Cairn Terrier. Robert Jamieson
veins. For this purpose you needed not only a brave dog, which did not shy away from rat bites, but one of truly great speed.”
In addition to the backing of Mrs. Campbell, the breed received early support from Lord Hawke and his sisters Mary and Betty, who had imported terriers from Skye from the Watermist strain. Their dogs, Bridget, Bride and Bruin were “road markers” in the breed’s early history. The first Cairn champion was Gesto, owned by Mrs. Campbell.
When World War I started, dog breeding and showing in England basically came to a halt. However, as soon as the war was over, the Cairn’s popularity immediately began to rise. New exhibitors joined Mrs. Campbell, and by 1923 over 1,000 Cairns were registered.
THE INTERESTING CAIRN
Robert Leighton judged the Skye Terriers at Crufts in 1909. He discovered additional classes under the name of “Short-haired Skyes.” He later wrote, “Properly speaking, they were not Skye Terriers…but they were certainly interesting. Small, active, game and very hard in appearance, they were strongly though slimly built…and the more I handled them the more I admired them.”
Many members of the Royal Family were dog lovers and possessed several excellent examples of pure-bred dogs. Jaggers was among the two Cairns. The sketch is by Ernest H. Mills.
Harviestoun Raider, whelped in 1919 and owned by J. E. Kerr, became the first great sire of the breed, producing 11 champions, which was a record for the time. Raider stamped his progeny with his wonderful substance, which was sometimes too much for the judges, and passed along all of his best attributes. At the time, Raider was in the background of two-thirds of all Cairn pedigrees.
By the mid-1920s, Mrs. N. Fleming of Out of the West Kennels was an active breeder and remained so well into the 1930s. Her Fisherman Out of the West and his sire, Doughall Out of the West, were also two important sires throughout the 1920s. In 1933 the great Ch. Splinter of Twobees was whelped. The winner of eight Challenge Certificates, he made his mark not in the show ring but with his influence as a sire with his ability to stamp his type and quality onto his get and their next generations. Over 100 champions in England can trace their pedigrees back to him. In addition, he is in the background of many American champions.
In the mid-1930s, Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal had a favorite Cairn named Peggy, which was frequently seen in her company.
Again, with the advent of World War II, dog breeding came to a halt in Great Britain. Many kennels were disbanded when breeders found that there was not enough food to keep a kennel running. Some hardy souls did manage to keep a few dogs and, when the war ended, breeding and dog showing resumed as it had after World War I.
In 1943 Splinter produced a son by the name of Sport of Zellah. With approval of The Kennel Club, the new owner changed his name to Bonfire of Twobees and he was bred in 1948 to Redletter My Choice, owned by Walter Bradshaw. Attention must be given to the Redletter Kennels of Mr. Bradshaw because of the huge influence, throughout Great Britain and North America that the kennel had on the Cairn Terrier. Through the decades, the kennel established a phenomenal record of show wins and top producers.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
The Cairn Terrier, as depicted in paintings from the late 1800s, looks very much like the present-day Cairn. From Mrs. Campbell’s Calla Mhor to Ch. Splinter of Twobees to Ch. Cairnwoods Quince, the Cairn Terrier has remained the same in size, structure and coat. This is somewhat unusual, as in many breeds the dog may become significantly larger, or smaller, and there will often be major changes in coat and trimming styles.
Mr. Bradshaw started in dogs in the 1920s, raising Flat-coated Retrievers. Shortly before World War II, he became interested in the Cairn Terrier. The breeding of Redletter My Choice to Bonfire Twobees produced Redletter Mc Joe, who became a champion before the age of two years. He was campaigned in the ring for three years and produced nine champions. His son Ch. Redletter Mc Murran won 26 Challenge Certificates and was the first Cairn to win an all-breed Best in Show at a Championship Show (1956). His daughter, Ch. Redletter Elford Mhorag won 18 CCs. Mc Murran and Mhorag, half-siblings, won both the dog and bitch CCs at five Championship Shows. Ch. Redletter Mc Bryan won 17 CCs and sired 13 champions. Ch. Redletter Twinlaw Seaspirit, who was the second Cairn to win a Best in Show at a Championship Show, was later purchased by Betty Hyslop of Cairndainia Kennels in Canada. Ch. Redletter Marcel won 16 CCs in a single year. Mr. Bradshaw died in 1982 at the age of 86, having made up 42 English champions and having had a major impact on the Cairn Terrier world that may not be repeated any time soon.
Kim, the favorite Cairn of Miss Violet Petrie, daughter of Blanche, Lady Petrie (a famed aristocrat of the 1920s), is here seen with her owner.
This historical photo from the 1920s was captioned as follows: “The selling of puppies in the street is a sight of London. Here every pocket may contain a puppy or something of doggie interest. The salesmen are often fanciers and are allowed to ‘tell the tale’.”
Other kennels that have made considerable contributions to the Cairn have been: Mrs. E. H. Drummond’s Blencathra Kennels, producer of 25 English champions; the Toptwig Kennels of Mrs. Gladys Marsh, which exported dogs to the United States and Sweden, making an impact in both countries; Mrs. H. L. Manley of Lofthouse Kennels, producing 10 English champions and exporting winning dogs to the US; Oudenarde Kennels, which finished many champions including Am. and Can. Ch. Oudenarde Sea Hark, exported to Betty Hyslop; Uniquecottage Kennels of Mrs. J. G. Parker-Tucker, which produced over 30 English champions who have won many CCs. There have been an exceptional number of dedicated Cairn breeders in the British Isles whose dogs have been well known not only in their own country but also throughout North America.
Cairns of 1835. Here possibly is the ancestor of both the present Cairn and Scottish Terriers, seen at work among the rocks after an otter that is attempting to escape. The hand-written inscription reads, “Scotch terriers at work on a Cairn in the West Highlands.”
THE CAIRN TERRIER IN NORTH AMERICA
The Cairn Terrier’s history in America followed the history of the breed in Great Britain by only a few years. In 1913 the first Cairns were imported to the United States by Mrs. Henry Price of California from Mrs. Fleming’s Out of the West Kennels. Sandy Peter Out of the West was the first and only Cairn registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1913.
By 1917 there were 32 registrations and, by December of that year, the Cairn Terrier Club of America made it as the ninth in the Terrier Group to become a member of the AKC. Mrs. Price became an active breeder and exhibitor through the early 1940s. She had a life-long interest in the breed and served on the board of the national club. Mrs. Byron Rogers, a Cairn and Sealyham fancier and also a board member, imported many Cairns from England and wrote the first book on the breed. Mrs. C. Groverman Ellis of Killybracken Kennels added Cairns to her kennel of Irish Wolfhounds in the 1930s. She produced nearly 40 champions in addition to putting obedience degrees on many of her Cairns. Ch. Tam Glen of Killybracken may still be one of the only Cairns with a tracking degree. The owners usually showed their own dogs and purchased few outside dogs, relying upon their homebreds.
BREED RECOGNITION
Mrs. Campbell, when she was struggling to see the breed recognized, wrote in a letter, “It seems a pity that this breed, of which so many people are fond, should be allowed to die out. There is nothing like showing a dog to keep up the characteristics of the breed. I propose to endeavour to have them recognised as ‘Old Breed’ or ‘Sporting Skye Terrier’.”