Frenchie fancy

Angie and seven of her eight Dandie Dinmonts. ANGIE MILLER of Lockerbie faced plenty of difficulties when trying to track down a Dandie Dinmont.

Having seen and fancied one nine years ago Angie faced a real hunt to track one down and only a chat with someone at a show pointed her in the right direction.

“I just wanted a pet dog but as soon as I got one, Dougall, I fell in love with the breed.

“I now have another seven – Ava, Alice, Minnie, Edie, Morag, Esme and Magnus.

“I’ve never had a breed with such character.

“They are such funny

Veterinary nurse Cathy Ferguson says her dogs, Clarisse and Gabrielle,

are “just lovely”. and happy wee dogs.”

Angie says her Dandie eightsome are a real delight and she now breeds them with a litter per year helping boost the fast-dwindling numbers.

“Of the 91 that were registered last year, 11 were imported so there were only 80 born in the whole of the UK. It’s such a shame to see the numbers struggling so much.

“We need to get them out and get them seen.”

It’s hoped that a threeday gathering of Dandie lovers in Selkirk at the beginning of June will help to do that. HEALTH concerns over French Bulldogs are no surprise to Dunfermline owner Cathy Ferguson.

She works as a veterinary nurse in Glenrothes and sees the illnesses of the animals that come in.

“I’ve definitely seen more issues and it’s as a result of the big jump in numbers,” says Cathy.

“Because of the demand there are people who are just breeding litter after litter without doing the kind of checks you should do.

“I know they’re very common now. They were so much rarer when I got my first nine years ago.

“In fact, they were so rare I spent ages trying to track down a suitable breeder.”

Cathy adores her two, Clarisse and Gabrielle.

“They are just lovely. They are known as the clowns of the dog world because of their comical expressions.”

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