CHAPTER XXX 



THE SKYE TERRIER 



MOST readers are doubtless familiar witK the appear- 

 ance of the Skye Terrier, his low body and abnormal 

 length of coat making him sufficiently distinctive 

 to be noticeable in any company. It is a favourite 

 gibe of little boys to ask which is his head and which 

 his tail, a jest to which Mr. Punch at one time 

 gave pictorial representation. It is more or less 

 idle speculation to inquire whether the Skye or the 

 Scottish Terrier is the aboriginal variety, but it may 

 be mentioned that many of the older writers speak 

 of a long-haired dog which was probably the pro- 

 genitor of the former. It needs no stretch of 

 imagination to assume that two strains may have 

 existed side by side, the shorter haired one being 

 kept for his working properties, and the other being 

 made more or less a household favourite. A reason- 

 able supposition has been advanced that when the 

 Spanish Armada was destroyed there were preserved 

 from ships wrecked on the western islands long- 

 coated Spanish dogs which were inter -bred with the 

 native race. There is also a suggestion that the 

 " Iseland Dogges " mentioned by Dr. Caius were the 

 forerunners of our Skyes. The profuse coat of the 



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