The Fox Terrier, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and Bull Terrier were said to have played the most significant part in the molding of the breed we’re challenging you to name before we identify it below. We paraphrase a passage that described the goal of the breed’s creator, and that was to overshadow the original type of the dogs used in the breed, and to sink the three into one mold, a dog of distinct type who embodied all the qualities of the earlier three ancestors.  The end result was a breed that was the embodiment of power and determination, keen and alert, and with extraordinary substance without being clumsy. In fact, the AKC describes the breed to be like an NFL running back: “Powerful, well-muscled, built low to ground, and moving easily with long, determined strides.”

Have you guessed that the breed is the Sealyham Terrier?  The breed got its name from Sealyham, Haverfordwest, Wales, the estate of the breed’s creator, Captain John Edwardes.  The thumbnail image is of Sealyham Hall which was converted into a tuberculosis hospital with in 1923. In 1955, it was converted to a facility for geriatric patients, and in 1964, it was permanently closed as a medical facility. In 1970, the Sealyham Mansion was sold to Nancy Ellen Perkins who converted it into an apartment building, and ten years later, it went to an investment firm that used it as an outdoor activities center.  The most recent owners purchased the structure in 1986 and have been improving the house and grounds ever since.

 Sealyham Terrier by Maud M Turner (1891- 1908)