Clansmen to Attend Unveiling of Golden Retriever Statue August 10th

  Andrew Marjoribanks of That Ilk, Chief of the Marjoribanks Clan, was among the speakers at the August 10th unveiling of the life-size bronze Golden Retriever statue on historic Guisachan land in Tomich, Inverness-shire. He is a resident of Greenock, Scotland. Lord Tweedmouth, founder of the Golden Retriever breed, was Dudley Marjoribanks before his elevation to the peerage in 1881. His historic kennel records at his Guisachan Estate trace the origin of the Golden to 1868.

Other speakers  included Donald Fraser of Tomich, author of Guisachan: A History and a member of the Frazer Clan which first owned the surrounding land in the 14th century, Doreen McGugan, Chairperson of the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland, a resident of  Culzean  Ayrshire, and a member of the Friends of Guisachan Advisory Board. The final speaker was Joy Viola, of Wayland, Massachusetts, USA, President of the Friends of Guisachan, a non-profit organization established to honor the ancestral home of the Golden Retriever. Ceremonies commenced at 11:00 a.m..

A piper lead a parade of Golden Retrievers through Tomich Village to the Lord and Lady Tweedmouth memorial where the procession then turned and marched to the site of the new statue for the unveiling. The statue was modeled after UK Ch. Michael of Moreton (1925-1934) who won many titles and sired many champions.  As a sire and as a show dog, Michael had a major influence on the breed both in the UK and the US and there is scarcely a dog who doesn’t have Michael in his distant pedigree. The statue has been created by Escar UK Bronze of Crowfield, Suffolk, England. The plinth, upon which the statue rests, was created by Laing Traditional Masonry of Stirling in collaboration with Caledonian Building Surveyors of Inverness.

The statue and plinth were made possible by donations from individual Golden Retriever owners and clubs and Golden rescue organizations in Scotland, England, Australia, Tasmania, Canada, Ireland and the United States. Fund raising is continuing in order to sponsor educational endeavors during the next four years culminating with the 150th anniversary of the Golden Retriever in 2018.

A bring-your-own picnic followed in the Tomich Hotel Garden with Orange drink and Scottish shortbread provided by Jackie and Bernard Gill, hotel proprietors and members of the Friends of Guisachan Advisory Board. The Golden Retriever Club of Scotland sponsored a Match in the afternoon.