DOG lovers in Selkirk are wagging their tales this week after the Kennel Club fetched £20,000 towards the creation of a Dandie Dinmont Discovery Centre in the town.

The Kennel Club Educational Trust has agreed to grant £20,000 towards the creation of the new centre at the Haining.

And the cash will also go towards a bronze bust of the original Dandie Dinmont, Ginger, by the Queen's sculptor for Scotland, Alexander Stoddart.

The Haining is considered to be the birthplace of Dandie Dinmont breed.

And owners from across the world will again make a pilgrimage to the Georgian mansion to celebrate the pedigree's provenance next June.

Paul Keevil, the UK coordinator of the Dandie Dinmont Discovery Centre project, said: “Old Ginger was born at The Haining in 1842 and as the ‘father’ of the breed, it can be considered the birthplace of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier.

"Every Dandie in the world today goes back ultimately to Old Ginger.

"Uniquely, the actual kennels he was born in and the kennel run still exist in the grounds of The Haining.

“It is exciting for us that the trustees of The Haining are not only allowing us to open the Dandie Discovery Centre on this important landmark, but are also making the entire Haining Estate dog friendly."

The Dandie Dinmont name came from Sir Walter Scott's second novel, Guy Mannering,

The terriers, which were first noted as a breed in the 18th century, took on the name of the Liddesdale farmer character from the novel.

Over the decades the breed became fashionable with distinguished owners including Queen Victoria, Sir Edwin Landseer, Agatha Christie and Sir Alec Guinness.

The fortunes of the Dandie Dinmont have declined in more recent decades and now appears on the Kennel Club’s vulnerable native breeds list due to its low annual puppy registration figures.

There are less than 300 Dandie Dinmonts being bred around the world just now.

Mike Macbeth, president of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club of Canada, told us: “Selkirk and the Scottish Borders are the ancestral home of the Dandie Dinmont.

"It is therefore appropriate that the Discovery Centre be located in the actual kennel where the father of the breed was born.

"But the restoration of Old Ginger’s kennel was unlikely without funding from the Kennel Club.

"Those of us in the international Dandie community are grateful for the Kennel Club Educational Trust’s support for the Dandie Dinmont Discovery Centre.”

It is hoped the new centre in Selkirk will promote the terriers as well as the other native dog breeds on the list.

The Discovery Centre will educate visitors about the breed, as well as tell the stories of the nine other dog breeds which have the Dandie in their heritage; the 13 breeds of Scottish origin and all of the Kennel Club’s 28 vulnerable native breeds.

Gerald King, chairman of the Kennel Club Educational Trust told the Border Telegraph: “The Kennel Club Educational Trust is delighted to be able to support this valuable new initiative.

"Paul and Mike have given so much to the promotion and protection of this wonderful, loving, family dog, as well as support to other vulnerable native breeds in the UK.

"With their dedication to the breed and all the work they have done, it is hoped it will go some way to safeguarding the long term future of this charming breed.”

The official opening of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Discovery Centre as well as the unveiling of the statue will take place on June 4, 2017 - the 175th birthday of Old Ginger.

The event will be the culmination of a three day international gathering of over 150 breed enthusiasts from 11 different nations at The Haining.