Like many Irish people I came to London in the 80s. My friends and I worked in hotels, supermarkets and restaurants to scrape together enough money to travel around Europe. We came back to London when our money ran out and started the process all over again. The next trip was to experience life as a volunteer on a Kibbutz in Israel. From there, my friend Sandy and I travelled to Egypt and then on to Turkey. I ended up working in Turkey for approximately three and a half years. In that time I learned how to sail and had great craic with people who have become lifelong friends.

I then returned to London and have been living and working here permanently since the early 90s. All of the rest of my family live in Co. Kilkenny and Waterford.

Almost 11 years ago now, I decided to share my life with a dog and so began my adventures with my Irish terrier Póg.

He is my constant companion (and guardian) at the moment particularly as I work from home. We share daily walks in our local park and in the summer he swims in the river or sea. Swimming is his favourite thing (only second to carrying sticks)!

Lockdown has been tough for many people this year, however, lockdown life is so much better with Póg! During the first Lockdown we worked in the garden together (he saw his job as monitoring the foxes and the local cats).

We’re now in Tier 3 in London and heading into the long winter evenings so Póg and I will snuggle up together on the sofa to watch Netflix (He’s a cuddle bear). He’s also a bit of a comedian and he makes me laugh daily and that helps me to forget that I miss seeing my friends and family so much!

He’s a great ambassador for this fantastic indigenous Irish breed, which is sadly in decline.

If you would like to follow Póg his Instagram page is @pog_the_it_boy

You can follow Trish on Instagram at @trishandhercam