Martin McKenna,
Author of The Boy Who Talked To Dogs
What was it like living with a pack of Irish street
dogs for 3 years? 1975-1978
Hi, I'm Australia's best-known dog communicator and the author of the international memoir 'The Boy Who Talked To Dogs', published in New York by Skyhorse and also available on Audible.com. I've also written 3 books on dog behaviour and language, 2 of which became best-sellers.
I've been a guest on TV shows such as Australian Story on ABC, the Project, the Today Show and Kerri Ann Kennerley Show. I've also been on The ABC Radio National Breakfast Show with Fran Kelly, The ABC Late Night Live with Phillip Adams, The ABC Radio Classic FM Midday Show with Margaret Throsby and over 450 radio shows around Australia.
Here is the cover of my memoir 'The Boy Who Talked To Dogs'.
The boy on my book cover is my son Fintan who is the same age I was when I lived rough. Sean is one of our six rescue dogs.
I grew up in Garryowen in Limerick which is in the west of Ireland. My family was large - there were my parents, Sigrid and Mick and 8 children. Andrew, John and I are identical triplets.
My family when we triplets came home.
Above:
Me, John, Andrew, around 2 years. It was always tricky being an identical triplet.
Above:
John, Andrew and Martin, aged 4
My parents loved each other very much but
my father drank heavily sometimes. Often he was a funny drunk – but sometimes
he could get very violent. My home life could get a little crazy. I also had
ADHD so I had a very hard time at school. I was completely illiterate and couldn’t
even read and write my own name properly. I always felt like an outsider and a
freak.
Above: this is the only surviving photo I have of the time around when my
book is set. Here I am in 1974, the year before I ran away, posing with my
hurling team. I’m 2nd from right, bottom row.
I’m very proud of my Celtic heritage and
still speak fluent Gaelic – the Irish Celtic language.
I
ran away when I was 13 – leaving behind my dad’s violence at home, the bullying
at school of the schoolteachers – and all the rest of the complicated humans in
my life. I lived rough in the countryside around Garryowen in Limerick and soon
hooked up with 6 stray dogs for 3 years. We became a pack.
Understandably, I have no photos of this
period of my life, but I’ve found some images on the Internet that strongly remind
me of my six strays. These dogs meant everything to me.
(c) Pixabay
Mossy
(above):
Was an English springer spaniel. He was a
very optimistic, friendly dog and usually stuck to my side like moss to a
stone. He always looked bedraggled and muddy and had a tangled coat – he was never as clean or well groomed as this!
(c) Pixabay
Missy
(above):
Was a very sweet little dog. She had a fine
silky coat and butterfly ears so I’m guessing she had some Skye terrier in her.
She always looked a mess but was very kind. She loved being the only female in
our pack. She was quite motherly despite her small size and had great
determination.
(c) Pixabay
Fergus
(above):
Was an extremely curious dog who was always
fascinated by smells. He was a wire-haired terrier and always looked pretty
muddy. He was such a lively funny dog. Sadly, he used to go off and explore a
lot and was eventually shot by a farmer. I found his body in a field and was
devastated. I’ll never forget him because he was always so cheerful and merry.
Even on our hungriest days, he could bring a smile to my face.
(c) Pixabay
Red
(above):
Was a wonderful, loyal, calm
Foxhound-cross. He was just the sort of dog you want around as he brought a
great dignity and serenity to us all. He had great honour. I really trusted
this dog and found him to be a wonderful teacher.
(c) Pixabay
Pa
(above):
Was hilarious! He was a really chubby,
greedy character who was completely obsessed by food. He could find food anywhere.
He always made me laugh – especially when he sat on his rump and slid down the
hay pile in the barn every morning like. He looked just like he was on a
slippery dip.
(c) Pixabay
Blackie
(above):
Was a bit of a bully though I realise now
this was because he was probably always hungry. He was a Newfoundland-cross and
was huge and very powerful. I was always a little scared of him – but he was
such a great guard dog that I decided to keep him around.
Blackie was the dog I first communicated
with in pure dog language – and it was an unforgettable moment when we finally
connected. It was the first time he let me touch him. The hairs on my arms went
up on end and I felt a rush of energy. It felt like magic.
Later,
after Fergus, the merry little wire-haired terrier died when he was shot by a farmer, another dog joined us. This
was Skitty, a whippet mix: She was extremely shy like this dog below.
(c) Pixabay
There were other stray dogs that drifted in and out of our pack. They stayed for a while before drifting away again. However, the original six dogs I listed above and the later addition, Shy dog, were the dogs I got to know best. We truly became a pack and they became my family and friends.
The dogs
and I slept in farmers hay barns at night to stay warm and dry. The hay was stacked almost to the
ceiling and we buried ourselves down deep. You soon learned to live with mice
leaping about! I moved around the district staying in different
barns so farmers didn’t catch me or the dogs.
Together, we loved exploring the beautiful
countryside around Limerick. I especially loved running across the fields
with the dogs during a white frost. It was like entering another, more magical
world.
When I returned home, I never went to high school with my brothers. Instead I got local odd jobs. I also played a lot of sport with my brothers. Here we are posing with our hurling team when we were 21 in 1983. I’m still the runt! John is the 4th from the left. Then there’s me in the middle, then Andrew.
I’ll
always be grateful to my pack of stray dogs who helped me when I was a boy back
in Ireland. They taught me the International
Language of Dogs. They also showed me how to become a better human. Whenever
I’m around dogs I live a well-balanced, happy life and reach my full potential.
Dogs always bring me great happiness and inner peace.
Here I am with my current pack of adopted
dogs. I live on a small farm in Nimbin, Australia.
When
I arrived in Australia about 20 years ago, I started helping people with their
dogs. I explained what their dogs were trying to
tell them. For this reason, I called myself a dog communicator rather than a
dog trainer.
Unfortunately The Dog Man isn't in print anymore.
In 2009, I learned how to read and write
using my own poetry. It was an extremely difficult experience but I persevered.
Not long after, I wrote my first book, What’s
Your Dog Telling You? (below) and it was published in 2011. This has most
of the basics about the language and sacred laws of the Dog World. These are
the things I learned from my pack of strays when I was a boy. This also became
a bestseller.
In 2013 I wrote What’s Your Dog Teaching You? (below) This is full of life lessons
about how you can live a better, happier life. These are lessons I learned from
my pack of strays when I was a boy – as well as what I observed when helping
people with their dogs in their homes during my years in the dog rescue
industry. Dogs and the way they behave tell you a surprising amount about their
humans. I believe dogs are some of the most powerful mentors we’ll ever have.
You can buy it at HarperCollins Australia here!
Now after a 20 year career, I’m leaving the dog rescue industry to pursue my creative side. I feel like I’ve finally repaid my debt to the dogs who helped me as a boy.
To
mark the end of this part my life, I wrote my memoir about where my connection
with dogs began – when I was a boy growing up in Limerick, Ireland. The result is The Boy Who
Talked To Dogs, published in New York by Skyhorse. My wonderful agent is
Daniel Lazar of the prestigious Writers House, literary agency. My book is now
published in North America, Canada, Australia and Brazil – and is available worldwide
on Amazon. It’s also available on Audible.
I'm now stepping into the corporate world to share the wisdom taught to me by thousands of dogs over a 20 year career in the dog industry.
I hope you'll join me on Twitter at: @mckennawisdom
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