Féile's Fundraiser

In December 2017 my girlfriend and I got a dog from a rescue centre in Kilkenny. The following few months were some of the best we've had. We named the dog Féile, the Irish word for celebration, and we named her well; she brought so much positivity into our lives. It's not an understatement to say Jasmine has a mild obsession with dogs, and I'd always wanted one as a child but my parents weren't into it, so giving an unwanted dog a home was a win for all involved. She was a gorgeous pet in every sense and life was noticeably more peachy because of her.

Just a little over a year ago I went out to Clogher Head with the camera and took Féile with me. She was a good dog, who'd come when she was called and generally did what we asked. Nearly all her walks were at the beach, where she could walk off the lead with little danger or distraction. I had her off the lead at Clogher. We walked out towards the end of the headland where I was hoping to find a nice scene to photograph. While I was scouting for a composition Féile must have gotten bored with me and wandered. I noticed after a couple of minutes she wasn't with me. I called and she didn't appear. About twenty minutes after first realising she was gone I saw her dead in the sea, about 100m below me in the fading light. I had to use my longest lens to take a picture just to be sure. I don't know what happened. My best guess is she bolted for a hare and got led over the cliff. I had too much faith her in, and not enough experience with dogs to even imagine a danger like that. I'll beat myself up til I'm dead for letting it happen. It's a testament to Jasmine that she didn't push me over the cliff when she came out and found out. I wouldn't have blamed her. The swell the next morning was huge. I remember being in awe of it and hating it at the same time. We never got Féile's body back.

We're eager to try and drag some bit of good from a shitty situation though. Or at least Jas is more than I am. Truth be told I'm probably doing the classic male thing of burying it and trying to forget, but all the same I'm definitely on board for Féile's Fundraiser. All the money donated will go to dog related charities; to rescue centres looking to rehome unwanted dogs and to SARDA, the Search and Rescue Dogs Association, who do great work using clever dogs to find missing people. There are heaps of prizes up for grabs, donated by brilliant friends of ours. You can win anything regardless of how much you donate, including a gorgeous painting by Jasmine's dad, beautiful jewellery by Abi Dillon and Breeda Hughes, a framed picture of a gannet by me and plenty more. Check out the Facebook page for more info.

I have to admit I feel a bit silly writing this as I know plenty of people couldn't care less about dogs and wouldn't think much about something like that happening. But that's grand, there are plenty of people like us who adore dogs and get heartbroken when they go. At the end of the day Jasmine is just trying to make some good of a bad situation and help out people and animals who rely on kindness to continue the work they do. If you want to donate anything at all then thanks a million.