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The following day Davis got a call from a man who had found
the flying dog, Sadie, running along a highway two miles north
of Saginaw. The caller phoned Davis after reading a newspaper
story about Sadie. But for a few ant bites, the dog appeared
to be unfazed by her flight.
Sadie
is not the only Yorkshire terrier to survive an ordeal that
might have killed a lesser dog. In June 1992 an 8-year-old
Yorkie named Torver fell 600 feet down a sheer, rocky hillside
in the Lake District of England. Torver's owners, who had
been hiking on the hill from which he fell, searched for him
in vain. Five days later, after an animal charity had distributed
50 lost-dog posters, and radio stations and newspapers had
broadcast Torver's story, he was spotted under a recreational
vehicle four miles from the place where he had fallen. He
looked a tad bedraggled, and he had acquired a limp; otherwise
he was unharmed.
The Yorkshire
terrier's size and doll-like appearance — to say nothing of
the dainty ribbons with which it is often adorned — belie
its toughness and determination. Toy breed fanciers are wont
to boast that their tykes are actually "big dogs in little
dog suits," but the Yorkie is one dog that can walk the talk.
How many 5-pound toy males are up to breeding a 120-pound
Rottweiler? Such was the bell-ringing achievement of Gizmo,
a Yorkie male in Sarasota, Florida, who is the father of two
Yorkie-Rotts. "He's a bigger man than we all thought," said
Gizmo's owner to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Revolutionary
Developments
The Yorkshire
terrier is a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution in England.
Prior to 1750 most Britons worked in agriculture, but as mills
and factories — and the coal mines on which they depended
for energy — hung out the "Help Wanted" signs, people matriculated
from farms to the communities that surrounded these sources
of employment.
The weaving
mills in Yorkshire County in northern England attracted a
number of Scottish immigrants, many of whom brought their
dogs with them. The immigrants' dogs were called "Scotch terriers,"
but they were, in reality, members of at least two different
breeds, most prominently the Clydesdale terrier and the Paisley
terrier, both of which had long, silky, bluish coats and semierect
ears. These working dogs, much larger than today's Yorkies,
were adept at catching rats and other small mammals. Both
the Clydesdale and the Paisley terrier eventually became extinct,
but not before they had contributed to the development of
the Yorkie.
The Scotch
terriers that accompanied their masters to Yorkshire, England's
largest county, were introduced to terriers already established
there: the English black-and-tan toy terrier, the Skye terrier,
the long-coated, blue-gray waterside terrier and, many observers
believe, the Maltese terrier, whose long coat and general
outline is reflected in today's Yorkie.
In addition
to working in the Yorkshire mills, many Scotsmen found employment
in nearby coal mines, where their dogs were welcome as exterminators.
According to some accounts the Yorkie's golden-tan head and
legs were developed so the dog could be seen more easily in
the dark corners of the mine shafts.
The improvements
wrought by terrier breeders in Yorkshire — and the magnificent
show record of a dog called Huddersfield Ben (1865-1871) —
inspired Angus Sutherland, a young reporter for the sporting
newspaper The Field, "They ought no longer to be called
Scotch Terriers, but Yorkshire Terriers for having been so
improved there."
Sutherland's suggestion was not taken up at once. In fact,
after the Kennel Club of England had been formed in April
1873, dogs from the same litter might be shown as either Yorkshire
terriers or broken-haired Scotch terriers. Not until 1886
did the Kennel Club recognize the Yorkshire terrier as an
individual breed.
Yorkies Among the Yanks
The Yorkie
came to America in the early 1870s in response to the American
fascination with all things Victorian. The breed was adopted
by purebred dog lovers here and was admitted to the American
Kennel Club (AKC) stud book in 1885, one year after the AKC
had been established. Yorkies were a diverse lot at first,
weighing anywhere from 3 to 13 pounds. By the 1930s the petite
size and the modern-day Yorkie look were more universal, but
the breed did not start to climb the AKC's hit parade until
the 1950s. Indeed, 50 years ago the Yorkie ranked 57th among
the 112 breeds registered by the AKC, with a mere 173 new
registrations in 1949.
During
the Eisenhower regime, when many Americans were buying houses
for the first time, a number of people were buying Yorkies
for the first time too; and by 1960, when 1,181 new Yorkies
were registered, the breed had leap-dogged 23 spaces on the
AKC's popularity list. The beat went on during the following
decade, and by 1970 annual Yorkie registrations had increased
more than tenfold (to 13,484), which was good enough for 17th
place on the AKC list. By 1980 the Yorkie was poised at number
11 with 24,665 new registrations. After vacillating between
11th and 14th on the AKC list for a decade and a half, the
Yorkie made the top 10 in 1995, when its 36,881 new registrations
placed it 10th among the 145 breeds registered by the AKC.
Last year the Yorkie, with 42,900 new registrations, ranked
9th among the 146 AKC-recognized breeds.
Heroes and Villains
One has
to wonder what Scotsmen of old would think of today's ribbon-clad
and coddled Yorkshire terrier, whose breed standard dictates
that the dog should stand between 8 and 10 inches at the shoulder
and weigh no more than 7 pounds. Might they be disappointed
that their tough little customer has become a mama's boy?
The kind that could drive a man to call off a wedding three
days before the I-do date because his intended "was constantly
kissing and cuddling the Yorkshire Terrier instead of him,"
according to a Cleveland Daily Mirror report.
Perhaps,
but Scotsmen could also point with pride to Yorkies like Tim,
who got into a face-off with a noisy street-cleaning machine
two years ago in an English town. The machine inhaled the
barking dog through its intake pipe. Shoppers passing by yelled
at the driver, who stopped and dismantled the machine. To
everyone's amazement the Yorkie survived the experience, even
though he was declared the loser by a technical knockout.
The earliest
Yorkie breeders would also recognize the true grit — and the
size — of dogs like Oliver, a hefty, 12-pound Yorkie who pushed
open a screen door and raced across the street to the aid
of a 79-year-old woman being mauled by an 80-pound Akita.
The Akita turned his attention on Oliver long enough for neighbors
to whisk the woman to safety. The Akita was eventually taken
into custody by animal control, while Oliver was taken to
the vet's for nine stitches.
In another
stirring rescue two unnamed Yorkies sprang into action when
their owner, an elderly woman, was accosted by a flasher.
These dogs leaped up, bit the miscreant on the groin, and
sent him howling away in pain. These and other stories might
convince the earliest Yorkie breeders that even though today's
Yorkie is considerably smaller than its ancestors, its heart
has in no way been diminished.
Nevertheless,
a Yorkie's headstrong nature can lead to trouble with dogs
that may not defer to his demands. For every Oliver who emerges
with only a nine-stitch after a confrontation with a much
larger dog, there are dozens of Yorkies that come to grief
because they took on a larger dog or a human intruder and
didn't have enough common sense to retreat gracefully.
Health and Welfare
Australian
Gerri Grieg, whose Tejada Yorkshire terriers have enjoyed
success in show rings and homes around the world, cautions
prospective Yorkie buyers to seek out breeders who are highly
recommended by the parent club in their respective countries.
"Never consider taking a puppy home before 3 months of age,"
says Grieg, "and never [consider] the puppy that has not had
the benefit of at least the first of its initial immunization
shots" and a thorough exam by a veterinarian.
Though
the Yorkie is among the smallest of breeds, it should never
appear unsound in any respect, and it should also be free
of skeletal deformities or gait problems. Moreover, the average
Yorkshire terrier can enjoy an amazingly long life, 14 to
16 years is not unusual, but like most of the toy breeds it
faces certain problems. Among them are patellar luxation (a
slipped or dislocated knee joint), spinal cord problems and
hydrocephalus. Though the breed's diminutive size is attractive
to many people, dogs in the three-pound category are often
the most fragile. They are susceptible to frequent injury
and to hypoglycemia as well.
Attentive
care of a Yorkie's teeth is critical to avoid the accumulation
of tartar that can lead to infections and tooth loss at an
early age. Regular brushing can help keep the teeth sound,
healthy and functional for practically the entire life of
the dog.
The most
serious health problem Yorkies face is portacaval liver shunt,
an ailment in which the blood is directed around the liver
instead of through it. This creates an array of extremely
serious medical problems. The condition can be detected as
early as 6 months of age, and surgery to rectify the problem
is highly recommended.
The Yorkshire
terrier's long, silken coat — a shimmering golden-tan and
metallic blue — is supremely attractive, but a Yorkie in full
bloom requires more care and talent than the average owner
may possess. According to professional groomer Susan Buhl,
most Yorkie owners opt for the schnorkie cut. This style is
patterned after the schnauzer's and is 3 to 4 inches long
all around. The schnorkie cut is cute, stylish and vastly
easier to maintain than the lovely-to-look-at-but-not-so-delightful-to-care-for
show coat.
A well-bred
Yorkshire terrier can get on famously with just about any
other household pet, with one serious caveat: The Yorkie has
to be in charge! No matter that your Great Dane may have lived
there first or your pair of St. Bernards has been accustomed
to ruling the roost, when your Yorkie moves in, the smallest
shall be first.
As feisty
and hardy as the Yorkie can be, it is not the ideal choice
for young children who may not understand how easily the breed
can be injured. If there are young children in a household
they must be carefully supervised when they are playing with
a Yorkie.
The
Quarter Pounder
According
to the Guinness Book of World Records a Yorkshire terrier
holds the distinction of being the smallest dog in history.
This matchbox-sized Yorkie, when fully grown at the age of
2, stood 2 ½ inches at the shoulder, measured 3 3/4 inches
from the tip of its nose to the root of its tail, and weighed
4 ounces. Owned by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, Great Britain,
this elfin dog died in 1945.
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