What a lovely word! Definition: 'Mongrel'; mixed, especially in relation to breeding. The origin is not definite but lies somewhere in two old words, 'gemang' in Old English and 'mangen' or 'mengen in both Old English and Old German. Usually applied to a dog that isn't 'pure-bred'. In case you're wondering why I put this description in inverted commas, it's because I have a prejudice against the concept. I should explain that the trigger for writing this article was a news item about Crufts Dog Show which reminded me of how I hate the damage done to dogs by setting artificial rules for conformation and breeding dogs to this standard so that they can be judged at Cruft's. This practice has done untold damage, think of Rhodesian Ridge-backs bred for the ridge of fur on their backs which is actually a symptom of Spina Bifida, Bulldogs with deformed faces that can't breathe properly and King Charles' Spaniels bred for tiny heads that can't contain their brains. The list goes on.
I have another problem with 'pure-bred'. A pure bred dog is actually a wolf, all the glorious variations we see in the different types are the results of accidental matings with closely related species. Once a variant had appeared, in-breeding with others with the same characteristics established the breeds we know today and the word pedigree only means that they have reproduced within a specific gene pool. So, if you go back far enough pedigree means in-bred animals and in the course of the years this practice produced as many failures and bad traits as it did good ones. Nature took its course and the good ones survived.
I think back to the many dogs that have lived with me during my long life and they have all been healthy, long-lived mongrels. An old man who had forgotten more about dogs than I will ever know once told me that you can't beat a good first cross and over the years I have come to the conclusion he was right. None of them would ever have got a look-in at Crufts! Mind you, in recent years that splendid mongrel, the Parson Jack Russell Terrier, has achieved pedigree status under Kennel Club rules and it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the type. One thing is certain, they will produce nothing better than my old terrier Eigg who lived to be 19 years old and was the best mate anyone could possibly have.
I have another reason for my affection for mongrels. Many years ago my Australian father told me “If anyone ever calls you an ill-bred, mongrel b*****d, don't argue with them!” I was a young lad and hadn't the faintest idea what he meant but as the years went by I found he was absolutely accurate, my breeding contains several nationalities and he and my mother were never married! I should add that this has never caused me any problems. On the contrary, whenever I hear anyone fulminating about immigrants and the 'English Race' I take great delight in pointing out that by no stretch of the imagination could I be said to be pure-bred anything. So, being a classic mongrel myself I have an affinity with the second-class dogs.
Over 50 years ago when I first started delivering groceries to outlying farms I soon learned that it was best to avoid any comments about neighbours until you knew what the relationships were. Many of these families had someone who was 'not quite right' and I began to wonder if the breeding in these isolated communities before modern transport hadn't been a bit too close. As I learned more about the aristocracy I found a different syndrome, close breeding within families to preserve land and property holdings. Our royal family is a case in point but in this case is primarily about protecting blood lines. I can't help thinking that a dose of different genes from the commoners mightn't have been a good thing occasionally but that's their choice.
To come back to the mythical English Race. The name itself is a give-away as it derives from the Angles who migrated here and intermarried with the inhabitants. Genetic studies show that many of us in the North have Viking genes, again, from inter-breeding by invaders from Scandinavia. The aristocratic families who claim they are descended from the Normans are in fact admitting to Viking ancestry because that was the origin of the Norsemen who settled in what became known as Normandy. Add in the polyglot blood of the Roman mercenaries who were predominantly not Italians and every raving loony who makes a nuisance to society by objecting to immigrants is actually a mongrel and a hypocrite. This leaves aside the whole question of what we now know about the origins of the human race, our best evidence to date is that we are all descended from humans who originated in Africa and started to migrate outwards about 60,000 years ago. They were the pure bred ones, all the variants since are mongrels.
So, let's hear it for the mongrel whether it's a dog or a human being. One of my daughters added to the mix by marrying a lad with Greek ancestry and I can assure you that more beautiful grandchildren would be hard to find. Mixed breeding from good stock will always produce a good result, it applied to my old bitch Eigg and to my new great-grandchild as well. Crufts and the Kennel Club have got it wrong, instead of setting artificial standards of conformation they should encourage random breeding for utility. That's how the human race evolved and on the whole we haven't done too badly. Think about your own ancestors, recognise the genetic mix they carried forward and gave to you. Somewhere in there is a set of genes that go back almost 100,000 years to Africa and it didn't do you any harm! The next time you hear someone banging on about the English Race take them on one side and explain gently that what they believe is a myth. It's possible to speak of inhabitants of England but not some sort of racial purity. It simply doesn't exist.
My old friend Eigg the mongrel taking the sun above Loch Morar.
(This will be the last of the full size articles for the BET because they are 'improving' the layout of the paper. However, I don't think I can stop writing and so may be forced to do some proper sized peces just for the site.... (I wonder if they will be cutting Andrew Stephenson's column as well.....)
