The ‘First Dates Ireland’ server on her well-behaved cocker spaniel, who brings her a lot of comfort and who she hopes to breed from one day
Alice Marr and her dog Willow
When Libby, our family cocker spaniel, died in 2021, it was like a Greek tragedy in our house because my mum and I were so upset. Libby was an old dog, alright, but her loss was so immense I just couldn’t bring myself to go anywhere near her old haunts, so I avoided the beach and all the other places I associated with her.
And then, some months later, I got Willow. In the early days, I honestly felt I’d never love her as much as Libby, but almost five years on, well, I sometimes feel that I don’t have enough room in my heart to hold the amount of love I have for Willow. She brings so much to my life, and she grounds me in the present. A very pretty black cocker spaniel with a coat like velvet, she also has beautiful eyes – like a Disney dog. And she’s my best friend. As a child, I was obsessed with animals; my first pet was a guinea pig, but I also grew up with dogs and always had a strong connection with them – even the unruly ones!
Now, you’d never call Willow unruly; she’s agile and adventurous, a pretty tomboy of a dog, but she’s very well-behaved. I put a lot of work into training her and it has paid off. She’s lively when she’s out running in the woods on her walks, but back at home she is calm and quiet and settled. I crate-trained her at first but now she sleeps in my bedroom on my bed, and with her head on the pillow next to mine. When it comes to doing what she’s told, though, she’s very obedient – so if I tell her to sit or to lie down, then that’s what she does.
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‘Willow is agile and adventurous, a pretty tomboy of a dog’ – Alice Marr. Photo: Eamon Ward
I think it’s the connection between us that makes her so responsive to me; we really have an incredible bond. I have been in and out of so many relationships over the years, but Willow is a constant in my life. In a way, she’s like my emotional support dog and she brings me such comfort. When I was doing a singing gig a few months ago, I left Willow in the audience with my dad. At one point, when I reached over and put my scarf down on the stage, Willow hopped up and lay down beside me while I carried on performing.
Is she ever challenging? Well, chasing birds is her thing. Usually she comes back to my call but sometimes when she sets her sights on a particular bird, she forgets everything else – that she has a home, that she has people who love her… She has scaled cliffs and swum across rivers – and I mean real rivers – after birds. It’s her nature, it’s just instinctive.
My Pet and Me: Gallery owner Denise Donnelly
I’m trying to breed from her at the moment. I met a man on the beach with his male cocker before Christmas and we tried to connect Willow with his dog, Polo. Talk about First Dates! It didn’t work – I think Polo was too much of a gentleman! But we’ll try again when the time is right, and if Willow has her pups then I’ll definitely keep one. The two dogs would be great company for each other. And for me.
‘First Dates Ireland’ is on RTÉ 2, Thursdays at 9.35pm
As told to Roslyn Dee