There is evidence that one of the
oldest-known strains of Cairn, or "Short-haired Skye
Terrier," as the breed was generally known at the turn of
the century, was founded by Captain Martin MacLeod of
Drynock, Isle of Skye. Captain MacLeod was a great
Highland sportsman and an enthusiastic otter hunter. He
maintained a pack of silver grey Short-haired Skye
Terriers for forty years before emigrating to Canada in
1845. The Drynock strain was kept alive by Mr. John
Macdonald, Bridge of Ose Kennels, Isle of Sky. Mr.
Macdonald was a gamekeeper to the Clan Chief MacLeod of
McLeod, Dunvegan Castle, for more than forty years. In
1917 he wrote that he and his brother had this Drynock
strain for the last seventy years. The Mackinnos of
Kilbride was another kennel of good Short-haired Skye
Terriers. These terriers were descendents of an old breed
owned by Farquhar Kelly of Drumfearn, Isle of Skye in the
seventeenth century. All of these strains played a part in
the early lines of the breeds pioneers.
Mrs. Alastair Campbell and Mary Hawke were
the pioneers of the Cairn Terrier as we know it today. It
was their persistence that led to the Cairn Terrier being
recognized by The Kennel Club in 1910. On May 29, 1912 The
Kennel Club Committee gave the Cairn Terrier a separate
register. The Cairn could now compete at designated
championship shows in the United Kingdom.
In 1933 one of the most influential and important Cairns of all time was whelped. Eng. Ch. Splinters of Twobees (click link for pedigree) would go on to indelibly mark the breed. The winner of eight CCs and his prowess as a stud dog made Splinters an important contributor to setting the type we know today. Splinters can be found in the pedigrees of many of the top winning and producing dogs of today.
Mrs. Henry F. Price and Mrs. Byron Rodgers are credited with gaining approval of the Cairn Terrier in the United States. Mrs. Price imported the first Cairn Terriers to the United States in 1913 and owned the first Cairn Registered by the American Kennel Club Sandy Peter out of the West. In 1917 the Cairn Terrier Club of America was granted membership in the American Kennel Club.
The genesis of the American Cairn lays with
the importation of Eng. Ch. Redletter McRuffie by Betty
Hyslop to Canada. McRuffie, a great grandson of Ch.
Splinters of Twobees, was bred by Walter Bradshaw of
Redletter fame. McRuffie and his descendents Ch.
Cairnwoods Quince and Ch. Cairmar Fancy Dresser would
forever stamp their names in the history of the Cairn in
the United States. One is hard pressed today to find a
Cairn without one of the above dogs in the pedigree.
