Alfred Hitchcock and his Sealyham Terrier

 

Alfred Hitchcock’s visage has been compared to the bulldog’s, but he preferred terriers. He was a fancier and owner of Sealyham Terriers. The Sealyham faces extinction today and has been called “rarer than a tiger,” but it was once favored by royalty, authors, and Hollywood stars. Princess Margaret, Dorothy Parker, Maurice Sendak, Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, and Tallulah Bankhead were all fellow Sealyham owners and some were photographed with their beloved pets.

 

 

Alfred Hitchcock and his dog, Sarah

 

Breezie doing her Alfred Hitchcock interpretation.
It is actually a rolled up rawhide chew stick that she has in her mouth.

http://sealyhamcanada.com/index.html

 

The Sealyham Terrier is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog. It is principally a white-bodied, rough coated breed, developed in the mid to late 19th century by Captain John Edwardes at Sealyham House, Pembrokeshire.

Following the First World War, it surged in popularity and was associated with Hollywood stars and members of the British Royal Family. Its numbers have dropped significantly since then, with the breed listed as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club; an all time low was recorded in 2008 when only 43 puppies were registered in the United Kingdom. This decline has been blamed on an influx of foreign and designer breeds, and the Sealyham's reduced usefulness as a working dog.

This breed is equally suitable as a family dog or a working terrier, given the right training. It is affected by few breed specific breed disorders, with the only two prevalent conditions being lens luxation and canine degenerative myelopathy.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealyham_Terrier

 



Hitchcock was recorded as having at least four Sealyhams–Mr. Jenkins (a suitably Welsh name!), Geoffrey, Stanley, and Sarah. They not only appear in the above pictures, but also Hitchcock couldn’t resist having a pair of them join him in one of his famous film cameos. Stanley, Geoffrey, and Hitchcock “exit downtown San Francisco’s Davidson’s Pet Shop. . .as elegantly-dressed blonde Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) enters.” That wasn’t Stanley and Geoffrey’s last foray in the film industry. Hitchcock named his production company for Marnie after them (Geoffrey Stanley Inc.).

Leaving downtown San Francisco's Davidson's Pet Shop with two white terriers (Hitchcock's own Sealyham terriers Geoffrey and Stanley on leashes) as elegantly-dressed blonde Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) enters.

Alfred Hitchcock feeding his dog, Mr. Jenkins

                         Alfred Hitchcock standing outside at home, feeding his Sealyham terrier, Mr. Jenkins. Photo: Peter Stackpole, Time Life Pictures

Alfred Hitchcock in LA, 1939