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JAMES STEWART HAS long been synonymous with Christmas: chances are you’ll catch at least a few minutes of his best-known film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at some stage over the next few weeks – either online, on DVD, or (the proper way) gathered around the TV with family members, devouring ham sandwiches and attempting to hold back those salty, salty tears.
The run-up to the festive period is also, typically, a time when the country’s animal charities and groups issue their annual reminder - that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.
Think before buying
It may seem, to most of us, more than a little astounding that some parents still see nothing wrong with buying a puppy for their offspring around Christmastime – only to realise, just a few days later, that their family is ill-equipped to deal with the responsibilities of keeping a pet. Dogs Trust, for instance, received 51 calls from members of the public requesting to surrender their dog or puppy in the first few weeks of January 2014.
Bearing all of the above in mind, we challenge you to get through this famous vintage clip of Jimmy Stewart reading a poem about his dog on Terry Wogan’s chat-show in the late 1980s without shedding a tear or two.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the studio – or, we’re guessing, among viewers – by the time the star was finished eulogising ‘Beau’ (Wogan aside… the stone-hearted swine).
You can read the full poem here, and the final few stanzas are published below – but you really need to watch the man himself read the lines to get the full effect…
And there were nights when I’d feel him
Climb upon our bed
And lie between us, And I’d pat his head.
And there were nights when I’d feel this stare
And I’d wake up and he’d be sitting there
And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair.
And sometimes I’d feel him sigh
and I think I know the reason why.
He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he’d be glad to have me near.
And now he’s dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.
And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he’s not there.
Oh, how I wish that wasn’t so,
I’ll always love a dog named Beau.
“Jimmy Stewart’s touching tribute to his companion dog Beau brought a tear to my eye and yet warmth to my heart,” John Carmody of animal rights group ARAN told us.
“His tribute is a heartwarming and yet sorrowful reminisce that shows what groups like ARAN have been saying about dogs for years; that they very much have intricate and individual personalities.
Animal advocacy groups like ARAN have spent years trying to help people to join the dots that whilst animals may look different, they have virtually the same emotions, feelings and temperament as us humans at the very best of times. We think Jimmy sums up the long held belief that ‘a dog truly is for life, and not just for Christmas’.
Meanwhile, the ISPCA has recommended people wait until after the festivities before buying a new pet.
“Taking on a pet is a long-term commitment that can affect your life for the next 15 years so it is important to ensure you have adequate time and financial resources to care for your pet responsibly,” the ISPCA’s Andrew Kelly said.
The charity added:
If you really want to get a new pet and it is a well thought out decision …. we recommend that you wait until after the festivities and visit your local rescue centre for advice or the ISPCA, where expert staff will ensure that you and your new pet are a suitable match.
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I will watch the washing machine instead at least the result will be clean and won’t deceive me
Be nice to watch a potential leader of Fine Geal do some actual debating after all these years of not having a leader who will go on live TV. Can’t stand either one but would like them to put their case forward even if it’s just so we can point them to it when they deviate from what they say. As they surely will.
If it ended with a duel with pistols then I’d tune in for the last few minutes!
I could go for that!
@Setrakian: What about a UFC match, or a head to head and would Leo prefer that?
@Setrakian: Swords?
I’d watch it if i had a vote but no i don’t.
Why would FG agree to doing it? They’ve enough problems without airing their dirty laundry like that. Anything could come out if it got contentious.
no, lifes is too short.
Think I’ll just comment on The Journal about them instead….
I will follow the journals live updates
A resounding no.
Ask him you’re. Simon.coveney@oir.ie
I’ll be far too busy watching my toe nails growing…more productive too
@Colm Moran: Like the echo from a toilet bowl…
How is it relevant when we don’t have a say? Get on with choosing a leader, and whomever it is can state your case at the next General election
If your a member of Fine Gael you get a vote.
Get lost Leo -Get lost Simon-Get lost Fine Gael.
One of these guys is going to be our next taoiseach. It’s very relevant to our lives. I’m interested in what they have to say. I’ll definitely watch a debate if it happens.
@Bennythekid: Bilderberg will slap you on the wrists for that lol.
@Bennythekid: What the fcuk would they debating about? at the end of the day blueshirt policy will still be the same. Save all the trouble and just toss for it. Ye 2 tossers tossing.
@Rónán O’Suilleabháin: Leader fight off last about 6 weeks and nothing will be done, both of those wannabe curates will be getting their lies prepared for them by now. And the “winner” will be left in charge. Kenny is such a lame duck and these two are hopeless.
@Jack Bowden: Health is our priority, we are going to make reforms to give Ireland a world class health service.
Housing is our priority, we are going to bring in new legislation to alleviate the housing situation in Ireland.
Old people are our priority, we will work hard to ensure that those who have worked hard all of their lives can grow old in comfort.
Young people are our priority, we will invent in our youth because an educated workforce is best for Ireland in the long term.
The sqeezed middle are our priority, we will put measures in place to ensure that the tax take is fair and that all citizens get a decent living wage.
etc, etc, etc, etc,
And once they get in they’ll suddenly forget all of the above. Now you don’t have to watch.
I never thought I’d ever say I would rather watch The Ray D’Arcy Show.
That’s a tough one…
@Beachmaster: Take that back
@Beachmaster: If it clashes with the late late then I guess it will be tg4 that night and even though I dont speak Irish it will make more sense than the other 2.
Its like trying to decide between two equally priced brands of bottled water.
Simon Varadkar, Leo coveney can’t see the difference myself.
Id rather wash my hair and get an early nite thanks.
” Would you watch Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar going toe-to-toe in a live debate?” No seriously watching 2 privileged politicians telling us how their going to make things better for the citizens of Ireland. No chance my priority would be cutting my toe nails….
Not really interested on who is the best performer, it’s about who can get something done…….
37% said yes? Can we get a fact check on that please?
Fake news
@alan: Lol,
Frape news!!
Why no option for: I’d rather stick nails in my eyes?
I would rather watch paint dry.
It’s finally happened. The first to take a poll. Can you tell me why I picked NO yet 100% of 1 vote are for yes?? Something fishy here!
TV3 can’t be serious? Who gives a damn!
Can we just have Fianna Fail back in power already? Like the prodigal son, they will return to the top of Irish politics.
No.
Coveney,Varadkar and Bruton appear to be the three front runners.
Well, what have they got in common?
All were privately educated.
None of them ever did a real days work in their life.
They don’t mix with the ordinary man in the street.
They are so far removed from the realities of life. None of them could empathise with the those who have to lie on a hospital trolley, those who are waiting to be housed or anyone who has has fallen on hard times. They are all silver spoon merchants who have never experienced any hardships.
What the country needs is a man or woman of the people.
Who do you suggest? Boysd Barrett? Paul Murphy?
I suggest you should familiarise yourself wit the topic?
This idea is intuitively appealing but then what exactly do you want? These people do have jobs: their job is to represent us.
There is indeed a debate these days that politicians are not representative of the society they are supposed to represent, but you’d have to admit there is a conundrum here.
We offload the difficult decisions to them. This is their job. We expect them to be trained to know the dossiers, because they’re meant to act as our delegates. A carpenter may know the hardships of carpentry, and plausibly the accompanying hardships of holding on to the job and the mortgage or rent, but you would not honestly expect them to be able to make complex calculated decisions on the economy, right?
So the problem is to find those politicians who have an intuitive feel for the man in the street, and yet also possess the intellect so that we can trust them on the complex stuff.
Let them fight it out on this very issue. They need to be close to ordinary people on the one hand, but on the other hand they have to be capable of understanding a shitload of issues that most of us would either be incapable of grasping or simply not want to be bothered with.
No.
I’d rather drive a bus blindfolded up the Karnali highway while tripping on magic mushrooms.
@Emmet O’Keeffe: Well, you have the trip sorted already.
Sorry but I have a pair of socks I’d rather wash, than waste time watching two neutered, toothless sheep circle each other aimlessly, while the rest of their flock follow their current gormless leadership over the cliff, clearly marked Irish Water Danger Stay Away!
@Jarlath so funny but true
No. Politicians should run the country correctly not just stand on live TV and share insults
@kevin murphy:if it got personal I think we d all watch
If there was an interactive fact check and an option for questions from the public
I’m right wing. I’m more right wing than you.
I’m a true blue FG. I’m a new FG and more FG than you.
I believe in neo-liberal free market economics. I believe in neo-liberal free market economics even more than you.
At least we both believe in Boston more than Berlin.
Find it hard to see photo here of them 2…
Bring back repeats of The Paul Hogan Show from ’80s co-starring Leo W@nker.
Waste of time. The 25000+ ordinary members of the party are only getting 25% of the vote, whereas around 70 FG politicians are neing given 65% of the say. The contest will be decided long before any telivised debate.
There isn’t a vacancy yet. For either one of them to agree to a leadership debate before Kenny fires the starting gun would be political suicide.
“Varadkar told the Irish Examiner that he would be ‘happy’ to take part in a live debate with his rivals for the leadership.” (http://www.thejournal.ie/tv3-fine-gael-debate-3263637-Feb2017/)
I might be mistaken but this seems pretty close to creating a vacancy.
What would be the point !
Both are as FG as the other. A debate of personalities is pointless if they both follow the same party policies.
This is a joke by TV3. Only person worth watching in such a scenario would be Vinny Browne as the compare.
Who cares about two dopes.
Vera and Ava: Both of you should be the leading story today. I wish you and your daughter the very best of luck. Andi
Where’s the “I would rather gouge out my own eyeballs” option?
To use that famous Irish phrase: I will, yeah!
Or as Mrs Brown says.. “That’s nice”
Not interested in what either has to say because past experience shows that it would all be a pack of lies. Instead I can watch many other shows that have to decency to state upfront that they are fiction.
No. They don’t represent the majority of this Country.
And who does? There is no majority
Why would I bother whoever gets in it’ll still be same old, same old. Nothing ever changes in Irish politics it just lurches from one scandal to another scandal and on and on. Feels like we’re on 0if Magic Roundabout
Vatman versus Dr. Strange, what a movie that would be lol.
I’ve always wanted to see 2 almost identically sized snakes simultaneously begin to consume the other, from the tail end at the same speed to see the confusing outcome. I can’t picture it, that would be the only fascination in watching those morons who stood by Enda for years.
I have no interest in who leads FG
They are pathetic in my view
But I would like to point out that the media seem to show a bias toward L.V.
In the photos and images put forward on all articles of this type
Have a closer look
Leo called to my parents door a few years back while canvassing. I answered the door and he was very charming and he quickly realised he had gone to uni with my sister. He was so nice!! Oh!!! “Tell her I said hi” bla bla bla. .. a few months later I met him on grafton st. I said hi and said well done on appointment .. he looked a little confused. I went to remind him who I was and he said he knew who I was. And quickly barked he had no time. You wouldn’t talk to a dog like he talked to me and he does a good job of hiding who he really is in front of the cameras..
I’d rather watch paint dry than fg rubbish
Its not a general election. Public don’t have vote. Too much time spent on this. Just change leader & get on with it & do job elected to do.
Toe to toe in a boxing ring
Dumb and dumber and not an ounce of real life experience with any of them. They are only virgin blotting paper for neoliberal globalisation.
Well if it replaces any of the soaps dished out each night yes I’d find it more entertaining. If
I’d rather watch ryan turbridy.
Liar liar the best liar wins and the public get fooled again
Yawn zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
@FlopFlipU:Well said!
ONLY if they fight in the style of Kirk v Spock in the original Star Trek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rl46Dpy-P4
I’ll wager 400 quatloos on ……….
That MS Paint job on the photo.
Toe to toe, it is not celebrity dancing again yikes.
Cianan , have you been drinking ?
No. There is only so much level of crap I can take assaulting my ears!
Vote Kang… no.. wait…..vote Kodos!
No thanks. I would rather be shot with balls of my own $hyte.
maybe
No thanks. I’d rather be shot with balls of my own $hyte.
have your say