the children that are over here,' he said, adding that a 'compassionate' approach was needed. Gannon also sought information on how many children are currently on deportation lists in Ireland. Advertisement He said the deportation of the children this week was 'devastating', especially for kids who were in Ireland for the past three and four years who have little 'The children on that flight, in the St James school in the Red Cow, they shouldn't be the victims for a state looking to look tough.' 'The consequences are not only for those on the deportation flight, it's for the other 20 odd children,' Gannon said, referring to St James School, describing it 'momentously painful' for the children involved. 'They have the right to come here, if the system is taking too long that is a failure of the state, not a failure of those parents,' Gannon said. Sinn Féin frontbench TD Eoin Ó Broin told reporters this morning that Ireland needs an international protection system that is compassionate, that is human rights based, that takes decisions in a timely manner. Asked whether he believes it's right to deport children who have residing in Ireland over recent years, he said that 'the real problem here is nobody should be waiting for three, four or five years for those decisions to be made'. 'I think if the government took the advice that ourselves and many others, including advocacy groups for people seeking international protection, to ensure decisions were made in a timely manner, then we wouldn't have the kind of challenges that we've seen this week,' the Dublin Mid-West TD said. 'But ultimately international protection has to do what it says. You're either granted international protection, you get your right to remain in the state, or if you're not granted international protection, you lose an appeal, and you lose the application to remain.' Asked about criticism that the government may be trying to appear more aggressive towards migration, he said the issue was that the government had 'made a complete mess' of the international protection system. 'Just like they've made a mess of housing, whether it's housing vacancy or housing more generally, they've made a mess of international protection, and therefore we will continue to raise the concerns that we have always raised with government until they get the system right.' With reporting from Mairead Maguire Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
