Owner spreads the word about rare otterhound
Sorrell Dryden has a rare-breed Otter Hound dog called Charity, at her home in Nether Edge. She is looking for a mate for her
THIS pedigree pooch is more than rare – she’s thought to be the only one of her kind in Sheffield.
Charity the otterhound, who belongs to Sorrel Dryden from Nether Edge, is quite the shaggy celebrity – with a Crufts champion title to her name.
But the three-year-old is one endangered member of a very exclusive club, with just 21 otterhound puppies registered in the UK last year in comparison to 40,000 labradors.
Sorrel, aged 42, said: “When we go walking we can’t go 100 yards before someone asks me, ‘What’s that?’.
“We give gold stars to those who know what breed she is.”
Sorrel said: “I first saw Charity when she was a day old and you could fit her in your hand.
“Now she can put her paws on your shoulders and look at you.
“To our knowledge she is the only one in Sheffield.
“Her sister is in Worksop and there’s another in North Derbyshire.
“If we saw another otterhound and owner I’d say, ‘How don’t we know about you?’ because the breed is such a small world.”
Otterhounds, so-called because they used to be used to be bred for hunting the creatures, are said to make friendly family dogs.
But it is estimated there are only 600 in the world.
Spreading the word about otterhounds – one of the most vulnerable native breeds – is Sorrel’s aim.
She said she also hopes to help increase the population by finding Charity a mate but, given the small number of dogs around, it is a tough task.
Sorrel, a national account manager, added: “We are trying to sort that out but the thing is it is such a small gene pool.
“There are only a few breeders going in the UK – we got Charity from Hereford.
Sorrel said: “I would really like Charity to have puppies.
“It’s finding her a mate that’s the problem, but I’m sure there are some suitable candidates out there somewhere.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Franzie
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 07:44 PMI think you may be missing the point of the article. This was done to raise awareness of the Otterhound as people do not know about them and the number are in such decline that unless awareness is spread this lovely breed will die out. They may be rare but are worthless for re-sale or breeding as every dog in this breed is accounted for.
JS33
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 05:52 PM"they used to be used to be bred for" ALWAYS PROOF READ THE ARTICLE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO THE NATION!!
FayeMarieLawton
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 02:19 PMsorry cannot believe you have done this yes she beautiful and rare so why have you broadcast her like she is a trophy. Do you not know there's dogs getting stolen all over the country, did you not see Daisy in the paper maybe you need to check how many dogs do go missing check out doglost.co.uk its just i irresponsible
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