And Then There Was ONE

   Once upon a time (not so long ago, actually) Sarah and Tom Rutland journeyed to Tomich, Scotland and discovered Dileas-- a pale-coated Golden Retriever --walking along a quiet road. Apparently, he is the sole survivor of that breed in the quaint town most identified with the origin of our wonderful breed. Lord Tweedmouth is long gone. The great manor house a mere shell of its former glory. Yes, there is a bronze statue to be found at road's edge; but that is a monument to a breed and its beginnings.
   The article entitled The Day We Met Dileas can be found on the GRCA website. It's fun reading.
   What surprises me most about this entry is that it represents perhaps the ONLY reference to Golden Retrievers in Scotland, Great Britain, the world as a whole-- other than the United States. Even if Dileas (pronounced JEE-less) is the only Golden in town, I think the GRCA might be willing to admit that there are at least one or two living beyond the confines of the United States in the 21st century.
   The GRCA version of breed history reads something like this. Goldens originated in Scotland; a few ventured across The Pond to Canada and then filtered down to the United States. There the essential breed history began. 
   It is as if the English or European Golden Retrievers went the way of the dinosaurs.
   True, there are some references to be found in the archives. But, can you identify even a single POSITIVE article on the website or in the magazine that deals with European or Australian representatives of our breed as they exist today?  After all, our signature publication is called the Golden Retriever NEWS--NOT the AMERICAN Golden Retriever NEWS. Does any part of the readership have even a passing interest in what is happening in the Golden Retriever world beyond our shores? Do GRCA members who own/breed/fancy the English Type Golden have no interest in the subject at all? There are hundreds of Americans breeding to the British Standard today; thousands of Americans own English-Type Golden Retrievers.
   But references to them-- if they exist at all --are confined to attacks on breeders who charge great amounts of money for misnamed "WHITE" Golden Retrievers, and the unfounded health claims made about them. Would-be puppy buyers are told that coat color should be the LAST thing one should consider in purchasing a Golden Retriever. This fits with the mistaken belief that ALL non-American Golden Retrievers are very pale or cream in color. But WHY shouldn't color preference matter? In dogs of more than a single color, the markings matter don't they? And when the so-called BLONDE Golden Retrievers were all the rage, didn't breeders promise buyers that their pups would be pale-coated adults? Been there, done that-- on the receiving end.
   My wish would be that Tom and Sarah return to Merrie Olde England and stumble upon a dog show in progress-- maybe the Crufts Show. Perhaps they could tell us about the great number of Goldens to be found there, and the broad spectrum of coat color to be found in the breed.