Dandie Dinmont Terriers in the UK

 Well the moment has passed and we hope you didn't miss it. All disappeared into the ether in a puff ... all except for Matt's Dandie Dinmont Poem which is printed below!

Quick! Quick! before it disappears into the ether ... Paul Keevil has been a 'Guerilla Reporter' on Saturday Live - Fi Glover's new radio show BBC Radio 4 every Saturday at 9am GMT (still +1 at the time of writing).

How can the Dandie Dinmont,
This terrier of distinction
Which lights up the canine firmament
Be threatened with extinction?

Paul enlisted Sheila, his Partner and expert Dandie Dinmont groomer, and Penny Wheble, a Dandie Breeder, for his report about Dandie Dinmont Terriers. You can 'listen again' until next week's programme (28th October 2006) from here:

Saturday Live  [click on the 'launch BBC Radio Player top right]

You may, depending on your system, prefer to go to this link:

Alternative Saturday Live links  [click on the 'Listen to the programme again' link or the 'listen to this programme in full' link]

 Paul's report is about 19 minutes into the programme but wait, keep listening, Matt Harvey , the resident Poet of the Day, compiled a stunning poem about our Dandie Dinmonts in their vulnerable state - the first professional poem written on this topic. Matt is a performance poet and his rendition was excellent - humorous and caring at the same time!

The darling Dandie Dinmonts God preserve them everyone.

How lucky are Dandie Dinmont Terriers to have people like Paul Keevil in our fold who not only care about the future of Dandie Dinmonts but who can communicate too, and how fortunate are we that a poet with the artistic stature of Matt Harvey took the time to write about our plight!
Applause and thank you!

 For your pleasure, here is Matt's Poem, with kind permission from Matt Harvey and BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live:

Dandie Dinmont in Danger

How can the Dandie Dinmont
This terrier of distinction
Which lights up the canine firmament
Be threatened with extinction?

Well, here’s the problem:
If a lady Dandie Dinmont finds herself in heat -
And she looks but finds no randy manly Dandie Dinmont handy,
And she’d rather that the gene pool were diluted than deleted
Plus she’s looking for fulfilment and she wants to feel completed -
Then what else can she do…
…but go downmarket?

With this in mind what can we do, but what the Dandie Dinmont
Would appear to want us to…

We must set up special evenings of Dandie Dinmont dating
And the need to breed will lead at speed to Dandy Dinmont mating

Let them romp and rough and tumble and indulge in fun and frolics
Let them sniff each other’s bottoms, let them lick each other’s collars

In a few short weeks the fitter ones will drop litters of little ones
A cache of Dandie Dinmont pups - the Masarati among mutts –

Then, with basketfuls of doggies, Dandie Dinmont to the core,
Their look-alike, Paul Keevil, can go from door to door

Crying: Adopt a Dandie Dinmont! Take a Dandie Dinmont home!
Give them Dandie Dinmont din-dins, grooming, love and room to roam,
They’ll repay your love with loyalty, with friendliness and fun…

The darling Dandie Dinmont - God preserve ’em, every one.

©Matt Harvey 2006

contact Paul 

contact Matt 

contact Fi Glover of Saturday Live