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Sunday 8 June 2014

Collie

It is likely that the ancestors of the Bearded Collies came to Great Britain with the Romans about 500 BC, but it is the Scottish who are attributed with starting the breed.

The Collie was probably cross-bred with the Newfoundland and Deerhound until the early 1800s, and underwent selective breeding and further cross-breeding with the Borzoi by 1830. The breed was established by 1886.

In  1860 Queen Victoria fell in love with the Rough Coated Collie. On a holiday at Balmoral Castle and on her return to London several of the breed accompanied her.


There are many types of Collies, including the Bearded, Scotch, and Border Collie. Some collie types don't even include “collie” in their name. However, Lassie, a Rough Collie  who came to fame through Hollywood, helped make the Collie one of the most popular breed types in the world.

The only non-military dog to be awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery, was a collie named Sheila. In 1944 she tracked down four injured US airmen on a mountain during a blizzard, after their B-17 crashed. She led locals to their location, who evacuated them before the bombs detonated shorty after.

Source Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.

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