The BCCC at 50 - Part 2

The BCCC at 50 - Part 2
History

Part two of Alice Bixler’s fascinating history of the Bearded Collie, its introduction to Canada, and the creation of the Bearded Collie Club of Canada is the second installment in a series to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Club. Alice, a BCCC founding and life member, is uniquely qualified to present this historical information in an authoritative and engrossing manner due to her credentials as a journalist, writer, editor, photographer, Beardie breeder and dog fancier throughout the entire time period the Club has been in existence. Read on and enjoy . .

“HISTORY” Pre-1970
Long before Jeannie charmed her way into Olive Willison’s heart in England, there were Beardies in North America. A December 1919 Canadian Kennel Club publication featured an article on Scottish breeds. Author Freeman Lloyd wrote, “About 30 or 40 years ago (which would figure out to be 1879 or thereabout) there were no other cattle dogs than bearded collies used about the slaughterhouses in the east end of Montreal.” Lloyd commented that Scottish folk who took up residence in Canada often sent back to the old country for their well-bred livestock and the dogs to herd or drive them. French-Canadian drovers of the 1880s admired the breed’s abilities and put them to work. A contemporary, Robert Ross of Montreal, wrote of the breed, “They were just the blue of the Skye Terrier with a white or pepper and salt grizzle shade running all through it.” A 1910 publication, Collie Folio, noted that two Beardies were benched at a show in Calgary that year. The duo was believed to have been exported by British breeder and enthusiast Bailie James Dalgliesh. Later, brief mentions of Beardies brought to Canada as working dogs appeared from 1910 through the next four decades. Two males from a mating of Bra Tawny of Bothkennar and Ridgeway Rob were sold to an American woman from Connecticut who was visiting England in the early 1950s. In her book, The Bearded Collie, Olive Willison wrote that the lady later got in touch with her and asked to reserve two females who would be compatible for breeding with her boys. Unfortunately, the lady passed away before the females became available.

“Beardies! Oh, I never thought I’d ever see Beardies again!” exclaimed the woman with tears in her eyes. This was at the Greenwood benched show in Toronto shortly after the breed was recognized by the CKC and the first show in which Beardies appeared en masse. The lady’s Beardie had died a short time before at the age of 17. He was one of a number brought to Canada as pets but little was known about them. Over the years, there were indeed Beardies in Canada but there was no driving force to have the shaggy herders appreciated and recognized as a bona fide breed. That is, not until Carol Gold.

When the Beatles burst on the music world like a meteor and England was swinging, Carol Gold traveled there to cover the pop music scene for Canadian magazines. Taking in the Windsor dog show, she was accosted by a furry, bouncing, whirlwind who greeted her with kisses as though she was a long lost, wealthy relative. Captivated by the temperament and appearance of the charismatic dogs, Carol delved into learning more about the Beardie, visiting breeders, helping at shows. When she returned to Toronto in 1968, she was accompanied by Gael, a blue female who was to become Ch. Wishanger Marsh Pimpernel, CD and ROM. No surprise there. Carol had an ambitious goal – the recognition of the Bearded Collie breed by the Canadian Kennel Club. The requirements sounded deceptively simple. Basically, all that was required for CKC recognition were seven of the breed with proper paperwork, that being export pedigrees from the country of birth. But how do you convince people who know little of the breed, to import dogs sight unseen from Great Britain? There’s an old saying, ‘What the eye admires, the heart desires.’ So, Carol set about making sure enough Canadian eyes got to admire her Beardie, Gael. She took her along whenever possible on outings including to dog shows where they stood on the fringe of the show site, cheerfully answering questions about the breed. The comment most often heard was, “They’re adorable and I’d really like to get one … after they’re recognized.” It was Gael who took matters into her own paws. Carol left her tied up outside a store while she dashed in to make a purchase. On returning, she found a young couple, David and Linda MacLennan, totally entranced with her dog and more than willing to import a registered Beardie pup. Carol directed them to a well-known British breeder Jenny Osbourne and in time Osmart Brown Barnaby arrived in Canada.

Carol didn’t have to convince Muriel Ratner of Montreal to get a Beardie. She already had one. A fellow Sheltie owner had traveled to England and met Beardies at a show. She came back and enthusiastically told Muriel, “You absolutely just have to get one.” So Bracky of Bothkennar, known as Slippers, crossed the Atlantic to rule over Muriel’s household. This was in 1963 so Slippers was truly the first of the Original Seven to later be recognized by the CKC.

Rough Collie breeder Barbara Blake was another person introduced to the breed by Carol and Gael. The Blakes imported Tarskavaig Black Maria from the Isle of Skye as their foundation bitch. Out west in Regina, Sask., Bob and Helen Wilson read about Bearded Collies, contacted Carol and eventually imported Osmart Black Cherry.

And then there was me. I first encountered a Beardie in Coral Gables, Florida in 1966. Grant (my husband at the time) and I were going to look at a house for sale. Walking in front of that very house was a man with the most incredibly enchanting brown dog I had ever seen. It was love at first sight (with the dog, of course).

The owner was an architect, Darryl Fleeger, who had visited England in 1965 and returned with Annabelle of Tillingbourne, known as Penny. We didn’t buy the house. But we became friends with Darryl and often dog-sat Penny when he traveled. She was personality on four paws. Two years later, Darryl returned to England and brought back an adult black male, Bonanza of Bothkennar, who answered to Bonkers (if he felt like it). A mating in 1969 resulted in three pups: two black females and one brown (monorchid) male. I was disappointed, having hoped for a brown bitch like Penny. Before the pups were born, we had moved to Canada, Grant’s homeland. I was prepared to wait for a brown female in a future litter but Darryl and Grant conspired and – surprise – a black female took flight (on a plane) and arrived in Canada. Hermione of Stonehall joined the family. Her name was bestowed by Darryl, not me. Her littermates were Heather and Heathcliff.

Fast forward several months. It was a sultry day in Toronto, and I had my hands full trying to keep up with my four-year-old son who was determined to take in every activity at the Canadian National Exhibition. We entered the cool coliseum building and melted into the stands to rest aching feet and watch the North York Obedience Club drill team perform. My son nudged me. “Look, there’s a dog like ‘Mione.”( his shortened version of Hermione). The announcer was introducing the members of the drill team over the P.A. system. “And next we have Carol Gold and her dog, Gael. Gael is a Bearded Collie, a very rare breed and one of only four in Canada.” “Five!!!” I blurted out. Carol zeroed in on me and forcefully stage-whispered, “Don’t leave!” So I stayed.

Finding out Hermione had been born in the U.S., where the breed was still several years away from recognition, didn’t dampen Carol’s enthusiasm. Even though she lacked the export pedigree needed to make her eligible for registration, Hermione was still an asset to the cause. Before we parted company, Carol enlisted us to help publicize the breed, train at the North York Obedience Club and, learning of my fondness for brown Beardies, to contact Jackie Vroom in England who had just mated her dazzling auburn-coated Ch. Edelweiss of Tambora to the renowned Ch. Osmart Bonnie Blue Braid and reserve a bronze male pup.

Before that pup, who was to become Ch. Bronze Javelin of Tambora (Brit), was old enough to ship, we got a real surprise. Grant went to England on a business trip and returned with two six-month-old Beardie pups (with export pedigrees): Cynpegs Hillbilly (Scot) and Tarskavaig Black Velvet (Velvet). Voila! Just like that we had reached the magic number seven.

The year, 1970, was momentous. Plans to form the Bearded Collie Club of Canada were discussed in March as we sat in the chilly building where the dog shows were held in conjunction with the Toronto Sportsmen Show. Gael was the only Beardie in attendance as she was performing with the North York drill team there. Later, Carol, Barb Blake and I sat around Barb’s kitchen table and hammered out all the details and paperwork necessary to start a parent club. Phone calls went out as we endeavored to find people to fill the offices and finally the BCCC became a reality.

Then we waited impatiently to learn if our breed had been accepted by the CKC. At one point, the CKC contacted Carol, wanting to list our breed as ‘Collies, Bearded.’ “No way!” Carol exclaimed, “unless you want to change some other breeds to Sheepdogs, Old English or Sheepdogs, Shetland.” The CKC backed down and the breed was officially listed as Bearded Collies. Then, in August of 1970, Beardies were recognized and added to the Working Group. Several years later, the overcrowded Working Group split off the herding breeds into their own group.

That same year, Gael mated to Osmart Brown Barnaby, produced the first registered Beardie litter in Canada. Raggmopp, Carol’s kennel name, made its initial appearance and each pup had ‘first’ in its name. As difficult as it had been to acquire the first seven, with recognition Beardies seemed to flow into Canada. By the end of 1970, some 24 Beardies were known to be in the country. One of these was my brown pup, Brit, who arrived too late for the original seven but whose name would go down in the books as the hairy Houdini of Beardiedom.

1970 was the year of ‘Firsts.’ Gael was the first Beardie to appear in the show ring, winning the breed at the Scarborough Kennel Club show. She was the first to earn a Canadian championship and the first to earn an obedience CD title. At times, it seemed as if almost everything we did was a first. First Best Opposite, first Winners Dog, first male champion, First Best Puppy, first group placing and so on. The breed and the club were off to a flying start.

Next: The early years of the BCCC.

The BCCC at 50 - Part 2 History

The BCCC at 50 - Part 2
History