Dowbrigade

The holiday spirit was dampened and Christmas dinner ruined at Buckingham Palace by a combination dog fignt / cat fight involving The Queen of England, her daughter Princess Anne, a bull terrier named Dottie and the Queen’s favorite Corgi, name of Pharos. Note the gratuitous use of Latin. American papers should do more of that, lends a note of class to a tawdry genre…

THE Queen was last night heartbroken over the death of her beloved corgi
Pharos, savaged by Princess Anne’s danger dog Dottie.

The lethal attack by the English bull terrier was the last straw for
Her Majesty at the end of another "annus horribilis"
.

It happened on Monday afternoon as the Royal Family gathered for Christmas
at Sandringham in Norfolk.

Anne arrived with Dottie – the dog that mauled two children last year,
leading to the prosecution of the princess and her other bull terrier
Eglantyne. Princess Anne is said to be distraught at incident.

As the door was opened by a servant, the Queen’s corgis raced down the
main staircase to greet Anne.
But Dottie went for Pharos – the Queen’s oldest corgi – savaging its
hind legs and breaking one in three places.

Growls and yelps were heard through the corridors as the attack went
on. The Queen, who is recovering from a knee operation, heard the commotion
and hobbled downstairs. But Pharos – for whom she had already made up
a Christmas stocking packed with treats like doggy doughnuts and chocolate
drops – was terribly injured.

He was treated by Royal vets and kept in intensive care but had to be
put down yesterday.

A Royal insider said the 77-year-old Queen, who has had Pharos for more
than a decade, was "absolutely devastated"

SIDEBAR:

Dogs so like their owners

By MEL HUNTER

PSYCHOLOGIST Dr Glenn Wilson claimed that pets can reflect the personality
of the owner.He said: "To some degree you do choose a pet which connects
with your personality.

"For example, a psychopath might go for a rottweiler. That may be a stereotype
but I am sure there is some truth in it.

"A timid-minded person is far more likely to go for a kitten than a big
dog."

Dr Wilson, of the University of London, said a dog could almost be a
substitute child. He went on: "Just like a naughty child, you can’t just
let a dog go because it is badly behaved. In fact, naughtiness is somehow
endearing.

"The connection between royals and their pets may be even stronger because
the animals can’t answer back " and they don’t tell tales."

Top pet shrink Dr Roger Mugford said: "Bull terriers are not a breed
known to be aggressive to humans but if you have one that’s bad it will
hit the headlines.Fights can start if one dog looks at another the wrong
way, just like with humans. All dogs enjoy fighting but bull terriers
are good at it."

from the
Sun