WHEN Paul Kavanagh, the author of the popular Wee Ginger Dug blog and National columnist, suffered a severe stroke almost two weeks ago, there were no doubt some

Unionists who would have thought that at least they probably would not have to suffer his forensic analysis and satirical humour for a while.

Then, as The National revealed, Paul this week suffered the devastating loss of the Wee Ginger Dug himself, his pet being put to sleep after arthritis crippled him at the age of 14 or so. As a rescue dog from Spain, no one knew his exact age.

Such blows would fell lesser men, especially as he is currently paralysed down his entire left side, but all those who fear the biting wit of Paul Kavanagh can tremble in their boots right now because not only is the Wee Ginger Dug blog and column carrying on, there is going to be more of it.

READ MORE: The sad passing of the canine star of the Scottish independence movement

The National is delighted to announce that as our way of supporting our columnist, for the foreseeable future, the Wee Ginger Dug column will appear not once but three times a week in these pages, including a diary in the Sunday National which will document Paul’s recovery. We all know this may be long and occasionally disheartening, but we earnestly hope this will tell the tale of his full recovery.

For these extra columns, which will run until Christmas, we’ve chosen to pay Paul above our usual rate, and will be providing support to help him with the writing process.

We’ve also offered him free advertising over the next two weeks to help promote his crowdfunder.

Regular readers will know that Paul has started a crowdfunder to try and raise £50,000 to help him buy a ground floor flat as he recovers.

You can donate directly to the crowdfunder on gofundme by searching for “Wee Ginger Rehab Fundraiser” on the website.

Alternatively you can donate by Paypal, using the donate button or log into Paypal and send a payment to the email address weegingerbook@yahoo.com. Or just click the donate button.

If you don’t have a Paypal account, just select “donate with card” after clicking the button.

If you would prefer to donate some other way, for example, by bank transfer or cheque please email Paul at weegingerbook@yahoo.com for further details.

Paul’s column will be back on Tuesday. Unionists beware!