A high point is the unveiling of a bronze statue commemorating ‘Old Ginger.’ The Queen’s sculptor, “Sandy” Stoddart, who rendered a masterpiece composite of many Dandie Dinmonts, saw the project as a  ‘literary, cultural and indeed canine project’.  “I was and am keen to make the Old Ginger memorial for a variety of reasons,” Stoddart said. “First, I’m philosophically kindly disposed to the doggy tribe. I’d like to do something in the line of commemorating a fellow creature, long dead, who is the progenitor of so many to whom that loving-kindness has been directed.” The statue was ‘crowd funded’ from within the Dandie Dinmont enthusiasts community.

That the bronze is situated next to the kennels in which “Old Ginger” was born is a story in and of itself.  The surviving kennel run was built in the 1830s by another Stoddart, a local blacksmith John Stoddart, himself a notable breeder of Dandies whose dogs appear in the female line of Old Ginger. They were discovered just recently and were previously incorrectly identified as a ‘menagerie.’ Research indicates that these are the only surviving kennels for any breed that can lay claim to the birthplace of a breed founder.  The kennels have been renovated and turned into the Dandie Dinmont Discovery Center that will focus on all vulnerable Scottish breeds.

Over the weekend,  visitors explored cloth weaving and tartan production sites because the Dandie Dinmont is the only breed with its own tartan, a fact made possible when Clan chief, Duke Richard of Buccleuch of Clan Scott, gave permission in 2016 for the black and white tartan worn by Sir Walter Scott  privately in his home to become the tartan of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier.