Friends,
I’ve been telling people that I’ve adopted a little black dog. When they ask “Oh, what kind?” I’ve had to sputter out something about a mix of something and something else, the speculation ranging from Shelty to Bull Terrier (all absurd). Turns out she’s a member of a proud and weird breed called McNab (no, not that one).
Here’s a little bit from the Dogster site (Who knew? Borrowing from the Friendster concept, can you “dog” somebody? If not, why not? Discuss.):
McNab History:
It is said that Alexander McNab, a rancher who relocated to California from Scotland in the mid-19th century, developed the McNab by crossing his Scottish-born Border Collie with various shepherd dogs.
That’s right, the breed is California-native! That certainly counts for something, although it must be noted that she’s not an ultra-liberal as many might suspect. Nor is her collar made of hemp. More…
The Look of the McNab:
The McNab is an athletic, small or medium-sized dog with a short, black coat that usually has white markings on the muzzle, chest, feet and tip of the tail. Its distinctive, triangular ears are either pricked or flop over. Its tail can be naturally bobbed or long. The McNab is also distinguished by its cat-like feet.
People who know McNab Shepherds, McNab Cattle Dogs or whatever you might wish to call them can be a little fanatical. A little more background on Mendocino’s own Gregor Mendel from Hawk Stock Dogs…
Alexander McNab and his family left Glasgow, Scotland in 1868, came to the United States of America, and settled in California on the ranch known as the McNab ranch in Mendocino, California south of Ukiah. They brought one dog with them, but it died soon after they arrived. In 1885, Mr. McNab returned to the Grampian Hills in Scotland for the sole purpose of getting some of the dogs he was used to working (with) [sic]. He purchased two dogs, Peter and Fred. He brought Peter back with him. Fred was left in Scotland to have his training completed, and was sent to America later. Fred was strictly a lead dog; Peter worked both lead and drive. These two dogs were bred to select shepherd females of Spanish origin which were brought to this country by the Basque sheep herders, and that cross was called McNab shepherds because Mr. McNab perfected this breed of stock dogs which would head or heel.
So, there you have it. Peter and Fred went catting about and from them, eventually, came this happy and well-adjusted girly dog.
Scots hooked up with Spanish hotties that can head or heel? I’ve just made it icky, haven’t I? Sorry about that.
There you have it, more than you ever wanted to know about the McNab Shepherd. It is an amazing year so far, isn’t it?
Your pal,
– bob
BIZARRE FOOTNOTE: If you hate yourself, have unlimited bandwidth and feel that you don’t quite have enough blood flooding out of your eye sockets, please feel free to take a look at Donovan McNabb’s personal website. Horrible Flash movies combined with Donovan the businessman and purple copy detailing how super and also ultra-great Mr. McNabb is. After viewing this exploration of one man’s hatred of the web and your eyes, please take the lesson to heart and remove all of the Flash nonsense from your own website. Thank you.
