{"id":3470,"date":"2013-09-16T11:06:52","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T09:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/?p=3470"},"modified":"2019-04-24T11:55:55","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T09:55:55","slug":"its-a-dogs-life-for-liverpool-fc-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/news\/its-a-dogs-life-for-liverpool-fc-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a dog\u2019s life for Liverpool FC legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

A record-breaking Liverpool football legend was the top dog at a care home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ian Callaghan MBE, 71, was one of the judges at a dog show at the Bodlondeb care home at Pendine Park in Wrexham.<\/span><\/p>\n

The former England international, who made a record 857 appearances for Liverpool FC,\u00a0 regularly visits Bodlondeb to see a close friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Right-winger Ian played under the iconic Liverpool manager Bill Shankly who transformed the club from being Second Division no hopers into champions in the 60s and 70s.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Liverpool supporter as a child, Ian joined the club as an apprentice in 1960 and made his debut on 16 April in a 4\u20130 win against\u00a0 Bristol Rovers at Anfield.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ian was one of four England players to play for England in the 1966 World Cup tournament without playing in the final itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 4\u20132 win over West Germany received medals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a campaign led by the Football Association to persuade FIFA\u00a0 award medals to all the winners\u2019 squad members, Ian\u00a0 was presented with his medal by Gordon Brown at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street in 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1976, at the age of 34, he played in Bob Paisley’s side which won a League and UEFA Cup double. He played in all the European matches and missed just two league games. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the autumn of 1978, Ian finally left Liverpool and joined his former Anfield team mate John Toshack at Swansea City, helping them to two consecutive promotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still revered by the Anfield faithful, he was voted in at No.15 in the ‘100 Players Who shook The Kop’ poll in the summer of 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking just after the centenary of Shankly’s birth, Ian said: \u201cWhen you speak to anyone in the world and you mention Liverpool, the conversation always comes down to two things: The Beatles and Liverpool Football Club.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because of Shanks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople see this huge club. LFC. But what must be remembered is that he built it all up from nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Shanks became manager in 1959 we were a Second Division club going absolutely nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years later we were promoted, two years after that we were champions of England and, in 1965, Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were champions again the following year. Shanks loved that. He lived to win trophies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ian insists Shankly would have been just as great in the modern era. <\/span><\/p>\n

He revealed he had once bought a Yorkshire Terrier for his daughters\u00a0 and called it Smudge – the nickname of his team mate Tommy Smith, the hard as nails centre half.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said:\u201cI thought that\u2019s a good name for a dog, and Tommy was certainly a terrier the way he played.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The dogs on show belonged to relatives of the residents and staff members at Pendine Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

After careful deliberation Ian, alongside fellow judges, day care manager at Bodlondeb Kath Roberts, and chairman of children\u2019s charity Variety, Jim Donaldson, he picked Oscar as the winner \u2013 a three-year-old Llahsa Apsa. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Jim said: \u201cIt was difficult to pick the winner because there were so many beautiful dogs, they really are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOscar\u2019s a lovely looking dog, well behaved and very disciplined. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Ian added: \u00a0\u201cI think Bodlondeb is a terrific place. This place is absolutely fantastic I think. It\u2019s modern, there\u2019s plenty of staff, and people seem to be fantastically well looked after.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jim, who\u2019s charity Variety supports disenfranchised children, enjoyed every minute of the dog show.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThat was great. I love animals, and I love dogs in particular. All the dogs were great – really well behaved. Kath asked us a couple of weeks ago if we could come and help today, and we were delighted to come. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think Pendine is fabulous. It\u2019s a great place, it really is. It\u2019s well run. The staff look after the residents really well, and they do a good job. It\u2019s clean, and it\u2019s a good home for the people who belong here. They put on a lot of things like the dog show.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kath said: \u201c\u201cThere were some beautiful dogs here. Everyone\u2019s a winner. I love it. It\u2019s very important for the residents that we put on things like this.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou look around and you see their faces. You\u2019ve only got to look at their eyes and you can tell it\u2019s made a difference. It\u2019s really rewarding.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Pendine Park is an animal friendly place. As part of our enrichment programme, pet therapy is a very important part of what we do.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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