Menonday Art Vibe; Poochy Portraits 4

This is the last of the mini-series within the art series... and this one has charm for all sorts of reasons!

Here, we see the Terrier breed formed in the Scottish Borders and named the Dandie Dinmont - now a rare/endangered native breed. I had a great aunt who owned a Dandie; he was the biggest charmer and mischief maker going! Honestly, once met, never forgotten. In this picture, we see the evidence of what sort of mischief a DD will get into - although, to be fair to it, that is what Terriers tend to be bred for. Keeping down the vermin. Working dogs though they are, they also make marvellous companions - and, as in the case of Wills, my great aunt's dog, rather over-sized but keen lapdogs. My late mother (whose aunt it was and whose 89th birthday would have been today) always said that she would have chosen the Dandie Dinmont over the Border Collie if we had had a dog as a family: a not insignificant statement, given her family's long connection with the latter.

This painting is not large but grabs attention with the dog's evident delight at having earned dinner. Furthermore, it holds a special place in the gallery's collection because it was hung per a bequest request. You can read about that in detail, along with more history about the breed and a link to a web page about these dogs, on this link. 

(Aside:   In case you miss it and are keen to see a Dandie moving, you can check out this video - "Gavin" appears in the first ten minutes of the film - and there are lots of other wee lovelies to watch, too... yes, this is for the doggy doters like me!) 

Enough waffle, here's Callum - ain't he cute?