Terri Hooley, Belfast’s godfather of punk, has a spring in his step at 73, the result he says of finding new love.
She’s a redhead called Amber, and like Terri, she has a busy personality and one eye.
Amber came into Terri’s life two months ago just when he needed it most following the loss of a great love; and with the encouragement of his partner Claire Archibald, they have taken her into their Co Down home.
It’s fair to say their pair are smitten, allowing their new charge the run of the house, giving her abundant affection and on-demand cuddles.
For this new love is a little rescue dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier whose profile popped up on Claire’s social media and immediately attracted her attention.
Now Terri has taken to telling people he has adopted a baby, a red haired baby with one eye, a big heart, a wide smile and a perpetually wagging tail.
He said: “She’s our baby, we adopted her, we have all the paperwork, a new licence and she has a lovely new collar, a name tag and she has us for life. No matter what happens, no matter who might turn up looking for her, she’s ours and she’s going nowhere. She’s our angel on earth.”
At three-years-old Amber was taken in by the Northern Ireland Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue group in November after being found wandering the streets. She had no collar, wan not microchipped and no one knew where she had come from.
But it was clear she had been used for breeding and had suffered a severe head injury that necessitated radical surgery to take the pain away.
Terri said: “She has one eye now but she’s still perfect. It makes no difference to her and it makes no difference to us.
"When I saw her and realised she’d lost an eye I felt there was maybe something we both understood right away, a little connection that not everyone would have.
“Claire has always been fanatical about Staffies and we’d recently lost our last Staffie Ella at the age of about 11 due to ill health.She had also been a rescue.
“Her death was a terrible loss which we felt hard so we weren’t ready to bring another dog into our home for a while because the emotions were still so raw.
“But last year a message popped up on Claire’s social media to say that the Staffie Rescue had taken in a little dog who had had to have an eye removed. She turned to me and pretty soon we were on the road to Lurgan where the dog, then called Autumn, was being cared for in a foster home.
“Well, we just fell in love. She was beautiful and full of life and love, a really typical Staffie. We knew we wanted her there and then.”
Terri and Claire applied for the dog and hoped the building work at their home in Bangor would wrap up soon so they could bring her home.
That was almost eight weeks ago and Amber has slotted into the Hooley house with ease.
Claire said: “She is such a well mannered and clever little dog. She is beautiful and loving and trusting. It pained me terribly to know she had suffered such a terrible injury and had to have her eye removed.
“The vet who carried out the work explained that it was impossible to tell what had happened to her, but that she had not been injured in a fight with another dog. Rather, she had been injured with some blunt force, she had been hit or kicked.
“We're so grateful for the care taken of her by the Northern Ireland Staffordshire Bull Rescue group. I have supported them for years and donate to them, and Terri has done fund raisers to boost their work.
"There's just something so endearing about the breed, They are chatty and full of character and affection, they're great fun, bright too and quick to learn.
“We haven’t had a moment’s worry with Amber. The only thing we changed was her new name. Supporters of the page choose between a number of names because of course no one knew what she 'd been called, if anything. In the end they opted for Autumn but Terri and I felt it was easier to call her Amber and within a very short space of time, she was responding to Amber.”
Terri said life at home has taken on a new and happier rhythm again thanks to the little rescue dog and he encouraged anyone hoping to get a dog, to check out the 35 dog rescue and rehoming centres in Northern Ireland.
He explained: “Maybe your angel is sitting in one of the rescues waiting for you. Amber has brought lots of love into our home and she's loved to pieces. Somehow life feels complete again.
"As a child I was scared of dogs. I'd been attacked by a dog and my mum made sure if there was a dog about the place that we got out of its way, avoided it and so a fear grew in me.
"But then Claire introduced me to Staffies 16 years ago and I understood. Amber is our third Staffie in that time. I love her with all my heart and so does Claire. We just wouldn’t be without her.
"I find it hard to take on board that anyone would hurt her. She was hit or kicked and so so badly hurt she lost an eye. When I was lost my eye at six years old, it was as a result of a childhood accident. I was hit in the face with an arrow from a bow and arrow set. It was an accident and it was traumatic particularly for my mum at the time but there was no intention to harm me.
“Some people might look at Amber and see a dog with a missing eye. I just see a dog with a happy face, a full and kind heart, a dog with a big personality who was very let down and hurt by humans but who has found a way to trust again.
"I see a fantastic wee dog. I tell everyone we see eye to eye. And to know that it’s us that she trusts is an incredible feeling. So yes, she’s our baby and we love her and we wouldn’t swap her for the world.”
If you would like to contact the Northern Ireland Staffie Rescue group you can find them by clicking here.
