Harold's Cross

Covid Kitten

1st Place – Jackie Charlton

He has cat friends who call to the house for him to come and play. He loves watching his granny bake as he hopes to get some milk, butter, eggs, cream or yogurt. He is clean, fun, affectionate and loves to be petted on the head. He likes to have doors opened for him but is not always sure he wants to use them.

2nd Place – Gambit

We got Gambit two weeks ago and she has made herself right at home. She loves being an office cat and is now a permanent fixture in all my virtual meetings. This photo was taken the first time she jumped onto the chair herself and stole my seat. She didn’t care that she couldn’t get down. The next day she became brave enough to jump onto the desk and found ‘delete’ on the keyboard almost immediately. It took me the next half hour to undo her path of destruction.

Covid Cat

1st Place – Luna

I met Luna during a volunteer shift at DSPCA on a rainy and dull Sunday in November 2016. We had moved from Rathmines to Mount Argus during the summer of that year, as soon as the renovation works in our new home were completed. It had taken us a year to find the perfect home for cats. A nice and quiet cul-de-sac with plenty of gardens to explore and a beautiful park! Since I moved to Ireland, I have been adopted by cats. I shared unforgettable evenings in the patio of my ground floor apartment in Lissenfiled with my first cat, Tiger. Watching the sky catching fire at sunset, feeling the freshness of the recently cut lawn, breathing the smell of colourful summer flowers and dreaming at the sound of his purrs. Tiger was a striped stray who miraculously appeared at my doorstep and who accompanied me through happiness, sadness, adventures, discoveries and loss for ten years. It was then time to move out. The grief only healed on that grey November Sunday afternoon at DSPCA. I was assigned to go to a special unit for cats who had just arrived to the shelter and were in need of pre-adoption care. There, I met Luna, a charming 12 week old kitten from Inchicore who left a paw mark on my heart. The next morning I found myself cycling to work and singing an old Italian song from my teenage years called “Luna”. I could not stop singing and thinking of her small round face. She was wearing a big white neck cone which made her resemble Shakespeare, her eyes were twinkling like sequins. In the following years, I discovered that Italian music had actually dedicated many other songs to “Luna”, which means moon. Since then my heart and sung louder and louder! Luna is now a five year old happy outdoor and indoor cat who makes every day of my life special, even and more so in a Pandemic! We share the love for books and (jazz) music. In the collage attached she is totally engrossed in timeless classics, from T.S Eliot to James Joyce.

2nd Place – Azra

We adopted Azra from Phibsboro Cat Rescue during the pandemic. She’s been the best company through the whole thing. She’s a very gentle cat, and wouldn’t harm a fly.

Best Pandemic Pet (non dog/cat)

Ivy The Turkey  

Ivy’s arthritis had gotten worse over the years as she was only bred to live a short time & she was no longer able to fend for herself. I took her home with me where she now happily resides with a blind chicken called Claudia, a blind cock named Ray Darcy & an ex battery chicken named Belinda Morgan who has an old leg injury.Three rescue dogs and now some of the poor tic tok ducks. I have made my shed into a safe haven for my feathery friends, they have a heat lamp, a radio, access to my little garden & a selection of fresh food everyday. Ivy loves when you sing to her & makes a loud noise before she lays an egg Ivy loves human company & the company of her rescued pals who live with her.Thank you.

2nd Place – Terry The Tortoise

Terry is a Hermann’s Tortoise. He is 3 and a half years old. He loves eating, especially dandelions and carrot, and he loves going out in the sun when the weather is warm to sun bathe. This is Terry’s debut competition and he is very excited!

Best Dressed Pandemic Partners (Human + Any Pet)

Buddy & his brother Monty were Covid puppies who recently celebrated their first birthday together on May 3rd. Buddy is delighted to get older and wiser but Monty is living a forever young dream and was suitably unimpressed with his party, cringeworthy bday outfit and the notable lack of party guests due to Covid restrictions. The boys are looking forward to a bigger and better shindig this time next year when everyone is vaccinated and the pawsecco is flowing.

2nd Place – Best Dressed

Oisin And Liath.Liath is a lovely addition to our household – she is only with us 2 weeks but feels like a lot longer and fits right in. It was our first time having a pet and we got lucky to get her. Unfortunately her original owners found that they were allergic to cats so we got a call to see if we were still interested in taking her….and we drove over straight away to get her. She loves looking at the washing machine, playing in amongst the indoor plants and generally chasing the boys and toys around the house. Her best buddy at the moment is Shelly the sheep, also in the photo.

Best Covid Cut (best groomed, any pet)

Benji The Maltese

Benji The Maltese Terrier Benji had a tougher year than most humans in 2020. He got into a serious car crash, causing his leg to break his leg and lost part of his hearing. Two months later his brother died of cancer and then lost a lot of weight from the sadness! But 2021 is looking bright for Benji, he is much more cheerful now and has gained back his weight and is loving his new haircut! He’s a cheerful little fella who loves his treats and cuddles 🙂

Archie The Mini SchnauzerArchie is a 3 year old miniature schnauzer. His best friends are his human bros Jack and DJ and recently he has been mentoring his new puppy cousin Bertie. He has taught him how to eat shoes, steal socks , sneak upstairs and bark like a lunatic at the neighbours cat! But he also taught him how to poop outside and play chasing! He really is the best boy and gives the best hugs and kisses.

Best Pandemic Pet photo taken outside in Harold’s Cross area

Duke The Red Setter.

Duke is a beautiful Irish Red Setter who lives in Terenure and gets to travel when it’s possible and in accordance with Government travel restrictions. He can be seen around Harolds Cross, Rathmines and Terenure on his daily walks. He has his Instagram page – Duke Irish Red Setter. One of his allies is Ryan Tubridy who has spoken about him on a number of occasions and shared images of Duke on his own Instagram Page. Over the last year Duke has featured on social media sites such as Lovin Dublin, Wild Atlantic Way, Visit Dublin, FM104, TodayFM, Q102. He is just a happy dog. Duke spent a lot of time in Galway our Mother – his best friend passed away last year. He loves Dublin as he gets to the parks a lot as well as beaches in particular Sandymount Strand. I am happy to share more information if required!

2nd Place – Simba The Pom

Harold’s Cross Park is her favorite place to run around!

Spot Prizes

Suzie the Boxer

Suzie is a six year old boxer with an obsession with squirrels. She even dreams about catching them. Her new toy was given to her by a therapist to help wean her off the obsession!!

Pops

This is Pops and she’s the best gal on our road !!

Vivienne and George Byrne

Our “veteran” pooch George was rescued nearly 3 years ago now and he has come on some much in confidence and affection. We absolutely adore him. Given that he is a senior dog of 12 years old, we thought that the low walls (3ft/4ft) in our garden would be no issue whatsoever, little did we know George still has the energy and mobility of a puppy! Throughout the first few months of lockdown, George would regularly hurdle the garden wall, and end up 3 or 4 gardens down having seen a cat or squirrel he fancied chasing! Thankfully our neighbours were very understanding and we have since installed a fence to stop this from happening! 🙂 Who knows what he was up to before we started working from home!