Dandie Dinmont’s Take New York

April 15th 2018

   The Tartan Day Parade is a celebration for those of Scottish ancestry who have made contributions to our country as a way to honoring  their heritage and the bonds friendship we have with them. This year a small but mighty gathering of Dandie Dinmont Terriers took part in the 20th Anniversary of the National Tartan Day Parade in New York City. Twenty years earlier on April 4, 2008, President George W. Bush signed a Presidential Proclamation making April 6th National Tartan Day. This date wasn’t coincidental as it is one of the most important dates in Scottish history. On April 6, 1320, The Declaration of Arbroath was submitted to Pope John XXII asking him to recognize Scotland’s Independence from England.

Jump forward almost 700 years

   New York City had its first Tartan Day Parade in 1999 with a little over 100 people walking on the sidewalks from the British Consulate to the United Nations which included two pipe bands and lasted all of 30 minutes.

19 Years later

    Much has changed and while other parades are going on across the country the largest gatherings have taken place in Washington D.C. and New York City with this years celebration bringing over 4,000 registered marchers along with a contingent of various Scottish dog breeds. The sight of kilted men and women walking towards the sound of pipes and drums while young ladies doing Highland dance created a energy that made this event so joyful that the spectators didn’t leave for hours. Throngs of people gathered around the growing number of Scottish breeds of dogs with their loyal owners who were positioned in a place of honor near to the top of the parade. These leashed beauties of Shetland Sheepdogs, Scottish Terriers, West Highland Terriers and the Dandie Dinmont Terriers grabbed everyones attention as they were wearing tartan coats, bandanas, and caps while doing a playful meet and greet in the the middle of 46th street, which was closed to all traffic.

    This dignified breed  received its name after a character created in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Guy Mannering. The Dandie Dinmont’s appearance is a sight of beauty with its silky coat, short legs, long body and one of the most expressive faces in the world of dog which captures the interest of so many peoples with one look into those eyes. Dandies are far calmer than most terrier breeds and widely considered to be the gentleman of terriers as they are undemanding of their owners and quite polite but still very much the terrier. These seven Dandies held everyones attention as this breed is so rarely seen outside of dog shows let alone walking on the streets of New York City that seeing this group was likely to have been a first opportunity for many to have been able to meet this breed so close.
The Dandie Dinmont are not your ordinary dogs and not just because they are one of the worlds most vulnerable breeds  but because these little companions have the ability to carry themselves with an ease we all wish we had while being prepared to take on whatever is in front of them with true terrier tenacity. On this day it happened to be  the The Big Apple while wearing their very own tartan to the Tartan Day Parade.This  truly Scottish breed most certainly owned New York in  a fashion that would make all there Dandie Friends around the world proud..

    I’m  calingl it Dandietude. 

 We watched spectators cheer on these four footed visions of confidence as they stepped out from the shaded street and into the sun lit path behind the kilted men and women who moved forward onto the parade route while the sound of bagpipes and drums filled the cool afternoon air.  Nothing on this day could feel more perfect than seeing these confident  Dandies Dinmont’s taking on New York and knowing they owned it.

Now that’s what I call Danditude.