Rosemary and Ferdia

Tell me a little about your dog - where did she come from?

'I got Ferdia from a greyhound rescue society here in Oxford. She is an ex-racer and her racing name was Gangster Moll! I called her Ferdia, which is an old Irish name. My previous greyhound was called Setanta, and one of the great sagas of Irish storytelling is all about Setanta and a great battle over a prize bull, of all things. Two great warriors on either side of the argument are to engage in single combat to the death, and unfortunately that is Cuchulainn (i.e. Setanta) and his best friend Ferdia. They are forced to fight and they go down to the river each night to bathe each others’ wounds, but in the end they both die. So, having had a dog called Setanta I had to call my second dog Ferdia!'

What makes your dog unique?

'Ferdia stands out in her self-confidence and self-awareness. In the kennels where I got her, I was trying to choose between her and one other dog. The owner of the kennels told me that the other dog was a ‘thinker’ - he would never put himself forward - whereas this one would be a film star if she was a human because she was always saying ‘look at me! Look at me!’ I’d had a thinker first of all in Setanta, so I decided I’d have a film star instead!'

Has your dog changed over the years?

'The old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks is wrong. You should never assume that they’ve stopped learning. Their circumstances also change and they have to learn to adapt to new things even when they’re old. After we moved Ferdia would walk past our old house and not even look at it!

I would say that humans underestimate animals, as a general proposition. It is only by living with an animal that you really come to appreciate how much they know. I talk to her all the time, and I do swear she understands what I’m saying. It’s one of those odd things, how does she understand? What is it about something that I say to her that she quite clearly knows what I’m talking about? When it comes up to bedtime and I say to her, ‘is it doggy bedtime?’ she’ll come up to me and want her cuddle and to go out. How does she know that this is what it’s all about (that she’s going to bed, and so am I)?'

Do you see your dog as a ‘person’?

'A dog is like a person, but different. Your communication skills with them aren’t as good as with a human being, because they can’t answer, and you’re having to guess very often what they’re thinking or going through, so it’s just a different form of relationship. Of course, it’s also one of terrible dependency on their part, and you’ve got to bear that in mind. It’s rather like having a child because you have a responsibility to them. Cruelty to animals is terrible because it is a betrayal of this position.'