King Charles gets first new dog in decades – with very cute name
Charles has been given a puppy as a gift and is said to be “besotted” with his new four-legged friend, which is an Italian breed, after not having had a dog in more than 20 years
The King is “besotted” with a new dog he has been given as a surprise gift and he has given him a cute name.
Charles has not had a dog for more than 20 years but he is said to be more than happy with his new four-legged friend and he received as a present a month ago
And he has called the rare lagotto romagnolo, a truffle hunting breed from Italy, Snuff. The dogs were originally duck hunters and come from the Romagne region of northern Italy where they were trained in expansive marshes.
The King and Queen are heading to the Ravenna area of Italy in April but it is not thought that the gift has any connection with this with Palace sources reportedly saying Snuff was a private present. And it comes after Queen Camilla shared that she had adopted a rescue dog called Moley.
“Charles is besotted with his puppy,” the Palace insider told The Sun. “He hasn’t had one since Tigga. The breed is a truffle-hunter. Charles enjoys mushroom foraging, so they have a lot in common.”
The UK Kennel Club says of the breed that lagotto is Italian dialect for “curly coated duck retriever” but with the draining of marshes the dog has been used for hunting truffles more recently.
“The acute scenting powers of the lagotto have been utilised in truffle hunting and this is now his primary use in his native land,” it states. “The breed was recognised by the Italian Kennel Club in 1991 and so he is a relative newcomer to the UK, where he has shown his retrieving skills in gundog working tests.”
Bending down to stroke Fergie the labrador the Queen remarked about how ‘affectionate’ guide dogs are. “I’ve just got a new puppy, she’s eight-weeks old,” she told owner Susan Mason, 66, who is partially-sighted. When Ms Mason asked what breed she is, the Queen laughed and said: “You may well ask, a bit of everything. It’s a rescue dog. It’s called Moley – it looks just like a mole.”
It is understood that Moley was born on Boxing Day and Camilla adopted her from Battersea Dogs and Cats home. Her mother is half Jack Russell, half unknown, while her father’s breed is unknown. Her Majesty was left heartbroken when Beth, a Jack Russell Terrier, died last November.
