Scottish Festival to feature rare dog breed

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Visitors to this weekend's Scottish Festival in Elgin Park will have the opportunity to cuddle one of the world's rarest dogs: the Dandie Dinmont.

A Dandie Dinmont terrier, one of the rarest dog breeds in the world. Local dog fancier Mike Macbeth will have her “Dandies” onsite at this weekend’s Scottish Festival in Elgin Park. Photo submitted by Mike Macbeth

Mike Macbeth of Uxbridge says she has dedicated her life to raising and caring for the dogs and trying to prevent their eventual disappearance. She said there are only about 3,000 Dandies in the world, making them rarer than Giant Pandas and Black Rhinos. About 300 Dandie Dinmont puppies are born annually world-wide, making them one of the rarest breeds of dog.

"If we don't do something, in 10 years there'll be no Dandies," says Macbeth. "I'm doing everything I can to not let this breed die."

She noted that Dandies were heavily impacted when the British government culled dogs during the Second World War when food was scarce.

Macbeth says she hopes to have about 10 of the dogs at the Scottish Festival in a "cuddling parlour" where visitors will be able to cuddle with the animals.

"It's a way to introduce the dog to the public," she said. "They are quiet, gentle, with no shedding, no hereditary diseases. They are the perfect pet."

She said the breed was named after a character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Guy Mannering. The breed can be traced back to the Talbot hound raised in France in the 1400s. She said Queen Victoria bred Dandies, and other celebrities who have owned Dandies include Agatha Christie, Sir Alec Guinness, George Bernard Shaw and various other members of royalty.

Macbeth has shown her dogs around the world, was a dog show judge for many years and recently wrote a comprehensive book about the history of Dandies called The True Story of Scotland's Forgotten Breed. She said she had a dog who was the first North American dog to win a breed show at the Windsor Castle dog show, which was named "best of all terriers."