Dog Portraits - Sporting Lucas Terrier Dog Portrait

This pair of Sporting Lucas Terriers were framed in small gold ovals to match and hang with their three predecessors.

The Sporting Lucas is a truly rare breed. There are probably only about 100 in the world, of which only 40 are left in this country. Sir Jocelyn Lucas, Bt, who died in 1980, was for many years a Tory MP and a lifelong devotee of the working terrier. In the 1930s, he bought a pack of miniature Sealyhams, working dogs bred to hunt weasels and which bore little resemblance to the show-bench freaks that you see today.

The Sealyham was thought to have been developed by a Captain Edwardes of Sealy Ham, Pembrokeshire, in the 19th century. Sir Jocelyn experimented with various crosses to put more stamina into his Sealyhams. He was successful with the Norfolk terrier, another good old breed reduced to nervous inanity by the show-bench fraternity.

After Sir Jocelyn's death, the working breed hung by a thread, but a few devoted and far-seeing people dedicated themselves to saving these grand dogs - and here I must mention Paul Hawkes. Paul is a professional terrier man to the Tynedale Hunt and terriers are his life and his livelihood. He quickly appreciated the qualities of the working Lucas, which is as tough as a shepherding boot, without being hard, and is determined, yet biddable.

The working Lucas could be described as the thinking man's terrier. Sir Jocelyn wanted dogs to hunt above ground as well as work below.