Mustard & Pepper Summer 2024

America’s First Best in Show Dandie Dinmont

by Kevin Burford

S arah Howard Swift, a former social worker who had graduated from Smith College in 1912, founded Cliffield Kennels in Bedford Village (New York) in 1948, the same year she retired from her job as a supervisor at the Community Service Society in New York. Swift’s Cliffield Kennels’ most famous champions were Fiornell Beatham Skittle and Waterbeck Watermark, “each of whom made history for the breed” (“Scott Novel Gave Breed Name,” New York Times , September 24, 1964). As the Times notes, “In 1947, Percy Roberts brought Skittle back from Scotland for Miss Swift. He had bought the eight-month-old pepper pup from the century-old Waterbeck Kennels, owned by George and John Jardine, at Lockerbie. ‘We wanted to show her in time to win a blue ribbon, so she could compete at Westminster,’ said Miss Swift, ‘We showed her for the first time at Worcester, Mass., in December and she went from the classes to best Dandie’.” Although Skittle didn’t take best of Breed at Madison Square Garden that year she did win Best of Opposite Sex. “But

then she started a sensational career. In the next 48 shows, she never again was beaten by a Dandie. Four times she was best of breed at the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club of America specialty and twice at Westminster,” according to the Times article. Sarah Swift’s

other famous cham pion was Waterbeck Watermark, nick named “‘Sandy.’”. The Times article tells us, that “Sandy – was a mustard.” ‘“He was the best Dandie Dinmont in Britain and I wanted him for my basic stud dog,’” said Miss Swift. “I flew to Scotland in 1952 and, after much pleading, persuaded the Jardines to let me buy him. He al ready had 12 cham pionship certificates under 12 different

Waterbeck Watermark – “Sandy”

judges overseas and had been the best of breed at Cruft’s.’’ This wonderful and famous dog, Waterbeck Watermark was the first Dandie Dinmont to win a best in show in America. It happened at Staten Island in June 1953. According to a New York Times article (June 22, 1953) entitled “S. I. Show Laurels to Dandie Dinmont. . . . It took about a half-century to do it but a Dandie Dinmont terrier finally won an American all-breed event. It happened yesterday at the fourteenth annual show of the Staten Island Kennel Club. The dog to turn the trick was the mustard-colored Waterbeck Watermark, an import owned by Sarah Swift’s Cliffield Kennels of Bedford Village.” Not to be deterred, Sandy won his second best in show at the Barrington Dog Show in August of the same year. According to the Cazenovia-Republican (February 24, 1955), “Ch. Waterbeck Watermark, the famed Dandie Dinmont owned by Miss Sarah H. Swift of Bedford Village, was victim of a startling upset. ‘Sandy,’ the only Dandie to take best in show honors in this country – he’s done it twice – was beaten in the breed by his litter brother Ch. Weir of Waterbeck. One of Miss Swift’s home-bred champions, Ch. Cliffield Bramble, went best of opposite sex to best of breed.” Sarah H. Swift passed away in 1975.

Sarah Swift and “Skittle”

Mustard & Pepper

24

Summer 2024