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CHAPTER X L I I I . 

 THE SKYE TERRIER. 



BV CAPTAIN W. WILMER AND R. LEIGHTON. 



■ From the dim shieling on the misty island, 



Moiinlains divide us and a world of seas ; 

 Yet still our hearts are true, our hearts are Highland, 

 And we in dreams behold the Hebrides." 



'"T^HAT the Skye Terrier should be called 

 I ■■ the Heavenh' Breed " is a tribute 

 to the favour in which he is held by 

 his admirers. Certainly when he is seen in 

 perfection he is an exceedingly beautiful 

 dog. As certainh- 

 there is no breed 

 more affectionate, 

 more faithful, or 

 more lovable. 

 Among his charac- 

 teristics are a long- 

 enduring patience, 

 a prompt obedi- 

 ence, and a deej>- 

 hearted tenderness, 

 combined with 

 fearless courage. 

 He is more sensi- 

 tive to rebuke and 

 punishment than 



most dogs, and will nurse resentment to 

 those who are unjust to him ; not viciously, 

 but with an almost human plaintiveness 

 which demands an immediate reconciliation. 

 He is staunch and firm as his native hills 

 to those who are kind to him, and for 

 entering into battle with an enemy there 

 is no dog more recklessly daring and reso- 

 lute. Xo one who has seen two Skye 

 Terriers at grips will deny that they are 

 " terrible fechters." To separate them 

 requires the exercise of concentrated 

 strength and ingenuity. They have jaws 

 like steel traps, which when once closed 

 upon a victim are not loosened until they 

 have done their work. 

 \'isitors to dog shows are disposed to 



believe that the Skye Terrier, with its well- 

 groomed coat that falls in smooth cascades 

 down its sides, and its veil of thick hair that 

 obscures the tender softness of its dark and 

 thoughtful C3^es, is meant only to look 

 beautiful upon the 

 bench or to recline 

 in comfortable in- 

 dolence on silken 

 cushions. This is 

 a mistake. See a 

 team of Skyes 

 racing up a hill- 

 side after a fugi- 

 tive rabbit, tire- 

 lessly burrowing 

 after a rat, or dis- 

 playing their terrier 

 strategy around a 

 fox's earth or an 

 otter's holt, and 

 you will admit that they are meant for 

 sport, and are demons at it. Even 

 their peculiarity of build is a proof that 

 they are born to follow vermin under 

 ground. They are long of bod\% with 

 short, strong legs, adapted for burrowing. 

 With the Dachshund they approximate 

 more closely than any other breeds to the 

 shape of the stoat, the weasel, and the otter, 

 and so many animals which Nature has 

 made long and low in order that they may 

 inhabit earths and insinuate themselves 

 into narrow passages in the moorland 

 cairns. 



There is a tradition frequently referred 

 to by writers on the Skye Terrier that the 

 breed was originally the offspring of some 



C. BURTON BARBER. 



