HOW MY DOG GAVE ME SOLACE AFTER TRAUMA OF OMAGH BOMB
How my dog gave me solace after trauma of Omagh bomb'
Toby Hamden
The 46-year-old journalist has travelled the world with his dog, Finn, which he found in Northern Ireland. Toby is the US editor of Daily Mail Online and lives in Virginia with his wife Cheryl and children, Tessa (5) and Miles (3)
the journalist's story
-Toby Harnden is originally from Portsmouth, and has a first class honours degree in modern history from Oxford University.
-In 1999, Toby's book Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh was published by Hodder & Stoughton. It sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and received much critical acclaim.
-He was once imprisoned in Zimbabwe for 14 days after being arrested and charged with 'practising journalism without accreditation'.
| used to think I was prepared for the death of my loyal dog, Finn, but when it happened I was heartbroken to have lost my friend of 14 years. It was early in 1998 when I travelled to the Ballymena National Canine Defence League (now the Dogs Trust) centre to get a dog. I was working for a London daily newspaper when I was posted to Belfast to be their Northern Ireland correspondent in 1996 and I stayed until 1999. I think I just wanted a bit of company while I was in the country, and that's when the idea of getting a dog popped into my head. Because my home in south Belfast was my office, I was feeling a bit guilty about not getting up early enough in the morning and thought that a dog might demand to be walked from early on. Not Finn, however. My new mongrel, who was about a year old, fitted in to my routine quite well and ended up being just as bad as me.
Finn loved the car, so when I was travelling to areas in south Armagh on a story, or researching a book, he was happy to come along. The weather was never too hot in Northern Ireland so it was ok to leave him in the car most of the time.
I soon realised that if I left him at home I'd return to a house full of chewed up newspapers, so Finn often found himself parked near events such as the trial of alleged IRA leader, Thomas 'Slab' Murphy, IRA commemorations or various Easter rallies that I was covering.
People from both sides of the divide in Northern Ireland love dogs, and I often found that some folks felt more reassured in my presence when they saw Finn.
I remember specifically visiting the scene of a bomb in Moira, It was late at night and the Army had the whole area cordoned off and were keeping people back from entering the area. I got Finn out of the car and made my way towards the scene with him.
To my astonishment, when i approached a soldier at the taped-off checkpoint he simply waved me right on through. I think he saw Finn and thought i was a local.
Finn was also inadvertently beneficial when I was covering the peace negotiations at Stormont. There was one senior republican politician, who shall remain nameless, who didn't give me the time of day in any situation in which I'd tried to interview him previously.
One day as he was leaving the building, he approached Finn and began asking me various questions about him. he turned out to be a dog lover and after that moment we found a bit of common ground and he went on to talk to me a few times afterwards on a professional basis.
As well as helping out in work, Finn acted as a form of solace for me after a gut-wrenching week covering the Omagh bomb in 1998. I had spent the week speaking to the parents of children who were killed and other relatives of the victims. During that time everything had been so frantic that I didn't have any time to reflect on what I had seen due to the amount I was writing. It was only when I got in the car and began to drive back to Belfast that the shock of what I'd seen began to kick in.
I distinctly remember going home and sitting down on the sofa in silence and thinking about what had happened. Tears began to well up in my eyes for the first time. All of a sudden I
felt this hairy chin perch on my knee. I looked down to see these big brown eyes staring up at me. Finn didn't bark or make any movement. He just looked at me in silence. It was at that moment that I realised the strong intuition dogs have, and I always felt that in Finn I had a great ally.
In 1999 I was sent to Washington DC to work, and of course Finn came. In Washington he came with me while I was covering the 2000 presidential election campaigns and I brought him to any non-corporate events that would be dog-friendly.
In the end, Finn's age caught up with him. He was always a very active dog, but his sight and hearing began to wane, he needed to wear nappies around the house and I had to carry him up the stairs.
Two weeks ago after a vet had to put him to sleep, I decided to bury Finn in his favourite place, a spot overlooking Pimmit Run, a creek at the back of our family home.
Finn had a very interesting life for a dog. He travelled the world, and wasn't bothered by other dogs. He had a sort of affinity for humans. He will be sorely missed.
INTERVIEW: JAMIE McDOWEL
Toby Hamden
The 46-year-old journalist has travelled the world with his dog, Finn, which he found in Northern Ireland. Toby is the US editor of Daily Mail Online and lives in Virginia with his wife Cheryl and children, Tessa (5) and Miles (3)
the journalist's story
-Toby Harnden is originally from Portsmouth, and has a first class honours degree in modern history from Oxford University.
-In 1999, Toby's book Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh was published by Hodder & Stoughton. It sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and received much critical acclaim.
-He was once imprisoned in Zimbabwe for 14 days after being arrested and charged with 'practising journalism without accreditation'.
| used to think I was prepared for the death of my loyal dog, Finn, but when it happened I was heartbroken to have lost my friend of 14 years. It was early in 1998 when I travelled to the Ballymena National Canine Defence League (now the Dogs Trust) centre to get a dog. I was working for a London daily newspaper when I was posted to Belfast to be their Northern Ireland correspondent in 1996 and I stayed until 1999. I think I just wanted a bit of company while I was in the country, and that's when the idea of getting a dog popped into my head. Because my home in south Belfast was my office, I was feeling a bit guilty about not getting up early enough in the morning and thought that a dog might demand to be walked from early on. Not Finn, however. My new mongrel, who was about a year old, fitted in to my routine quite well and ended up being just as bad as me.
Finn loved the car, so when I was travelling to areas in south Armagh on a story, or researching a book, he was happy to come along. The weather was never too hot in Northern Ireland so it was ok to leave him in the car most of the time.
I soon realised that if I left him at home I'd return to a house full of chewed up newspapers, so Finn often found himself parked near events such as the trial of alleged IRA leader, Thomas 'Slab' Murphy, IRA commemorations or various Easter rallies that I was covering.
People from both sides of the divide in Northern Ireland love dogs, and I often found that some folks felt more reassured in my presence when they saw Finn.
I remember specifically visiting the scene of a bomb in Moira, It was late at night and the Army had the whole area cordoned off and were keeping people back from entering the area. I got Finn out of the car and made my way towards the scene with him.
To my astonishment, when i approached a soldier at the taped-off checkpoint he simply waved me right on through. I think he saw Finn and thought i was a local.
Finn was also inadvertently beneficial when I was covering the peace negotiations at Stormont. There was one senior republican politician, who shall remain nameless, who didn't give me the time of day in any situation in which I'd tried to interview him previously.
One day as he was leaving the building, he approached Finn and began asking me various questions about him. he turned out to be a dog lover and after that moment we found a bit of common ground and he went on to talk to me a few times afterwards on a professional basis.
As well as helping out in work, Finn acted as a form of solace for me after a gut-wrenching week covering the Omagh bomb in 1998. I had spent the week speaking to the parents of children who were killed and other relatives of the victims. During that time everything had been so frantic that I didn't have any time to reflect on what I had seen due to the amount I was writing. It was only when I got in the car and began to drive back to Belfast that the shock of what I'd seen began to kick in.
I distinctly remember going home and sitting down on the sofa in silence and thinking about what had happened. Tears began to well up in my eyes for the first time. All of a sudden I
felt this hairy chin perch on my knee. I looked down to see these big brown eyes staring up at me. Finn didn't bark or make any movement. He just looked at me in silence. It was at that moment that I realised the strong intuition dogs have, and I always felt that in Finn I had a great ally.
In 1999 I was sent to Washington DC to work, and of course Finn came. In Washington he came with me while I was covering the 2000 presidential election campaigns and I brought him to any non-corporate events that would be dog-friendly.
In the end, Finn's age caught up with him. He was always a very active dog, but his sight and hearing began to wane, he needed to wear nappies around the house and I had to carry him up the stairs.
Two weeks ago after a vet had to put him to sleep, I decided to bury Finn in his favourite place, a spot overlooking Pimmit Run, a creek at the back of our family home.
Finn had a very interesting life for a dog. He travelled the world, and wasn't bothered by other dogs. He had a sort of affinity for humans. He will be sorely missed.
INTERVIEW: JAMIE McDOWEL
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/1218
Published Date: 12-Jul-12
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