Bedlington Terrier

The Bedlington terrier is a dog of very deceptive appearance, and this may account in some degree for the fact that he has never been very popular.

Clad in a woolly coat and a smile that would have graced Mary's little lamb, one who did not know him would hardly suspect the stout heart which beats beneath the wool—the steeltrap jaws behind that cherubic smile. He's as game as the gamest, and if you had a Bedlington terrier between you and a wild cat— well, you should feel sorry for the wild cat.

There has never been a pronounced fancy for the Bedlington in this country, though he is a very distinctive dog, resembling no other type. Not quite as large as the Airedale of today, he is characterized by his harsh, rough coat and his curiously lamblike head, occasioned by the silky pale top-knot and brow.

The only one the artist ever knew was an inveterate ratter, and if the breed is as good on all vermin as this one was on his favorite quarry, it should be popular as a pest-ridder!

In conformation they are true terriers— straight of back and leg and active to a degree. Their color may be blue, blue and tan, liver, liver and tan, sandy, or sandy and tan. In all colors the head should be decidedly paler than the rest of the dog.

The Dandie (or Dandy) Dinmont, a Scottish terrier rather popular in this country, resembles the Bedlington somewhat, but is extremely short in the legs and big in the head. He is a quaint, affectionate little fellow, whose woolly crown gives an odd expression of sadness to the half-hidden eyes.

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