An introduction to the Manchester Terrier
September 26th 2010 09:57
The trolley was full as I wrestled it out the supermarket door this morning. They'd had cashew nuts on special, which was nice. I had also bought essentials such as cheese and crumpets, and my wife had gathered a lot of the frivolous extras she likes, such as vegetables. And we had worked as a team to load the dog food - enough to feed every wolf in Siberia.
"Don't forget the dog food," Scratchy's meaningful look had said as we had left home earlier. "And a bit of variety would be nice," he had added, with a melancholy sigh.
So I could barely see over the top of the bags of dog food as I left the supermarket, which is why it took me a moment to see the dog in my way. He was tied to a column, awaiting the return of his human, and he was watching me closely.
So I looked closely at him. Our eyes locked.
"Hello," I said.
"Woof," he said, in a surprisingly big and opinionated bark.
I decided he didn't like the size of the laden trolley or the less than certain path it was taking so close to him, and he had woofed a warning.
Fair enough. I decided further that closer acquaintance and a friendly pat were probably not high on his agenda, and I continued to the car, slightly disappointed because he was a lovely-looking dog.
Once the food was safely in the car, I set off to the delicatessen for some more dietary essentials such as salami, while my wife took the trolley back to the supermarket. That's when she met the owner of the dog with the big bark.
My wife has been known to strike up conversations with fossilised dinosaur fragments, but she's particularly happy to chat to other dog owners.
And so we found out that Mr Opinionated Hound was not, as I had guessed, a cross between a Doberman Pinscher and something short. He was, in fact, a Manchester Terrier. If you have never heard of the breed, I admit I hadn't either.
So when I got home, after packing away the food, and preparing half a dozen crumpets, I did some research on Manchester Terriers.
It turns out that they are probably the oldest terrier breed. Originally known as Black and Tan Terriers, they are mentioned under that name in an "Encyclopedia of Dogs" published in 1570.
The breed was refined in the 1800s when a Mr John Hulme, seeking a solution to the rat infestation problems of English cities due to poor sanitation, crossed a whippet with a "cross-breed terrier" to produce an excellent rat catcher. The city of Manchester became the best-known centre for these dogs, and so the name Manchester Terrier came into being, and they were much in demand by shopkeepers who left them in charge when they locked up their retail premises at night.
I had no idea, when I passed that dog this morning, that he had such an illustrious past.
When I grow up, I intend to have a bark of impressive resonance and gravity.
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