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In the
fall of 1938, Terry's "manager" Carl Spitz got a call from
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.The studio was looking for just the right
actor to portray a key role in the upcoming adaptation of
Frank L. Baum's classic fairytale The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz and wondered if Terry would like to audition for the part.
Terry nailed the audition, earning the role of Toto, and went
on to become the most famous cairn terrier ever to grace the
silver screen.
Today
it's hard to imagine The Wizard of Oz without a cairn terrier
as Toto. The scrappy little dog was mischief-maker and devoted
friend, courageous hero and comic relief - the same blend
of characteristics that cairn terrier enthusiasts have admired
for the last 150 years. The Wizard of Oz went on to become
one of our most beloved movies - it was selected as the sixth
greatest film of all time by the American Film Institute -
and although it might be rash to suggest the movie would've
been less successful had it not featured a cairn, it's difficult,
if not impossible, to imagine another breed bringing the same
panache to one of dogdom's greatest roles.
There's
No Place Like Home
The fairytale
landscape of Oz was a far cry from the cairn terrier's native
landscape in the highlands and isles of west Scotland, where
rocky outcrops took the place of yellow brick roads and the
land was populated not with munchkins or tin men but vermin.
Although
it may not be as romantic as dueling wicked witches, the first
cairns spent their days scouring the fields for the badgers,
fox and rats that stole the grain and livestock off the Scots'
hardscrabble farms and estates. Cairn were but one of many
generic terrier types that populated the highlands, probably
from as early as the sixteenth century.
Owners
favored different attributes in their working terriers according
to their needs, and inbreeding ensured that the separate strains
retained their characteristic points.
Much of
the known early history of the cairn terrier, like that of
the Skye terrier, centers on the island of Skye. In fact,
the roots of both breeds center on the same families and estates:
Drynock, Mogstads, Waternish Camusennary and Roseneath are
all strains to which both breeds can be traced. The Roseneath
name is also prominent in early West Highland white terriers.
It appears
that certain families favored certain colors for their cairns.
The Macdonalds of Waternish preferred dark grays and brindles,
but the Macleods of Drynock favored silver grays. All of Scotland's
terriers were grouped together as Scotch terriers until 1873,
when they were separated into two classifications -Dandie
Dinmont terriers and Skye terriers. The Skye terrier class
included the breeds now known as the Scottish terrier, the
West Highland terriers and the cairn terrier. eveloped from
the same basic stock, the three were often found in the same
litter and distinguished only by color.
Cairns
were initially called short-haired Skyes, but Skye terrier
fanciers protested the use of the name. To avoid future confusion,
it was suggested that the name of the shorthaired Skyes be
changed to the cairn terrier of Skye. Cairns were piles of
stones which served as the landmarks or memorials. Common
throughout much of Scotland, cairns were frequent hiding places
for the small mammals hunted by terriers. The shortened name
cairn terrier was agreed upon in 1912.
The breed
made its official debut in America in 1913, when Mrs. Henry
Price of Connecticut imported Sandy Peter Out of the West
from Scotland. Sandy Peter became the first cairn registered
by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in that same year. In 1917
the Cairn Terrier Club of America was granted membership in
the American Kennel Club.
King
of the Forest
Unlike
the Cowardly Lion, the cairn terrier has courage to spare,
thanks to its heritage as an earth dog. Preserving this lionhearted
courage has long been a goal of fanciers and is reflected
in the breed standard, which describes the cairn's general
appearance as "that of an active, game, hardy, small working
terrier of the short-legged class; very free in its movements,
strongly but heavily built.
"This
description reflects the fact the Cairn should have the hardiness
to meet the performance of his ancestors," continues the AKC
in The Complete Dog Book. "Utility should be the aim of the
fancier, since the express aim of the Cairn Terrier clubs
is to preserve the breed in its best old-working type."
Cairn
owners are on intimate terms with the dog's ingrained, aggressive
characteristics. Cairns will vigorously and vocally guard
home and yard from all intruders, both friend and foe. They
like to bark and can sound quite ferocious, even when playing.
They will enjoy the company of other dogs, children and cats
if socialized early, but the cairn's assertiveness can backfire
on the owner if the dog is not trained and managed properly.
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NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
Times sure have changed
for the Totos of the world. Terry, the cairn terrier
who played Toto in the film version of The Wizard of
Oz received a $125 a week for her role. For that meager
fee she endured hardship and injury - during the filming
of the scene where Toto escapes from the Wicked Witch
of the West's castle, a soldier stepped on Terry's foot,
resulting in a sprain which Terry, ever the method actor,
boldly struggled through.
Fast forward to the 1990s. A recent stage production
of The Wizard of Oz starring Mickey Rooney as the Wizard
featured three different cairns in the role of Toto.
Perks for this trio included private vans and dressing
rooms, separate doggie beds and a diet of gourmet dog
food.
Think three Totos is two
too many? A production of The Wizard of Oz on Ice featured
six cairn terriers. The treats enjoyed by this spoiled
sextet included luxurious hotel rooms, taxi rides from
the hotel to the show and a personal maid.
Although information
regarding the salaries of these pampered pooches is
not available, given their luxurious lifestyles, one
can imagine they'd chew through Terry's weekly fee of
$125 faster than a twister through a Kansas cornfield.
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The reward
for teaching a cairn the proper dignity and respect for other
creatures is a dog that is almost eerily in tune with their
owner's moods. Remember the devotion of Toto, who never left
Dorothy's side except to chase something or save her life?
That kind of steadfast loyalty is a hallmark of the breed.
Cairns
were bred to dig out their prey, and members of the breed
have not forgotten this. Care is needed to prevent it from
digging its way out of a run. The cairn's exercise needs are
moderate, but owners should not forget this is a "sporting
dog" which makes it very active and inquisitive. Even within
its own domain, the cairns wandering soul occasionally gets
him into trouble - they love to investigate anything and everything,
so make sure chemicals and other household dangers are kept
secured. . . .
And
Your Little Dog, Too
When he
wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1899, 15 years before
the cairn's "official" arrival on this side of the Atlantic,
L. Frank Baum had probably never set eyes on a cairn terrier,
yet his description of Toto seems to fit the cairn to a T.
"It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing
as gray as her other surroundings," Baum wrote describing
the dog. "Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with
long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily
on either side of his funny, wee nose. Toto played all day
long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly."
As Baum described, the cairn's twinkling eyes, lively demeanor
and steadfast companionship have endeared the cairn to many
a Dorothy throughout the years.
The one
area where Baum's description missed was the coat. Like many
of his terrier cousins, the cairn's outer coat is hard, not
silky, although the undercoat is very soft. Black is a typical
color for the cairn, but the breed comes in a great variety
of colors which will often change drastically from puppyhood
to adulthood. Cream, gray, wheaten and red are other typical
colors. The only color forbidden by the AKC is white.
A cairn
should have a rugged appearance, in deference to its past
in the Scottish Highlands. Its coat should never be trimmed
with scissors (except for shaping the feet) but should be
hand stripped by using the finger and thumb. Frequent bathing
should be avoided as it softens the coat. The furniture-conscious
will appreciate that the cairn is a low-shed dog. The soft
undercoat will shed out twice a year, but regular combing
will keep that under control.
The cairn's
constitution matches its hardy demeanor and appearance. Few
heritable diseases affect the breed, although it is not entirely
immune to such concerns. Patellar luxation, an abnormally
shallow groove in the knee so that the kneecap slips out of
position, affects the breed, as does Leggs-Perthes disease
- destruction of the head of the femur bone because of a decrease
in blood supply. Lion jaw, or cranio mandibular osteopathy,
a malformation of the lower jaw that becomes noticeable around
three to four months, is also a problem. The best way to avoid
these problems is to purchase your cairn from a reputable
breeder who will have screened the breeding stock for flaws.
The typical life span for a cairn is approximately 14 years.
The
Yellow Brick Road
Cairn
terriers may not be one of today's most popular dogs - the
breed ranked 42nd in 1999 AKC registrations of the 147 breeds
registered, up from 44th the previous year. Statistics only
tell part of the story. Those who do share their lives with
a feisty, steadfast and occasionally cantankerous cairn have
already learned Dorothy's secret - that a dog who can make
you laugh and keep you from growing gray is worth its weight
in ruby slippers. We should all be so lucky as to have a cairn
terrier by our side as we travel down the Yellow Brick Road.
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