Airedale Terriers [antikvár]

Preface Take equal parts of intelligence, strength, heart, and loyalty. Add a generous portion of humor, sensitivity, and high energy. Throw in a pinch of stubbornness and feistiness. Pack this inside a handsome 50- to 70-pound (23-32 kg) dog, and you have the Airedale Terrier. The Airedale Terrier is a rugged, energetic fellow. Its wiry coat is reddish tan or brown with a distinctive black or dark grizzle saddle, and its bushy beard, eyebrows, and leg furnishings give it the jaunty look of an English country squire. In the show ring the Airedale presents a "top hat and tails" type of image, but in reality it is more of a "blue jeans and T-shirt" type of character. Its intelligence is considerable; its courage is legendary. On the noble end of the scale, Airedales are fearless protectors of home and family, the ablest of hunters, and the handsomest of show dogs. On the other end, they have been willing assistants to British game poachers, participants in rat-catching competitions, and fuzzy-haired scourges of neighborhood cats. In the middle you have a beast with a sometimes perverse sense of humor that takes to heart its job of seeing that its owner doesn't take himself or herself too seriously. If Airedales were human, they would be physicists, revolutionaries, or cartoonists. They are bright, clever, independent, and not just a little manipulative. They may not be the perfect breed for everybody, but for many there is no equal. Once you've owned an Airedale you'll either never want another one, or no other breed will do. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my friends in the California Airedale Terrier Club who generously shared their expertise, information, and tales with me, especially Karen and Jeff Lapierre (Kudos Airedales), Samantha Curran (Evermay Airedales), Georgia McRae (Brisline Airedales), and Duff Munson, photographer extraordinaire. Thanks also to my mother and my sister, Margaret and Lori Miner, for reading and rereading the seemingly endless drafts, and my friend Beth Greenwell for moral support and perfect whiskey sours. Thanks also to the 200-plus Airedales and their owners who have gone through my obedience training classes for teaching me to think like an Airedale. Finally, thank you to my present crew of rather peculiar and much-loved four-footers: Jeep, Possum, and Pip, for keeping me entertained! Dorothy Miner The Airedale Terrier: Ruggedness, intelligence, loyalty, personality, and energy.