The Airedale

Chapter I

THE BIGGEST AND BEST TERRIER

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 definition 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, anecdotes, 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 statement 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.