Page 112 - K9News_Issue16_May2021

The

Phidgity

Story

By Maurice Graham-Weall

The Phidgity story starts a long time ago, in
the first quarter of the last century when my
grandmother and two aunts began breeding
dogs. Susan Graham-Weall, who registered
the affix, used it exclusively for Pugs; the first,
that was actually the reason for the affix, was
“Phidgity Phil who could never keep still”.
Susan’s sister Lavinia (known universally as
Busty) used it for Bull Terriers and the poodles
bred by my grandmother, Phyllis Graham-Weall,
also carried the Phidgity affix.

It wasn’t until the early 1990s, after my two
aunts had died (Busty first in 1984 and then
Susan in 1986) that we started to show our
Dalmatians and breed them. We registered
our own affix while suffering under the
misapprehension
that the Phidgity affix
had been transferred
to a cousin. In
Phidgity poodles in the 1930s
1994, however, we
discovered that it to the family was poised to take over the affix,
was still registered presumably intending to bask in the “reflected”
in Sue’s name glory of the previous owners’ breeding, but a
and the 10 year letter from my father, who was the executor of
period of protection my aunt’s will, to the Kennel Club requested the
following her death Phidgity affix to be transferred to us: this was
was nearing its end. completed within 10 days of the date on the
There was a rumour letter and Dalmatians were to be added to the
that somebody Phyllis Graham-Weall, list of breeds carrying the affix. We acquired
totally unrelated my grandmother our first ETT in 2006, resuming the Phidgity

112
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MAY 2021