“Cairns” are stone piles that some of us may have seen while hiking or kayaking (to see a master of the art, check out this link.
The small, scrappy dogs who wiggled into these rocks to get at their prey came to be known by their medium: Cairn Terriers. Back in the day, Cairns were regarded as nothing fancy (big mistake). They were scruffy, tough dogs that backed down from no man or beast. They were fixtures on farms that were expected to do it all, and they did.
The breed may have been unheralded when it touched American soil, but it shot to stardom when a bitch named, “Terry,” took us to Oz. Terry also shared the silver screen with Shirley Temple, and appeared in the original, “The Women,” and “Little Angel”. Her last film was “Tortilla Flat.” She died at the age of eleven in 1945 and was buried at in Studio City, Los Angeles. Her grave was destroyed during the construction of the Ventura Freeway in 1958. Hiss.
Perhaps it’s best to confess now that we have a particular affection for Cairn Terriers. Though we’ve been Puli people for years, we grew up with Cairn Terriers. As they say, you never forget your first, and in our view, Cairns are consummate terriers.
Image: Cairn Terrier by Heather Irvine of Terrierz