THE WEST HIGHLAND white terrier, or westie, a product of the fertile minds of 16th century dog breeders. When the Armada wrecked off Skye in 1588, white Spanish dogs were introduced, the breeding of which resulted, through the careful management of the MacDonalds, MacLeods, and others, a special new canine race. The West Highland White Terrier, known for its stoic, Scottish demeanor and, at times, fiery disposition. It was the latter attribute that got one particular dog in my care into a rather unusual and perplexing situation.
It so happened that our West Highland Terrier, who was fond of wearing a tartan sweater, fell in love with a neighbor dog who was a dachshund. I tried to keep them apart, but it was no use. On walks they would wave paws to each other. She was a lovely lass, true, but as everyone knows, westies and doxies don’t mix. That’s what I thought until my terrier got free one day and I went searching for him out on the moors. It was out there in the heather that I encountered the westie and his dachshund girlfriend engaged in passionate lovemaking. Who knew that dogs were capable of so many positions? It was strange to see and hard to forget.
Some months later, the dachshund gave birth to her mixed breed offspring. In this world, there are all kinds of happy accidents. The Doberman-Chihuahuas and the Pitbull-Poodles. The Retriever-Dalmatians, and the Australian Shepherd-Pomeranians, or “Aussie-Poms.” Add to the list our Scottish-German fusion. I confided in some of my friends about the illicit coupling that had gone on out in the moors, but they said such things were bound to happen. “Love is love,” someone told me. “Love is love.”
north! 