Cloughlea Shih Tzu

       CORRLOUGH IRISH SOFT COATED WHEATEN TERRIERS

 

Wallie Ladd, my father, died peacefully on the 27th of December, 2004, after a short illness.
Wallie commenced his life in the dog showing world when he and his brother, Morris, showed Samoyeds in the 1950s under the Carliyan prefix.
Wallie then had a brief encounter with Springer Spaniels, but it was in the mid 60s that he encountered the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and, with the help of Matt Blake, acquired his first Wheaten. From that moment on there was no other breed in his eyes. He was a great friend of Matt Blake's and often the two would travel to shows together here in
Ireland and in the UK promoting the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier to anyone who showed an interest and was prepared to listen. They would also travel all over the country to look at Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, including possible dogs to use; and I can recall conversations on some dogs they had watched working in places like Limerick and Waterford.


He was always delighted to speak to anyone who was interested in and needed help or information on the breed. To say that he was passionate and protective about the breed (which he really deemed his breed) is an understatement. This passion and protectiveness led him to be quite outspoken should the need arise, and it didn't bother him if his comments met with controversy. He never took any adverse comments personally; it was simply all in the name of the Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.

 

Some of his earlier dogs were Corrlough Korney Kaper and Corrlough Kornier Still; and then, in the mid '70s followed Corrlough Cannon Ball and Corrlough Cheeky Chops, who were owned in partnership with me. Corrlough Cheeky Chops had won at championship level and would hold her own should she be shown today. Business commitments took Wallie away from the show ring, and so he had to let the Wheatens take a back seat for a good number of years. It wasn't until he retired that he had the time and commitment to return to his breed, and Ballyfolye Silke at Corrlough (his beloved Muffin) was purchased in 1992. She was shown with considerable success gaining her Irish title a number of years later. Newkdara Salsa Dancer At Corrlough gained her Irish title some years later again. Muffin was his companion right up until Wallie went into hospital.

He bred a number of litters, with Corrlough Wheatens currently residing in Sweden, the UK, and the U.S.A.


Wallie had many interests other than his dogs: bee keeping, gardening
(particularly his roses), fishing, and regularly completing the Crosaire cryptic crossword in the Irish Times newspaper at a single sitting.


I have been reading letters from those who knew him well, and words like "character," "unrelenting," and "his own person" are just a few used to describe his larger than life personality. For me, the one phrase that someone wrote summed up the way he felt about the Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier as a breed. "It was his tenacity in wanting to do the right thing for the Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier which was to be admired."