Marley & Me NI Premiere: See the film first with Dogs Trust & Storm Cinemas Belfast!

Smash hit book Marley & Me has fast become an even more successful film, and you can be one of the first in the UK to see it! The Northern Ireland premiere is opening its doors to Dogs Trust supporters to benefit Dogs Trust Ballymena.

The heart-warming tale of a Labrador puppy whose antics turn his new family upside down stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Northern Irish viewers will get the chance to get reduced rate tickets for the Saturday 7th March 10am screening, with all proceeds going to help dogs being cared for in the area by Dogs Trust.

Better yet, children can get in free if they bring along a large tin of dog food to the cinema or dress up in doggy attire!

Canine residents from the Ballymena Centre will be there to greet cinema-goers at the door, but sadly it won’t possible for other dogs to attend.

Where, when and how much?

Venue: Storm Cinemas Belfast, Odyssey Pavilion, Belfast
Time: Film starts at 10am sharp, please allow time to purchase your tickets
Tickets: £11 for a family ticket (two adults and two children). Adult tickets are £3.50 each. Children under the age of 12 get in free if they bring along a large tin of dog food or dress up in doggy attire.
Contact: Tickets will be available at the Dogs Trust stand outside of the cinema. Call 028 2565 2977 for further information

Ronnie Milsop, Dogs Trust Ballymena Campaigns Manager, says:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for families to come and see this heart-warming movie whilst at the same time also supporting a very good cause. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Storm Cinemas for allowing us to host the Northern Ireland premiere of Marley & Me and we hope lots of people will join us and our canine chums on the day.”

“Storm Cinemas Belfast is a very family-orientated destination and like ourselves is dedicated to doing all they can to help the local community. We are looking forward to the event and can’t wait to help our furry friends.”

The official UK release date is March 11th.

Dogs Trust Blog Book Review: A Dog Year by Jon Katz

As part of the Ebury Book Club which has begun on DoggySnaps, I was sent a copy each of some of the books that will be offered to our members to review. Here's what I think...

A Dog Year is a book aimed to appeal to anyone who's ever had an intractable pet. Despite the fact that I grew up with cats the marked difference between Jon Katz's docile, well-mannered and lovable Labrador Retrievers and the new, unexpected arrival into the family - troubled two-year-old Border Collie Devon - certainly struck a chord with me as I try to integrate a defensive, semi-feral kitten into my household after ludicrously straightforward experiences with two of the gentlest cats that ever lived.

Katz's autobiography is part-comedy, part-drama, with a hint of pet care manual thrown in. Although Devon is clearly an exceptional case, he bears many of the typical hallmarks of his breed: fierce intelligence, strong attachment to his pack leader, boundless energy and a physical need to be gainfully occupied every waking minute. That this is, in Devon's case, mixed with a severe lack of confidence and chronic separation anxiety is the crux of this alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking book.

I do feel I need to add a warning here, however. While Jon Katz is merely reporting on his own experiences and talks about all he has to learn about training, it is important to remind potential dog - and Border Collie -owners that his methods are not to be followed blindly without research. It's important to see this as a learning curve for both Devon and Katz; not only because I work for Dogs Trust but because I simply don't believe in punishment-based training, I would focus on positive reinforcement from the outset. Katz came to it late, having achieved some success with aversive methods that ultimately didn't really solve the underlying problems but made Devon easier to communicate with. The dominant behaviour strategy is a hot potato in dog training circles, and I'll be interested to see what comes out of the discussion on DoggySnaps (come join us!).

In particular, what makes A Dog Year stand out from similar books of its type is the writing style. Katz's prose is journalistic, swapping tenses and focus to string together a series of vignettes with the different dogs in his life at the centre. It reads far more like a novelised diary than a literary autobiography; in fact, it reads almost like a blog stitched into a book. Perhaps it's for that reason that it's a quick read; before you know it, you're almost finished.

Katz is particularly adept at pulling the emotional heartstrings, and it's clear he deeply loves every dog that's passed through his home. Do I agree with his methods and some of his choices? No. But I cannot fault his writing or his honesty when he owns up to the mistakes he's made, and I find it important to read things that challenge my opinion and open my mind to other possibilities - even if I find out in the end that my mind hasn't been changed. As far as I can tell, Katz is not trying to revolutionise training, however; he's just telling a story.