Niall Harbison Profile picture
Dec 21, 2023 8 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Genuinely the best boy there ever was. Sorry to say that Derek left us this evening. He was the most unassuming, gentle, gracious and loving older gentleman I’ve ever met. I know he touched lots of lives but he’ll leave some remarkable memories… (1/8) 🧵 Image
He never wanted much in life at all. His health went downhill very fast in the last 24 hours but we managed to get a little walk, some sausages and we slept for 3 hours together. It was perfect (2/8)
Derek come in on the 15th October last year. He had no dignity, nobody cared about him and he was hours from death alone. My dream last year was to get him to Christmas 2022. It turned out to be a lot longer even though his healthy started horrific (3/8)


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It was amazing watching Derek get better. Derek always tried to talk. Like when he was in the vets in the early days he was clearly saying “thanks for the help now don’t leave me” (4/8)
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Of course Mr Derek loved his VIP suite. He never had a thing in his life before and he was so proud of it. He used to put himself to bed early. For man months he just slept in their recovering from his hard life. It was his haven (5/8)

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As Derek got better he made a few friends. He used to be the only one to hand around with Britney and he took little Rodney under his wing when he came in. Little Del Boy and Rodney 🥰 (6/8)
In the last 2 months Derek has been living with me. If he loved his VIP suite the the couch was the luxury he never knew he needed in life. He was always as quiet as a mouse in the corner. My theory is Derek was so quiet and kind to everyone as he didn’t want to risk ever going back to his old life on the streets. I always think of him as just the most grateful dog ever (7/8)
He passed gracefully and surrounded by all the people who cared for him and with his belly full of sausages.

My friends said to me I should take younger less sick dogs next to ease the pain but I disagree. It was only 14 months but every day was cherished and meant the world to Derek.

Derek. The best boy there ever was. Not even a doubt about it 🥰 (8/8)Image
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More from @NiallHarbison

Dec 24
A little note to remind everybody that Christmas is very hard for some people.

As an alcoholic of 25 years (nearly 4 sober now) as well as severe anxiety / depression sufferer here are some little things that might help understand friends / family suffering (1/8) 🧵 Image
🥂 It’s an open field day for alcoholics. Champagne with breakfast. Beers at 11am. Binge drinking acceptable for a week.

All normalized which is music to the ears of those looking for an excuse. For someone newly sober this is a complete NIGHTMARE. Be conscious of that (2/8)
Christmas is sort of unmissable in most families. I’ve often had crippling anxiety / depression and had to show up. A room of happy people is the hardest place to be.

If someone is on edge or grumpy. Give them the benefit of the doubt. They could be struggling bad (3/8) Image
Read 8 tweets
Dec 24
A year ago today on Christmas Eve I got the following message about a dog who had been scalded by hot water outside a 7-11 in Thailand.

I called her Eve. To see her today is just a thing of pure beauty (1/7) 🧵 Image
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I thought it was fairly simple to heal. But the vets and my friend Sybille freaked me out saying it was 50/50.

She wouldn’t eat. And they’d seen similar dogs die from infections.

Eve was in agony but we started to make progress over the coming days (2/7)
Eve was incredibly brave through all the treatments. She even developed a little crab style walk to deal with the immense pain.

(3/7)
Read 8 tweets
Dec 21
This is Bubba a street dog I have fed every day for over 2 years.

He is one of the biggest con artists you have ever met.

This is the story of how Bubba deserves an Oscar (1/7) 🧵 Image
About 2 years ago Bubba injured his paw. It was a fairly minor cut but because his anemia was so bad he nearly bled to death.

We just found him in time. He came to stay with me while he recovered. Obviously I spoiled him rotten (2/7) Image
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Bubba recovered beautifully and he lives with bouncy and Daisy in a safe place. He continued to get his food and was as healthy as could be.

But Bubba remember the sausages and treats he got when his paw hurt. Thats when he developed his “limp” (3/7) Image
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Read 7 tweets
Dec 19
Yesterday I shared little Faith and Phoenix who I had saved from a life of being caged and used for breeding in Thailand.

They were leaving Bangkok when we last checked.

Well they’ve arrived safe and sound in Ireland after crossing the globe (1/7) 🧵 Image
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They flew from Bangkok to Amsterdam and the captain made sure they were the most important passengers as it was obviously their first ever flight. (2/7) Image
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They had a spare chair that their mums bought them on the plane.

They even made them a fort so they could sleep on the way.

Apparently the 12 hours were a breeze (3/7) Image
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Read 7 tweets
Dec 18
On the 6th of June I walked into a back alley in Thailand and found 2 dogs looking like this.

They had been seriously neglected, caged up and used for breeding.

Even I find it hard to process where they are today and what they look like (1/8) 🧵 Image
It took us months to fix them both. They had to be sedated for a total of 6 hours to groom them.

I called them Faith (she would need it) and Phoenix (he would rise up again).

Their recovery had started (2/8) Image
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They quickly started to shine and we even managed to save little Faith’s eye.

It was at this stage that I realized them would make it and that I even started to think about getting them a home (3/8) Image
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Read 9 tweets
Dec 17
25 days ago I was sent this picture of a dog asking if I could help him. He was living rough on the streets of Thailand.

Sometimes a picture tells you everything. I knew I had to drop everything and go get him.

It’s hard to believe how well Pedro looks now… (1/8) 🧵 Image
Pedro didn’t come very easily at first because he was in so much pain.

It was obvious that he was suffering but it was only when we got him in we saw how bad it actually was (2/8)
Pedro was covered in a fungal infection as well as many sores and other injuries.

His body was an absolute mess. His biggest pain was coming from
Incredibly deep ear infections. (3/8) Image
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Read 9 tweets

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