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About Me
I have lived in Ballsbridge all my life, a small suburb of south Dublin, often described as 'The Embassy Belt.' Ballsbridge was a great place to grow up and, as you can imagine, there have been many changes since my childhood. The Royal Dublin Society (R.D.S.) is on my doorstep, as is the beach. The city centre is only 15 minutes away and I can be in the heart of the country in an hour. For me there is nowhere better.
My four gorgeous Golden Retrievers, Laurel, Hardy, Charlie and Angel, whom I adore, take up a huge amount of time. I also have a cat, Jasper and a beautiful grey horse, Steel Magnolia, who is now retired. Naturally, you can't have a horse in Dublin, so he lives with a friend in Enniskerry. I try to see him as often as possible.
 Walking was never my strong suit. I'd much rather curl up with a good book or watch a DVD. But with four big dogs that's not an option, so I have learnt to love walking.
Sandymount beach is a stone's throw away. On Sundays, especially, I find myself running 'the boys' and 'my girl' on the beach and meeting up with friends who have 'three girls' ~ Golden Labradors. We have a real hoot! We are joined by others with an array of dogs that get into the action. So it looks like a real circus!
I earned a B.A. and M.A. from Trinity College, Dublin and then a P.G Dip and an M.A. in Applied Languages for Business from the University of Ulster, Coleraine. Since then I have lived in various countries, but for the last thirteen years I have worked in Dublin. Unless you know someone who can dog-sit or know excellent kennels, travelling abroad is not an option when you have dogs. That's why I'm so enthusiastic about living in Ireland.
As an animal lover. I can't seem to get my head around the level of animal cruelty occurring. But people can change things if they really want to. It's surprising what they can do when they try.
For my part, 25% of the royalties of this book will be shared amongst the following seven charities:
ASH ANIMAL SANCTUARY
DONKEY SANCTUARY IRELAND
IRISH BLUE CROSS
IRISH HORSE AND WELFARE TRUST
IRISH RETRIEVER RESCUE UK
IRISH SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (I.S.P.C.A.)
PAWS
Perhaps if we work together, animal cruelty won't be such a major issue.
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