Those puppy dog eyes: Limerick couple put their 'trust' in dog welfare charity

WHEN Shane Hickey-O’Mara and Emmett McNamara open the door of their home in Limerick city, it doesn’t take long for their four-legged friend, Obie, to make an appearance.

Carrying his favourite stuffed animal, a green duck nearly as big as him, the two-month old Springer Spaniel cannot contain his excitement and is eager to say hello to visitors. As his owners discuss his adoption, he poses for the camera, to which he shows all of his tricks.

The couple, from Ballynanty and Caherdavin,  adopted Obie - formally named Oberon - via Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity.

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When they moved in together, the pair agreed that, once settled, they would start looking for a dog. For them, adoption was the only option.
Shane has been sponsoring Dogs Trust Puppy playgroup, so the charity holds a special place in his heart.

“I love the work they do, they’re so cautious. They love dogs so much, it’s so evident in their staff. For four years I've been sponsoring, Dogs Trust Puppy playgroup. They write to you, they send you cards, like Christmas cards, Valentine's Day cards,” Shane says.

“We still have one of the cards up on the fridge to this day,” Emmett smiles. “They're so beautiful with the dogs. The work that they do to make sure that the puppy goes to a home that is prepared and ready for them is outstanding. They would make sure that the puppy has all their vaccinations, fully chipped that they have very basic training. We even went away with extra stuff that we weren't even expecting. Like they gave us a full week's worth of food for him for the very first time, blankets, a leash. The adoption fee included basic puppy training courses as well, which can be quite expensive.”

The couple firmly believe in “adopt, don’t shop.” While his owners share his story, Obie is taking a power nap - with his paws in the air. After all, he needs his rest to  prepare for his second puppy class - and his first walk in the park.

“We don't want to funnel in any money towards any kind of puppy farming,” says Emmett.

Glancing at the sleepy puppy, Shane says: “His mum has a sad story. She was a working dog and she got pregnant and the owner thought that she would maybe be useless to him. From then on, he surrendered her and she was pregnant, so thank goodness he surrendered her to Dogs Trust. They took her in, she had five puppies and they've all been re-homed. And she's then gonna be re-owned.”

Since 2005, Dogs Trust have been working in Ireland. They believe every dog deserves to live a safe, healthy and happy life. In 2022, the charity re-homed 664 dogs.

In June, the charity delivered a petition to the Oireachtas Committee with nearly 60,000 signatures to ban puppy farms. According to Dogs Trust, this year alone, they cared for 130 victims of puppy farming. Their request is simple: to register all breeder license holders online via a local authority, so the public can know where a puppy or a dog has been bred before buying.

After filing the adoption form, Emmett and Shane got presented with the Springer Spaniel puppy.
Adopting Obie was not a decision they made lightly.

Shane notes: “We talked about it for like three days, just to make sure that we were weighing up everything. They sent us two pictures and we picked this fella, a heartbreaker.

“If we adopt from a place like Dogs Trust, then that frees up another space for a dog to be rescued  in a pound or when they're surrendered and they have the capacity. They have the staff and they have the tools in order to help other furry friends,” says Emmett.

Even though he only moved in a couple of weeks ago, the pup quickly found his feet and already knows several tricks. According to his humans, he is incredibly curious, a big cuddle bug and highly intelligent.

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Shane laughs: “It's puppy brain. He's like ‘that's a leaf, this is a ball, this is brilliant. Why are you saying I can't do this?’”
 When they first met him, Obie was named Stuart.

“We kind of looked at him and thought he kind of looks like a Stuart. We had three names, we didn't know which one to give him because he kind of suited them all. But then, we just started saying them and as soon as we said Obie, his tail started to wagon, so he picked his own name,” recalls Emmett.

Both big fans of Shakespeare, the pair named Obie after Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

If there is one thing they love about Obie, it's the unconditional love he has to share.

“It's just the love that he has.  You saw it yourself when you walked in that he was all over you straight away. He's like, ‘I love this person immediately’. Nothing bad has ever happened to him. So he is just like, everyone is great.”
Perhaps we could all stand to be a little bit more like Obie.

For further information, visit dogstrust.ie