Happy Birthday Holmes!

Happy Birthday to my first born son Holmes!

In 2011 I was but a slip of a thing, living the carefree life of a student and surrounded by the bright lights of Dublin’s fair city. All was wonderful! Then one night Fred and I decided that driving 200 miles to see each other wasn’t really such a great idea and that maybe I should just move to Northern Ireland. To make sure I didn’t back out (and possibly to check it wasn’t the gin talking) Fred bought me a dog. He has regretted and lamented it ever since and vowed to never again make a decision on impulsive.

The dog we called Holmes (after Sherlock), he was heart-breakingly beautiful, with the fluffiest Apricot fur, the deepest brown eyes and the wettest black nose. I was instantly in love! As it turned out, Holmes was a complete and utter psychopath with more energy than an atom bomb who would faithfully devote himself to ruining Fred’s life. On the drive back to Dublin there was an ominous warning of what life would be like with this Monster of Mayhem when he vomited a noxious concoction of straw, cornflakes and (apparently) rotting fish straight into the gear box. Nice!

Despite a never ending campaign of terror aimed directly at Fred, Holmes has been my best friend since the second we met. He is the reason I moved to Northern Ireland and frequently the reason I stayed! He greets every day with enthusiasm and an unshakable conviction that he is king of the world, he views every new challenge as a chance for fun and every new face as a possible friend. He holds no grudges but he never forgets, he embodies the spirit of our family and he has not got an obedient bone in his body! Without any doubt I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the love and lessons from Holmes.

Not a single day passes when I’m not grateful for this dog, yes he’s a mostly a raving lunatic but he’s also the most hilarious, caring, understanding and wisest person I know. On days when the world gets too loud, Holmes is always there, ready to listen, ready to accept and ready to heal. I cannot and wouldn’t want to imagine Cnoc na Gaire without him.

So happy birthday and thank you to my darling dog, who can’t read but is so wonderful he deserves this post. Holmes deserves none of the things Fred would say about him, so he won’t be asked to comment. 

P.S. Don’t worry, Claude will get his own post when his birthday rolls around!

P.P.S. If you think he’s ‘just’ a dog, may I remind you that you are a mere human with a capacity for cruelty and selfishness never present in a dog.