Little Foxes & Corgi Magic

Red Fox

Phoebe, our own little fox

The "fairy saddle" on Phoebe's back

More photos of the fox I photographed at Phoebe's (our Pembroke Welsh Corgi) breeder's field. Love the way her tongue is licking out, looks more narrow than you would think. People who breed Pembroke Welsh Corgis have a thing for foxes. Maybe because it's that Corgis and foxes look alike. Or maybe it has to do with the legend of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, which has been passed down through the ages and which most Corgi owners know.

The legend has it that long ago "two young children out tending the family's cattle on the king's land found a pair of puppies which they thought were little foxes. When the children took the puppies home, they were told by the menfolk that the little dogs were a gift from the fairies. The "wee folk" of Welsh legend used the small dogs either to pull their carriages or as fairy steeds. As the fox-like puppies grew, they learned to help their human companions watch over the cattle, a task which was to be the duty of their Corgi descendants for many centuries to come. Should anyone doubt the truth of the legend, the present-day Welsh Corgi still bears the mark over his shoulders of the little saddle used by his fairy riders".

You can see that our Corgi, Phoebe has a prominent fairy saddle mark on her back. The fairies must ride her a lot (maybe at night, while we're asleep). If you are a Pembroke Welsh Corgi owner, look for the magical fairy saddle mark on your Corgi.