Beagles Left Behind

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31590, 30 January 1968, Page 2

Beagles Left Behind

When Miss Lorraine Nichols, of Christchurch, went overseas last year one of her purposes was to bring back some pedigree beagle puppies. After being frustrated first by the shipping strike and then by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, she had to return without them.

But her object was accomplished in part’ She is the legal owner of two seven-month-old pups in the Rogavel Kennels, in Surrey.

She paid 75 guineas for the dog and 30 guineas for the bitch. Their freight to New Zealand will cost £137, and there will be incidental expenses such as kennel club papers and insurance. While the foot-and-mouth epidemic lasts she must pay their boarding fees at the Rogavel Kennels. Miss Nichols intends to breed beagles. She wanted to ensure that she had the finest stock, and she regards the money as an investment The Royal Family buys corgis at the Rogavel Kennels, so the stock is highly recommended. When the dogs arrive in New Zealand they will probably be subject to quarantine. Miss Nichols wanted some experience in a professional kennel while she was in England. She got in touch with the secretary of the English Corgi League, who referred her to the Kentwood Kennels, in Oxford, which are managed by Mrs A. G. Godden

and her daughter. Miss S. Godden. Miss Nichols joined the kennels as a kennel maid. She worked from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., with only one halfday off each week, was paid a small salary, and lived in a caravan with the other kennel maid. But she was given an opportunity to work with experts. Kentwood Kennels had bred many champion corgis and German shepherds for export, as well as miniature and toy poodles of all kinds. Dogs came first at Kentwood but they were treated as "dogs” and were not mollycoddled. The kennel maids would be called from their beds in the middle of the night to tend the brood bitches, but if the dogs did not behave themselves they were punished. Champions were treated in exactly the same way as the 80 dogs who were boarders at the home. “Miss Godden concentrated on German shepherds and she bred champions with excellent temperaments. She could exercise 20 German shepherds in one paddock without any fighting and scrapping.” Miss Nichols fed and exercised about 80 dogs in the mornings and in the afternoons she trimmed poodles and stripped spaniels in the kennel kitchen. Mrs Godden taught her the procedure and it took about two hours to trim each dog. Corgis were the most sought-after dogs at the kennels. The black poodles were popular, and so were the coffee and apricot varieties of poodle. “When they were pups the apricot poodles were just like

powder puffs. It seemed a pity to trim their fluff.” Kentwood Kennels also bred Cardiganshire corgis, which were somewhat larger than the Pembrokeshire corgis and had long tails. But the breed was becoming rare. When her black, white and tan beagles arrive. Miss Nichols plans to take a firm line with them. “If you treat them toughly they should not be highly strung and should have placid puppies.” Miss Nichols already has a waiting list for pups and eventually she will show her dogs. She says she does not know much about showing dogs but she will start with the assurance that her dogs are good stock and well worth the sacrifice she made to get them. The photograph below shows Miss Nicols with her corgi, Kim.