DOGS

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

The Temporary Home for Lost & Starving Dogs was founded in Holloway by Mary Tealby in 1860. It moved to its present site in 1871. In 1883 the Home also started taking cats.

Queen Victoria gave the Battersea Dogs Home her support, however, she refused to endorse its wish to build a crematorium.

Henry Morton Stanley's 1874-1877 expedition covered 7000 miles. He set off from east coast of Africa and walked to the Atlantic mouth of the River Congo. The expedition's dogs were selected from Battersea Dogs Home.

Location: 4 Battersea Park Road, SW8 4AA

Website: http://www.battersea.org.uk

Peter

In the 1890s the housebreaker Charles Peace used a dog called Peter as a lookout. Following the man's conviction, the animal was lodged at Battersea. He proved to be an excellent watchdog. If ever there was a commotion amongst the animals, he would identify the culprit to the watchman.

Byron

In 2008 it was reported that when admirers had written to the poet Lord Byron (d.1824) to ask him for a lock of his hair, he had been given to sending them clippings from his newfoundland dog Boatswain.

Carriage Dogs

Carriage dogs were dogs that had the physical to keep up with a coach during the course of all-day journeys. During these the horses would be changed every few miles to ensure that the vehicle's speed could be maintained.

The talbot was a native breed. Its name was derived from one of the great landowning families. The breed no longer exists. From the evidence in paintings, drawings, and prints the dalmatian - also known as the plum pudding dog and the spotted dog - appears to have been imported from Europe in the late 18^thC.

Location: The Packhorse & Talbot, 145 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, W4 2DT. A pub on what was one of London s principal arterial roads.

Frances Power Cobb

Frances Power Cobb was from an affluent Anglo-Irish family. She chose to become a journalist. She wrote articles on dogs that Charles Darwin admired. She was an anti-vivisectionist.

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin had numerous dogs, particularly terriers. He wrote about them. His final dog was Polly, a white terrier.

Location: CHARLES DARWIN

Charles Dickens

See Also: CHARLES DICKENS

Chance

Chance had a black and tan coat and may have been a Manchester terrier. He was owned by a weaver in Spitalfields. He adored fires. The London Fire Engine Establishment acquired him as a mascot. He became an animal celebrity. His portrait was painted by William Heath.

Chance attended the fire of the Palace of Westminster in 1834. Charles Dickens wrote a sketch in which he compared a busybodying M.P. who was present to the mutt.

Chance died the following year. The firefighters had his body stuffed and put the result on display.

Location: Watling Street, EC4M 9BR. The Establishment's headquarters. (blue, grey)

Dog Carts

Dog carts were a common feature of London life. That the animals often died in harness led to their being outlawed in the 1850s.

Location: ANIMAL WELFARE

Dog Food

See Also: BISCUITS Ship's Biscuits

Spillers

Spillers s cat food brands include the premium Arthur's (previously Kattomeat), the mid-priced Choosy, the economy Savour Supreme, and the super-premium. The company's dog food brands include Fido and Winalot.

In 1829 Joel Spiller established himself as a corn dealer in Somerset. His firm became a manufacturer of ship biscuits.

In 1927 Spillers launched Winallot as a dog biscuit for greyhounds. It proved to be popular with owners of other breeds

In the 1930s Spillers developed into a manufacturer of pet foods.

In 1998 Nestl bought Spillers. It extended the Winalot brand to other types of dog food.

The Spillers Dog Food factory features in the Stanley Kubrick-directed movie Full Metal Jacket (1987).

Website: www.purina.co.uk/brands/winalot

Spratts Dog Biscuits

Spratts Bridge, Poplar (next to Stinkhouse Bridge). Over Limehouse Cut, which links River Lee; from Bromley by Bow to Limehouse.

Location: Morris Road, Poplar, E14 6PA

Dog Racing

The dog racing stadia that have closed in London include: Alexandra Palace, Catford, Clapton, Hackney Wick, Haringay, Hendon, New Cross, Park Royal, Stamford Bridge, Wandsworth, Wembley, West Ham, and White City.

In 1966 the France vs. Uruguay soccer match was played at White City Stadium. This was because it took place on Friday evening. Wembley Stadium was not prepared to abandon the scheduled greyhound race.

The Southside Shopping Centre (n e The Arndale Centre) in Wandsworth was built on the site of a dog racing track.

In 2008 Walthamstow dog track closed. This left only Crayford and Wimbledon operating.

In 2017 Wimbledon Dog Track closed.

Location: Crayford Greyhound Track, Stadium Way, Crayford, Kent, DA1 4HR

G.R.A. Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane, SW17 0BL

Website: https://crayfordgreyhounds.com

Dog Shows

The first fancy show for working men's sporting dogs was held in the Elephant & Castle in 1834. There were no breed classes.

Cruft' s

In 1866 Charles Cruft took a job in James Spratt's shop in High Holborn. Spratt focused on production while Cruft looked after the sales and the bookkeeping.

Cruft developed into a successful showman. However, he disliked having a high profile.

In both 1891 and 1892 Queen Victoria had dogs compete at Cruft s.

Website: www.crufts.org.uk

The Dogs Trust

The National Canine Defence League was founded in 1891. In 2003 the organisation changed its name to Dog Trust.

Location: 17 Wakley Street, EC1V 7RQ (blue, red)

Website: www.dogtrust.org.uk

Dog Walking

The Professional Dog Walkers Association

There is a Hampstead Professional Dog Walkers Association.

Website: https://professionaldogwalkersassociation.co.uk

Purefinders

Purefinders picked up dog poo and sold it to tanners. The material is acid.

Royal Dogs

See Also: ROYALTY

Corgis et al.

At its apogee the royal canine pack was made up of seven animals. The corgis were Flora, Kelpie, Pharos, Phoenix, and Swift and the dorgis (corgi/daschund crosses) were Brandy and Harris. Collectively, they and the Queen Mother's beasts had as bad a reputation as any despot could have wished for. In 1989 Chipper, one of the Queen s dorgis, was assassinated by the Queen Mother's corgis. Five years later news leaked of the sovereign's animals had been hounding a police alsatian. The traffic was not all one-way. In 2003 the Princess Royal's bull terrier Dottie mauled Pharos so badly that the corgi had to be put down.

Monty died in 2012. The queen did not replace him. It has been speculated that she did not wish to risk the possibility. Six years later Whisper became the last of the queen's corgis to die.

That Was Much Better

David Nott is a surgeon who spent over two decades operating in a number of the world's war zones. In 2014, a week or so after returning from Aleppo, he attended a private lunch at Buckingham Palace and found himself seated next to the queen. She asked him where he had been working and he replied Aleppo. She then asked him how it had been. He found himself unable to reply. She touched his hand and then communicated something to the flunkies who were present. They let in six corgis who swarmed around the monarch and doctors feet. She then opened a small casket from which she took a biscuit that she broken in half. She handed one part to Dr Nott. Momentarily, he wondered whether he was meant to eat it. She indicated that it was for the dogs. For the rest of the meal, they interacted with the mutts, ignoring the courses that were being served to themselves. At the meal's conclusion That was much better than talking, David. It had been.

Location: Buckingham Palace, SW1A 1AA (orange, white)

Brian Sewell

The art critic Brian Sewell's (1931-2015) articles for the Evening Standard newspaper sometimes included eulogies for long-dead greyhounds.

Location: 19 Eldon Road, W8 5PT. Sewell's home from 1972 to 1999. (red, pink)

John Henry Walsh

John Henry Walsh was a physician who shot off half of one his hands and found himself no longer able to practice. He turned to being a journalist and author. He wrote about a wide range of sports and edited The Field magazine. He organised the first Wimbledon Tennis Championship. His output included a number of books about dogs. He set out the standards for breeds. Originally, there were 27 types of dogs. There grew to be dozens. These were judged in competitions. There were even ones for taxidermized dogs.

David Backhouse 2024