The former Leinster and Ireland rugby star turned children’s author on his Leonberger and Bernese/Poodle cross who are best buds, love a steak and provide great entertainment
Our first dog was Wilson, a Bernese mountain dog, and he was like our child before we actually had children. Poor Wilson died young – he was only three when he got cancer. We had a strange feeling at the time, though, that Wilson left us to leave room for a child to come into our lives.
Albert, our huge Leonberger, arrived when Aoife was pregnant with our daughter, Soleil. Leonbergers are big and boisterous; they’re a mixture of Great Pyrenees, Newfoundlands and St Bernards. Yes, absolutely enormous, and bred to look like lions – which explains the name.
Albert is coming up on 11 now, which is already old for his breed. He’s really my dog, I suppose; I did everything with him. Mind you, he was always untrainable. You can entice him, even with a tempting fillet steak in your hand, but if Albert doesn’t want to do your bidding, then it’s simply a case of “no thanks” to the steak!
‘When Barney’s in the garden on bird watch duty and magpies or pigeons invade his territory, off he goes to get Albert as back up, and the two of them see the birds off together,' Gordon D'Arcy on his pet dogs. Photo: Tom Honan
Barney, our Bernese/Poodle cross, was a surprise. Before the pandemic, I rang Aoife one day and when I asked where she was, she told me she was off getting my 40th birthday present. That present was Barney. Had we planned to get another dog? We hadn’t even discussed it! Aoife just took a flyer and that’s how Barney came into our lives. He’s an amazing dog – full of energy and mad as a March hare. He treats us like his support humans and just loves being up on the sofa with us all. He’s a lap dog, really – a 60kg lap dog, that is!
For a week or so after he arrived, Albert would just walk out of the room if Barney started to annoy him, but they soon became great pals. Nowadays, when Barney’s in the garden on bird-watch duty and magpies or pigeons invade his territory, off he goes to get Albert as back up, and the two of them see the birds off together.
Gordon D'Arcy with his dogs Albert, left, and Barney. Photo: Tom Honan
Albert’s an old dog now but he hasn’t wasted a moment of his life, and he’s given me so much. I find being around the dogs therapeutic; they constantly add the most random enjoyment to my life. No matter how bad my mood, nothing deters Albert from coming over to me; he just wears you down and before you know it, your mood has lifted. Both dogs have done that for me so often over the years.
Night time in our house, though, is like a Carry On movie. One of our three children will inevitably be in our bed, Barney will be sleeping on the stairs, and Albert will be snoozing in the shower in our bathroom. It’s a moveable feast! And then, to add to the fun, there’s a fox who regularly appears outside, brushing himself off the glass door. Up jump the two dogs, rushing downstairs, barking like mad. Sure, who needs sleep?
Gordon D’Arcy joins Paul Howard at the Dalkey Book Festival on Sunday, June 15, at 11.30am to discuss their children’s book, ‘Let’s Play Rugby’. See dalkeybookfestival.org
As told to Roslyn Dee
‘We had such an attachment to him, our Daddy said we could keep him' – Ruairí the sheep