The conservation village of Tomich is renowned for its Victorian-era charms – and now it has another claim to fame.
Dog-lovers want to publicise it as the birthplace of the golden retriever by erecting a statue in the breed’s honour.
The good-natured breed was “created” at Guisachan Estate at Tomich in 1868 by Lord Tweedmouth when he crossed a wavy-coated retriever with a tweed water spaniel to produce three golden-coated puppies. The pups – Cowslip, Primrose and Crocus – became the foundation of the breed which quickly spread across the globe.
Now an organisation set up to honour the birthplace of the breed, Friends of Guisachan, has launched an £18,200 appeal to erect a life-size statue of a champion golden retriever in the remote Inverness-shire village.
Friends of Guisachan president Joy Viola, of Massachusetts, US, said the statue idea was to honour every four-legged Guisachan descendant and was inspired by the memorial to Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh.
She travelled from the US to visit the estate for the Guisachan reunion last year and took part in a torchlit pilgrimage to the ruins of the estate buildings along with hundreds of other golden retriever enthusiasts and 222 dogs. She said owners of the breed “hold the site in awe”.
She added: “Every golden in the world is a Guisachan descendant.
“There are not many breeds where one can step back in time and say this mating and this litter of puppies, in 1868, constitutes the beginning of the breed.
“That is why so many people make their personal pilgrimages to Guisachan to see the ancestral home and walk the roads where it all began.
“There is a mystique about the place.”
UK champion Michael of Moreton, born in 1925, has been chosen as the model for the statue as he sired many champions including the dog which became the founder of the breed in Canada and the US.
Mrs Viola said: “His face is the epitome of the sweet disposition that has characterised the golden retriever for nearly 150 years.”
So far the organisation has raised £14,300 for the project through donations from golden retriever clubs across the world including £500 from the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland.
Club chairwoman Doreen McGugan said: “People involved in the showing side of golden retrievers do know about Guisachan, but most other owners wouldn’t know it’s a Scottish breed so it’s nice for people to get to know that.”
The cash will pay for a bronze statue, granite and sandstone plinth, site preparation, charitable 99-year lease at one pound per year and legal fees and permits.
The group is hoping to get planning permission from Highland Council to erect the statue near an existing memorial to Lord and Lady Tweedmouth.
Donations can be made at www.friendsofguisachan.org
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