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Chip's
mother, Carolyn DePhillip, who had witnessed the attack from
a bedroom window in her house, ran outside. Shelly "was being
destroyed the whole time," she told a Washington Post
reporter, "but she never let go of that pit bull. She could
have outrun him easily, but she never let go."
Carolyn
DePhillip and a neighbor grabbed Chip and carried him to safety
in his front yard. Meanwhile the pit bull dragged Shelly behind
a house. When police officers arrived minutes later, they
found the pit bull still mauling Shelly, who was already dead.
As the officers approached the pit bull, he turned on them.
A shotgun blast from one of the officers put an end to the
dog's marauding.
Afterward,
a neighbor told the Post reporter that Shelly was never
far from Chip or his older sister, Jessica, age 7. "Whenever
the kids walked down the block, you'd see the little dog,"
the neighbor said. "They were inseparable. If you got too
close to the kids, the dog would start yapping."
Ultima
Thule
Shelly's
courage and devotion are but two of the many stocks in trade
of the Shetland sheepdog. This diminutive, dynamic and devoted
breed, known as the sheltie, originated in Shetland,
a clutch of 100 islands that lies in the North Atlantic Ocean
about 130 miles northeast of Scotland. The Romans called Shetland
Ultima Thule "the end of the habitable world," but
many people would question just how habitable these craggy,
isolated islands are.
"Nature
is at its most elemental here," wrote one visitor, who described
Shetland as a "wild, windswept" place where "you are always
aware of the pervasive presence of the sea." Mainland, the
largest of the Shetland Islands, is 55 miles long and, at
most, 20 miles wide; yet it gathers to itself a 3,000-mile
coastline, and none of its inhabitants is more than three
miles from the sea. Nor is anyone at far remove from the savage
winds that clatter across the Shetland Islands' wide beaches,
peat bogs and grassy moorlands draped in heather. The wind
is a force to be reckoned with on these gnomish islets that
occupy, on average, fewer than six square miles. Not surprisingly,
only 17 of the Shetland Islands are inhabited, and their total
population is fewer than 23,000.
Picturesque
Beginning
Shetland
has been occupied since the late Stone Age, more than 5,000
years ago. A small, dark, contentious people known as the
Picts held sway over the islands until the eighth and ninth
centuries, when Viking invaders arrived. The Vikings had set
off from the coast of Norway, 200 miles to the northeast,
in search of land and treasure. These invaders, most observers
believe, brought herding dogs with them that were descended
from the same stock as the Norwegian Buhund and/or the Icelandic
dog. In addition the Vikings brought their small sheep, cows
and horses to the islands. Shetland remained under Scandinavian
rule until 1469, when Christian, king of Norway and Denmark,
included the islands in his daughter Margaret's dowry when
she married King James III of Scotland.
In time
larger sheep were imported to the Shetland Islands from Scotland,
and "it is reasonable to assume," writes one sheltie historian,
that these sheep "were accompanied by working collies related
to the ancestors of the modern rough collie and the Border
collie." Fishing fleets that put in at Shetland added Icelandic
dogs and Greenland's Yakki dogs to the islands' canine population.
No matter what their ports of origin, however, the dogs on
Shetland had to contend with sheep that were small, skittish,
lightning fast and agile. Thus, the sheepdogs developed for
use on the islands were bred for agility, brains and speed.
Cute
for Sale
When tourists
discovered the Shetland Islands during the 1800s, residents
of the islands discovered they could sell small, fluffy dogs
to tourists. Soon islanders were busy turning out fleecy lap
ornaments, whose parents often included Pomeranians and even
a Prince Charles spaniel left behind by a departed yacht owner.
Such commercial choices were detrimental to the island dogs'
working abilities, and by the turn of the century more than
a few people began to fear that the "authentic" island dogs
were in danger of extinction.
Collies
were conscripted by some breeders to restore the island dogs
to their original type. These collies resembled old-time farm
dogs, not the stylized collie seen in show rings today. Other
people elected to re-create type in Shetland dogs by breeding
only to dogs that looked like the older, pre-tourist variety,
and some folks kept right on breeding small and fluffies.
As the
popularity of Shetland Islands dogs grew, people began to
exhibit them at agricultural shows, first on the islands,
then on the Scottish mainland and eventually throughout England.
In 1906 the Shetland collie, forerunner of today's sheltie,
made its debut at Crufts dog show. The new breed didn't keep
its surname long. Collie fanciers viewed it with repugnance,
and collie was soon replaced by sheepdog. In 1914 the Kennel
Club in England granted official recognition to the breed,
and even though collie breeders had strong-armed the club
into the changing the sheltie's last name, there was no mistaking
the collie's influence on shelties. The controversy over the
use - and rumored use - of collies in sheltie breeding programs
continued into the 1930s. Ironically, many sheltie owners
today bristle if anyone refers to their dogs as miniature
collies.
When all
was said and shouted about, the sheltie that had evolved into
a rugged, hard-working, certifiably bright puppy, blessed
with an almost uncanny ability to make decisions regarding
the welfare of the small sheep and ponies in its charge. Size
and type were variable for a time as a result of the different
outcrosses in the sheltie's background, but through it all
the breed emerged with the sweetest, most amiable temperament
anyone could ask for in a pedigreed dog.
Coming
to America
Shetland
sheepdogs may have accompanied Scottish immigrants to the
United States before 1911, but no members of the breed were
registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) until that
year. The honor of being the first AKC-registered sheltie
went to Lord Scott, a golden brindle imported and owned by
John G. Sherman Jr. of New York. The breed's parent club,
The American Shetland Sheepdog Association, was organized
at the Westminster Kennel Club show in 1929. Last year - when
32,086 new shelties were registered - the sheltie ranked 15th
among the 145 breeds registered by AKC. The sheltie's popularity
is supported not only by its good looks and temperament but
also by its stellar performances in conformation, obedience,
herding and agility.
The
Fair Isles' Pattern
The stylistic
variation that resulted from the sheltie's multicultural background
had been refined to the highest common denominator, fittingly
enough, by the end of the 1950s. The current breed standard,
approved by the AKC in 1959, describes a dog as singular and
cunning in appearance as the plush-looking but sturdy sweaters
made from the wool of the Shetland Islands sheep. The sheltie
pattern specifies that shelties may be no smaller than 10
and no greater than 13 inches at the withers. Over all the
sheltie is a compact dog with a moderately long head, the
tiniest of ears and an expression of wisdom and kindness.
It may be dressed in black, blue merle or sable - the latter
ranging from golden through mahogany - marked with varying
amounts of white. Brindled dogs and dogs with more than half
their coats given over to white are not eligible for show-ring
competition.
The sheltie's
glory is its breathtaking, profuse double coat, which is most
abundant in males. The sheltie's outer coat consists of harsh,
long, straight hairs that spread their mantle over a short,
furry undercoat so dense it gives the entire production a
bouffant, stand-off appearance.
Any coat
that lovely requires more than a dilettante effort to maintain.
Although no clipping or trimming is necessary, at least two
- and preferably more - thorough grooming sessions a week
are mandatory to keep the coat healthy and to avoid skin problems.
The sheltie likes to keep itself clean and will provide some
assistance to its owner by grooming and preening its coat
between grooming conferences.
Living
With a Sheltie
The Shetland
sheepdog has been embraced by dog lovers around the world
and has responded to that embrace with unquestionable devotion.
Nevertheless, the sheltie has several personality traits that
can be difficult to cope with if an owner is not careful to
control them when the dog is still young. This is not to say
an older dog cannot be retrained, but it is far less difficult
to avoid a problem in puppyhood than it is to correct one
later in life.
As much
as they adore their people, some shelties are possessed by
a stubborn streak. Those that are will test their owners repeatedly
to make sure they're adamant about wanting their dogs to avoid
certain temptations. More vexing yet, the sheltie, which is
smarter than most college students, remembers what it is taught,
what it has gotten away with and how to get away with it again.
Prospective
sheltie owners should not forget that this breed was created
to be the guardian of its flock. Brave beyond its size, the
sheltie is master of a bark that's louder than its bite. The
sheltie is accustomed to using its voice and will do so more
often than necessary if this tendency isn't stifled in puppyhood.
Barking to let you know a stranger is approaching is acceptable.
Barking for the sake of barking is not. The owner must help
the young sheltie to understand that distinction.
With their
high degrees of intelligence and energy, Shetland sheepdogs
are easily bored, particularly if they don't have an opportunity
to be active. Moreover, they're people dogs, and if they're
denied the opportunity to spend sufficient time with those
they love, they're apt to use their famous voices to demand
attention.
One of
the breed's finest qualities is its desire to bond with and
to please its master. Not being allowed to do so can make
even the best bred sheltie unhappy and difficult to live with.
The sheltie's need to be with its owner is most certainly
a holdover from the breed's herding days when there was little
value in a dog that would abandon its flock or the shepherd
with whom the dog shared the responsibility for the flock's
welfare.
An
Eye for Trouble
A well-bred
Shetland sheepdog can easily live into its midteens, and thanks
to the various genetic threads that make up the breed's mosaic,
the sheltie generally enjoys good health. The breed is subject
to several eye problems, however: progressive retinal atrophy,
cataracts and trichiasis.
Progressive
retinal atrophy (PRA) is the wasting away of the vessels in
the retina. Initially manifested as night blindness in young
dogs, as PRA progresses, its victims become totally blind.
Trichiasis is a condition in which the eyelashes grow in an
inverted position, causing irritation and injury to the eye.
In severe cases the eyelashes have to be removed in order
to provide relief for the dog.
Deafness
is associated with the blue merle color in shelties. Anyone
interested in puppies of this color should test the puppy's
hearing by clapping hands behind it or calling the puppy when
it isn't looking.
Shelties
are also troubled by hypothyroidism, a common endocrine disease
characterized by an abnormally low production of thyroid hormones.
The symptoms of hypothyroidism include lethargy, mental depression,
weight gain and a tendency to seek out warm places. Hypothyroidism
can also affect the coat and skin, causing hair loss and excessive
dandruff.
Finally,
von Willebrand's disease, a type of bleeding disorder caused
by defective blood-platelet function, has been identified
in shelties. A test exists that can identify the presence
of the genetic potential for this disease in shelties. Before
you buy a puppy, make sure its parents have both tested negative
for this disease. If the breeder cannot establish this to
your satisfaction, i.e., by producing the relevant certificates,
look elsewhere for a puppy.
In addition
to determining - as much as one can determine - the occurrence
of inherited problems in a particular line of dogs, anyone
who is considering a sheltie or any dog should ask the seller
or provider of that dog who will be responsible for the vet
bills if a radiant-looking puppy should be victimized by an
obviously inherited condition later in its life.
Rick
Beauchamp is a freelance writer who resides in Cambria,
California. He is the author of numerous books on canine breeds
and is a judge licensed with the American Kennel Club and
the United Kennel Club.
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