A fitting tribute to my beloved mountain dog
WhEn Kalie the Pyrenean Mountain Dog passed away aged 11 more than a decade ago, his owner Sandie Tadd was heartbroken.
But she has kept his memory close thanks to a jumper made with fur from a ‘massive moult’ he had when he was 18 months old.
Mrs Tadd, 71, who breeds and shows the giant dogs with her husband Rod, says: ‘It was about three bin liners’ worth.
‘a friend made the jumper for me about 20 years ago. It’s something of a lost art these days with Pyreneans because there are relatively few of them in the UK.’
Mrs Tadd is pictured with another of her dogs, six-year-old Jacko — or Champion Jacko du haras de Chante-neige, to use his far grander pedigree name — admiring her wearing the jumper.
But it was a rare outing for the garment.
‘It’s lovely but I’ve only worn it about three times,’ says Mrs Tadd, from West Wittering, West Sussex.
‘I didn’t have it lined so it’s very itchy — and it’s so warm you have to take it off after about 20 minutes, however cold the weather is.’
‘When we have breed get-togethers, people bring items knitted from their dogs and hang them up on display.’