The biggest and best terrier The Airedale

The biggest and best terrier  The Airedale

IT was in the Merchants' Hotel, Manchester 
a famous gathering place for the dog 
fanciers of the English Midlands, the most 
thickly dog populated district in the whole world 
that one autumn evening I heard the best defi- 
nition of an Airedale that I ever knew. A party 
of us, fresh from some bench show, were seated' 
round a table waiting for dinner, and naturally 
we were talking dog, telling dog stories, anec- 
dotes, and jokes. I gave the American definition 
of a dachshund ; " half a dog high and a dog and 
a half long," and Theodore Marples, editor of 
Our Dogs, turning to a quiet little man, noted 
as a wild fanatic on the subject of Airedales, 
asked him his definition of his favorite breed. 
Quick as a spark he answered, " The biggest and 
best terrier ! " 

There are thousands of people, all sorts of 
people from bankers to beggars, scattered all 
over this earth from Dawson City to Capetown, 
from Moscow to Manila, who will echo the state- 

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10 THE AIREDALE 

ment that the Airedale is indeed the biggest and 
the best of all the terriers. Moreover, their 
votes would not be bribed by mere sentiment, but 
based upon good, sound reasons, for it is certain 
that he is the biggest, and he is " best ** at doing 
more things than any other dog in the stud book. 

An Airedale will drive sheep or cattle ; he will 
help drag a sled; he will tend the baby; he will 
hunt anything from a bear to a field mouse. He 
can run like a wolf and will take to water like an 
otter. He does not " butt in " looking for trou- 
ble with each dog that he passes on the street, 
but once he is " in " he will stick, for he is game 
as a pebble. He is kind, obedient, thoroughly 
trustworthy as a companion for children, or a 
watchman for your property. He has the dis- 
position of a lamb combined with the courage of a 
lion. He is certainly the most all-round dog that 
there is and, unlike many Jacks-of-all-trades, he 
is apparently quite able to master all tasks a dog 
is called upon to perform. 

Over and above his talents and his character, 
the Airedale has a constitution made of steel and 
stone. He is equally at home in the snow wastes 
of the Arctic Circle and on the alkali deserts of 
Arizona. The dry, bracing air of Colorado and 
the fever-soaked atmosphere of Florida's Ever- 
glades both seem to agree with him perfectly.