Mary Didn't Know What the Hell She Had

People tend to know that I dig weird animals. One of the virtues of this is that they often come to me with new discoveries: animals that once were and others that should not be. A prime example of this happened a month or so ago when Spencer told me about Bedlington Terriers. These curious dogs fascinate me, if for no other reason than they look like the result of a run-in between a nearsighted sheepdog and one of his more sexually accepting charges. Case in point:


Adorable, no? And simultaneously confusing.



The Wikipedia page for these should-not-bes describes them with the following:

The Bedlington Terrier is often described as looking like a lamb on a leash, probably because it has fur with a linty texture.

Although it looks meek when reclining on the couch, the Bedlington Terrier is argumentative and every inch a terrier when aroused.

At a trot, the Bedlington moves with a 'mincing' gait, picking its feet up in what appears to be a dainty manner.

They are groomed with large patches of fur on their heads and ears. This is because the breed used to hunt rats, which would try to claw at their ears or head. With the fur, they just became entangled in it.

Needless to say, I want one. I like the idea of people thinking I’m walking a sheep when I take it out — and apparently I’d have to do so about five times a day, if I’m to believe how high-energy these little guys can be. Most of all, however, I want to take a Bedlington Terrier home so I can confuse the hell out of my actual dog. Chief, you see, is a border collie, whose primary purpose in life is to herd anything that looks like a sheep. I want him to see this wooly little fucker and then try to corral him into a pen — only to have the terrier bark back at him and shatter his little border collie mind.

Well, that and I like sheep.

There’s a few videos up on YouTube showing the Bedlington Terrier in action, but somehow I think this particular video portrays the dog in exactly the kind of light it deserves.

Even better than fainting goats, no?