Friday, June 03, 2022

The Penelope Russell Terrier

Original post from 2015
PS:  This is a Land Rover Defender

Over at Dog World, they write:

WE ARE delighted that the Kennel Club is to recognise the Jack Russell Terrier. The breed has been a popular addition to the show rings in Australasia, where it was developed as a show dog, then extending its reach to Asia, Europe and North America.... There is no reason why breeding for the show ring should detract from the breed’s working abilities; indeed there already exist shows and breed Standards so presumably the non-KC clubs do not have any objection to them in principle. Why in that case they should be so hostile to the KC we are not sure.

No, they are not sure. And yet, they have said they have named the dog after the Reverend John Russell and it originated in "Australasia," a country and region the man never so much as visited!

And it was developed as a show dog.

Right. Not a working dog, and never mind if there is already a long-standing breed of working dog of that name, and large breed clubs exist in the UK.

Here in the U.S., such deceit would be met by litigation (and it was), and it should in the U.K. as well.

Can you sell a Ford Pinto as a Land Rover Defender, by simply scratching that assertion into the dust and explaining that "this one originates in Australasia"?


Is this also a Land Rover Defender?


But that's the claim, isn't it?

Here in America, we took the American Kennel Club to court and created enough heat that they saw the light.

Today the American Kennel Club has the "Parson Russell Terrier" (a nonworking show dog) and it has the "Russell  Terrier" (a nonworking show dog) but it has no Jack Russell Terrier to confuse the public, and it never will.

That said, there is no stopping the show ring pretenders who want their rosettes.

These people will buy $40,000 motor homes and drive 100,000 miles to get those ribbons They will invent histories, and engage in endless debate. But let us be clear what they want: It is not an honest working dog. It is not even the dog they are much interested in.

What these folks want are the rosettes and the story, the breed club positions, and the prestige and drama of creating a standard, and perhaps a new kennel name.

So let's let give them what they want, but under one unbending condition:  The dogs CANNOT be called Jack Russell Terriers.

Might we suggest another name?

The Penelope Russell Terrier.


Penelope Bury Russell was the wife of Jack Russell, and she had terriers as lap dogs and pets.

How is that not perfect?



Isn't about time that a breed of dog was named after a woman?

I say it is, and if there was ever a dog to be named after a Victorian-era woman, I think the Penelope Russell terrier is it!

4 comments:

geonni banner said...

Well, good luck on that one. Didn't work for a lot of dedicated Border Collie people. I assume you've read Border Wars, by Donald Mc Caig.

PBurns said...

Border collie people and Jack Russell people are a bit different. They consider biting a fault; we consider it a feature. The dogs and the people are about the same. Donald McCaig is a gentleman of the first order. He will apply pressure, but he will not dig a hole in the woods and lay a dead body in it like the terrier boys will! :)

For the full story of both "wars" see >> http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2007/10/akc-by-faith-alone.html

PipedreamFarm said...

Requiring the KC to use a different name means that at some point in the future the KC can again recognize the JRT as a breed; after they have ruined the "Penelope Russell terrier".

PBurns said...

Then we have them name whatever it is they want the "Annie Harris" terrier after a famous kennel made... or the Heinemann terrier after another dead guy.

There is, of course, only one Bactrian Terrier.