Kerry Irving > Quotes

“The fact was that Spaniel had helped to put me in a positive frame of mind. I had come back down from that bench overlooking the fells thinking despite everything, I still had something to offer. It had felt like the world had left me behind since the accident and it had taken a friendly dog to remind me that I could still catch up. At the heart of it, Max reminded me how it felt to be at peace.”
― Kerry Irving, Max the Miracle Dog: The Heart-warming Tale of a Life-saving Friendship

“liked the Labs, but sometimes people would show up for the shoot with Springer Spaniels to work alongside them. Come lunchtime, when the Labs would often be flagging, it was the Springers who watched everyone drift back towards the lodge with an expression that said, ‘Why are we stopping?’ Their energy was boundless, and I admired them for it.”
― Kerry Irving, Max the Miracle Dog: The Heart-warming Tale of a Life-saving Friendship

“Once Zak and I had mastered the basics, I decided to have a go at gun dog training myself. Robin grew tomatoes in his garden. Using the ripest I could find that were nicely soft and squishy, I placed three on the ground behind the dog. Then, using hand gestures, I indicated to Zak which tomato I wanted him to fetch for me. Zak had to learn which way to turn, and then be gentle to avoid puncturing the tomatoes. Finally, after a lot of hard work, everything clicked. All of a sudden, I had a dog that retrieved, and we quickly moved on to picking up feathers so that he could get used to the tickly feeling between his jaws and not instinctively spit them out.”
― Kerry Irving, Max the Miracle Dog: The Heart-warming Tale of a Life-saving Friendship