History of the West Highland White Terrier
The West Highland White Terrier, affectionately known as the Westie, is a small but fearless breed with a proud Scottish heritage. Its origins can be traced back to the rugged Highlands of western Scotland, where terriers were bred for their courage, stamina, and instinct to hunt.
In the 19th century, Scottish hunters and farmers needed a dog that could bravely pursue foxes, badgers, and rodents, even underground. Several terrier breeds were developed in the region, including the Cairn Terrier and Scottish Terrier. However, a tragic hunting accident led to the creation of the distinctive white coat that Westies are known for today.
According to breed lore, Colonel Edward Donald Malcolm of Poltalloch mistakenly shot his reddish-brown terrier during a hunt, having confused it with a fox. Devastated by the incident, he decided to breed only white terriers to ensure such a mistake would never happen again. Thus, the Poltalloch Terriers were born – the direct ancestors of today’s Westies.
The breed was officially recognized as the West Highland White Terrier in the early 20th century, and quickly gained popularity both as a working dog and a charming companion. Its confident personality, alert expression, and snow-white coat made it a favorite in the show ring and in homes around the world.
Today, Westies are celebrated not only for their handsome looks, but also for their loyalty, intelligence, and bold spirit. Though small in stature, they are full of energy and character – a true terrier through and through.
Zgodovina Zahodnovišavskega belega terierja
Zahodnovišavski beli terier, ljubkovalno imenovan Westie, je majhna, a neustrašna pasma s ponosnim škotskim poreklom. Njegova zgodovina sega v surovo višavje zahodne Škotske, kjer so terierje vzrejali zaradi njihove pogumnosti, vztrajnosti in prirojenega nagona za lov.
V 19. stoletju so škotski lovci in kmetje potrebovali psa, ki bi bil dovolj hraber, da bi zasledoval lisice, jazbece in glodavce – tudi pod zemljo. V tem času so nastale različne terierske pasme, med njimi Cairn terier in Škotski terier. A prav tragičen lovski dogodek je botroval nastanku značilne bele barve, po kateri danes prepoznamo Westija.
Po pasemski pripovedi je polkovnik Edward Donald Malcolm iz Poltallocha med lovom po pomoti ustrelil svojega rjavo obarvanega terierja, saj ga je zamenjal za lisico. Pretresen zaradi nesreče se je odločil, da bo odslej vzrejal le bele pse, da bi se takšna napaka ne ponovila.
Tako so nastali Poltalloch terierji – neposredni predniki današnjega Zahodnovišavskega belega terierja.
Pasma je bila uradno priznana kot West Highland White Terrier v začetku 20. stoletja in je hitro pridobila priljubljenost – najprej kot delavni lovski pes, nato pa tudi kot očarljiv družinski spremljevalec. S svojim samozavestnim značajem, bistrim pogledom in snežno belo dlako je osvojila razstavne ringe in domove po vsem svetu.
Danes Westije občudujemo ne le zaradi njihovega privlačnega videza, temveč tudi zaradi zvestobe, bistrosti in pogumnega duha. Čeprav so majhni po rasti, so polni energije, značaja in terierske odločnosti – pravi mali borci z velikim srcem.
