Turnspit Dog

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Illustration, taken from Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales, published in 1800. Notice the dog at work.

The Turnspit Dog is a short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel, called a turnspit or dog wheel, to turn meat. The type is now extinct. It is mentioned in Of English Dogs in 1576 under the name Turnespete. Rev. W. Bingley's Memoirs of British Quadrupeds (1809) also talks of a dog employed to help chefs and cooks. It is also known as the Kitchen Dog, the Cooking Dog, the Underdog and the Vernepator. In Linnaeus's 18th century classification of dogs it is listed as Canis vertigus. The breed was lost since it was considered to be such a lowly and common dog that no one really kept track of it. They are related, many people think, to the Glen of Imaal Terrier.

The Vernepator Cur was bred to run on a wheel in order to turn meat so it would cook evenly. This took both courage (to stand near the fire) and loyalty (not to eat the roast). Due to the strenuous nature of the work, a pair of dogs would often be worked in shifts. This may have led to the proverb 'every dog has his day.' The dogs were also taken to church to serve as foot warmers. One story says that during service at a church in Bath, the Bishop of Gloucester, gave a sermon and uttered the line "It was then that Ezekiel saw the wheel...". At the mention of the word "wheel" several turnspit dogs, who had been brought to church as foot warmers, ran for the door.

Turnspit dogs look like Welsh Corgis with long bodies—but they have drooping ears like the weimaraner. From the engravings they look to be about 25 - 35 lbs and possibly 14" to 16" tall. They were described as 'long-bodied, crooked-legged and ugly dogs, with a suspicious, unhappy look about them' in the old English dog book. Often, they are shown with a white stripe down the center of their faces.

[edit] References

• Of English Dogs. 1576. ISBN 1-905124-05-8
• Dogs : the ultimate dictionary of over 1,000 dog breeds by Desmond Morris. 2002. Publisheed by the Ebury Press in 2002 ISBN 0-09-187091-7
• Memoirs of British Quadrupeds by Bingley, Rev W (illustrated from original drawings, chiefly by Samuel Howitt) 1809
• Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan. 2006. Published by Three Rivers Press.

[edit] External links

• "Whiskey" the turnspit dog, 19th century - photo of the last Turnspit Dog, stuffed