The Leader, Iúil 1989

3 ~ 'lJonegaC Pet Centre ~-, ~" & (jardenSuppUes High Road, Letterkenny Budgies, Canaries, Snakes, Lizards, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Turtles, Terapins, Java Sparrows, Finches, Pups. Plants, Flowers, Garden Ornaments, Gold Fish, Fish Tanks, Bowls, Fish Food. PUPPY LOVE G IVEa dog a bad name and It sticks llke mud to Its paws. Dogs are cute, cuddly, affection· ate, loyal, lovlng. But they are also, in certain breeds, in some circumstances, potential killers . .. as recent dis– tressing events have shown so shockingly. · The sad thing is that for every one killer Rottweiler or bull terrier, there are Rottweillei:s and bull terriers who haven't mauled anyone; and there are thousands and thousands of flop– py-eared, docile pooches, large and small, thoroughbred and mongrel, who only want to be pals. Dogs have a lot of things going for them. Companionship They are there to pat and play with when you're lonely and fed-up and human beings are behaving like the beasts they often are. ' They love you even when you shout at them and ignore them, peer– ing adoringly at you with velvet eyes and quivering tails, as sloppy and sentimental as a Shirley Temple film. They guard your property. They take your for healthy walks in the fresh air. But, like people, th~y can be also bad-tempered, neurotJ.c, unpredict– able, noisy and dirty. · The negative side of dog-owning has been graphically highlighted late– ly. But let's look at the positive side - for the sake of all the millions who get fun and companfonsrup from their pets, and for the. sake of all those who are panicking needlessly and turning against animals· who stiU, most of the t~e, deserve the label "man's best fnend" . -- -- "What we have always stressed is that, at the end of the day, it comes back to responsible dog ownership", says Mr. RichardCook ofthe Society for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals. As a matter of interest Mr. Cook owns a cairn terrier, a wee stray which he adopted and which he adores. "But it's terrified to cross bridges or go over water in any shape or form," he said. "Probably, someone once tried to drown it, or threw it in the river. "We've got to remember that, if a dog is snappy, there's often a good reason for it in its past history. And usually, it's a human who has caused it fear or pain." How safe and well-behaved your dog is starts before you buy, or adopt it. "You have to choose the rightdog for your home and your family life– style," said Mr Moehrle. "You have to choose a dog of the right size, and a dog you can look after properly. If you can't afford to feed it and have it treated by the vet, then yo~ shouldn't have a dog. "Dogs have an awful lot of love and friendship to offer. It is people who have look af their own motives, their own competence to own.a dog, ind the way they train their children. Adoring . "Many a good dog is mercilessly teased by an ill-behaved child, until its patience finally snaps. "You wouldn.'t buy a car without being prepared to look after it, make ;;ure it was properly maintained, and that you could afford to run it. The same goes for dogs." And cars don't welcome you with adoring expressions when you come home after a hard ~y's work! 21-year-old Jim Gallagher, one of three Burtonport men in the team. Clare and Frances Whortskey, Derryveagh Ave., Letterkenny, pictured with their best frtend, "Brandy'', a labrador. Old Newspaper cutting Broke world record for mountain travelling - with milk as their diet. The world champion tunnel tigers of Ben Cruachan, Scotland, came down 1,400ft. to their sea-level camp, said goodbye to their mates, and took off home after breaking · the world record for tunnelling through a mountatn. · Gallagher, youngest member of .After a .week's tough. battle I the team . with ·g:an1te,_ _ deep Inside the For the past 10 years the mountain. driving an aquaduct record stood at 557 ft. for a to take the water towards the week. They now knocked 3 ft . ot'f great Loch Awe hydro-electric thP record leaving it 560 ft. scheme. In their bid to beat th" record. The next few days are not the tiger men waived the usual grudged by .their .bosses. Jong wait, to allow gases, after Seven nationalities formed the dynamiting, to disperst'. 42-man. team workm_g- threP The Burtonport boys are now shifts in their da:ly attack on at home for a few days off the mountainside. before receiving their awards, During that week th~y con- which will he presented hy sumed 80 gaHons of milk. th" Thyssen & Co. Ltd. (Gt. Britain). staple diet of tiger-men too busy Donegal men were among the ~~ !~~~~~~~~ Among the team were three 1955. young Burtonport men. GeorgP. Bonner, his brother Joe. and their cousin, . 21-year-old Jim