The Dog Who Was Raised By Cats

A test of nature versus nurture: Was Toni a cat or was she a dog?

Toni with my parent’s old timer, Pluto, in a cornfield in West Cork. Photo: Geraldine Murphy

She slinked languidly towards me, yawning. She looked into my eyes, hunkered down, peed, then went back to her bed and curled up into a cozy ball.

For my 32nd birthday I decided to give myself the gift of a dog. I went up to the Dublin SPCA which, at the time, was being run…