‘Such Smashing Little Dogs'

They’re not as well known as their Pembroke cousins that are so beloved by The Queen, but Cardigan Welsh corgis are small dogs with a big attitude, finds Matthew Dennison

- Matthew Dennison

VISITORS to the epilepsy ward of one British hospital may find themselves in for a surprise. Among regular attendees at the clinic is a Cardigan Welsh corgi called Bella. As an assistance dog, she combines the roles of faithful companion and earlywarning device for her epileptic owner. Indeed, so acute is Bella’s sensitivity to her handler’s health that she’s able to give her a 30-minute warning of a seizure.

To Bella’s breeder, Brenda Piears, the dog’s prowess is easily explained. ‘Cardigans have an ability to empathise,’ she divulges. ‘They’re quick learners and very intelligent.’

They are also, as anyone who has ever seen one will vouch, handsome little dogs, sturdily four square on their short legs, with a long back and a tail like a fox’s brush, usually tipped with white. Their double coat shows a variety of colourings, from the ​red more often associated with their cousins, Pembroke corgis—until last year, the favourite pet of The Queen—to sable, brindle and blue merle, the colour that Mrs Piears chiefly breeds and shows.

Cardigans’ coats are liberally marked with white, including a distinctive white blaze on the head and often on the neck, chest and legs.

However, the striking good looks, intelligence and small size that make them ideally suited to being a modern pet have done little to popularise this native breed, one of the oldest in the British Isles. Although the Cardigan Welsh corgi enjoys a healthy following overseas, especially in the USA, at home, it’s among our rarest breeds.

Last year, only 147 Cardigan Welsh corgi puppies were registered with the Kennel Club. That this represents a marked improvement on figures a decade ago, when fewer than 50 puppies were registered in one year, doesn’t diminish the challenge facing the breed in safeguarding its numbers and its homegrown breeding stock.