Tiny the Wonder was an English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) famous in the City of London in the mid-19th century for being able to kill 200 rats in an hour in the city's rat-baiting pits. [2] [3] At the time, the world record for killing 100 rats was 5 minutes, 30 seconds, held by a bull and terrier named Billy. [4]
Tiny's pedigree was by Old Dick out of Old Nell, [5] and in 1848 or 1849 he weighed five and a half pounds and was owned by Jemmy Shaw, the innkeeper of the Blue Anchor Tavern (now the Artillery Arms) in Bunhill Row in the City of London. [2] Shaw brought in rats from Essex for the rat pits under the pub, as they were healthier than London sewer rats, and kept as many as 2,000 rats there. [2] [6] Tiny was so small that he wore a woman's bracelet instead of a collar. [2] He once held the rat killing record, with 300 dead in just under 55 minutes. [7]
Tiny appears in a c. 1850–1852 oil painting, Rat-Catching at the Blue Anchor Tavern, Bunhill Row, Finsbury, where he is depicted trying to kill 200 rats in an hour. Tiny succeeded twice, on 28 March 1848 and 27 March 1849, "having on both occasions time to spare". [6]
During the 1840s rat-baiting reached its climax in popularity in London. Jemmy Shaw invented the no-touch rule, meaning neither the rat nor the dog could be removed from the pit before completion of the match. [9]
Tiny has been described as being an example of a dog close to today's English Toy Terrier. The breed was developed to produce a more evenly matched contest between the dog and the rats. [10] The breed's narrow head and lack of pronounced zygomatic arches allowed it to kill a rat with one bite and not waste any time chewing. [10] The dog's spotting pattern, especially the tan spots on its face brighter than its black eyes, could confuse the rats and also protect the dog's eyes from being bitten. [10]
Tiny's life is one of those being celebrated from 5 April 2019 in an exhibition titled, "Beasts of London" at the Museum of London. [2]
Terrier is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. There are five different groups of terrier, with each group having different shapes and sizes.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also called the Staffy or Stafford, is a purebred dog of small to medium size in the terrier group that originated in the northern parts of Birmingham and in the Black Country of Staffordshire, for which it is named. They descended from 19th-century bull terriers that were developed by crossing bulldogs with various terriers to create a generic type of dog generally known as bull and terriers. Staffords share the same ancestry with the modern Bull Terrier, although the two breeds developed along independent lines, and do not resemble each other. Modern Staffords more closely resemble the old type of bull terrier, and were first recognised as a purebred dog breed by The Kennel Club of Great Britain in 1935.
Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, often to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in barns or outdoor pits; in urban areas, fights are often staged in garages, basements, warehouses, alleyways, abandoned buildings, neighborhood playgrounds, or in the streets. Dog fights usually last until one dog is declared a winner, which occurs when one dog fails to scratch, dies, or jumps out of the pit. Sometimes dog fights end without declaring a winner; for instance, the dog's owner may call the fight.
The Yorkshire Terrier, also known as a Yorkie, is a British breed of toy dog of terrier type. It is among the smallest of the terriers and indeed of all dog breeds, with a weight of no more than 3.2 kg (7 lb). It originated in the nineteenth century in the English county of Yorkshire, after which it is named. The coat is tan on the head and dark steel-grey on the body; no other colour is accepted by either The Kennel Club or the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
Jack Black was a rat-catcher and mole destroyer from Battersea, England during the middle of the 19th century. At the time, England was ravaged by a massive population of rats that disrupted crops and spread disease, and Black's rat killing abilities made him a minor celebrity and Queen Victoria's official rat-catcher. Though he has been called the rat's "most notorious enemy," he did not kill all rats. Black bred unusually colored rats and sold them as pets, playing a large role in domesticating the animal. He had a flamboyant appearance, typically donning a self-made "uniform" of a green topcoat, scarlet waistcoat, and breeches, with a huge leather sash inset with cast-iron rats.
The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. They share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now recognized by the United (UKC) and American Kennel Clubs (AKC) and are considered a rare breed. Rat Terriers are an intelligent and active breed that can be kept both for pest control and as a family pet.
The English Toy Terrier is a small breed of terrier in the toy dog group.
The Miniature Fox Terrier is a small, fine, lightweight working terrier developed as a hunting dog and vermin router. It is known colloquially in its native Australia as the “Mini Foxie”.
The Toy Manchester Terrier is a breed of dog, categorized as a terrier. The breed was bred down in size in North America from the Manchester Terrier, and is placed in the Toy Group by the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club. Neither the Fédération Cynologique Internationale nor The Kennel Club recognize a Toy variety of the Manchester Terrier.
A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent damage to food supplies. In modern developed countries, such a professional is otherwise known as a pest control operative or pest exterminator.
The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is a small to medium-sized American hunting terrier. It is lower-set, with shorter legs, and is more muscular with heavier bone density than the related American Rat Terrier. Much diversity exists in the history of the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier breed, and it shares a common early history with the American Rat Terrier, Fox Paulistinha, and Tenterfield Terrier. The Rat Terrier's background is said to stem from the terriers or other dogs that were brought over by early English and other working-class immigrants. Since the breed was a farm, hunting, and utility dog, little to no planned breeding was used other than breeding dogs with agreeable traits to each other to produce the desired work ethic in the dog. The Feist (dog), Bull Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Whippet, Italian Greyhound, the now extinct English White Terrier, Turnspit Dog, and Wry-legged Terrier all share in the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier's ancestry. These early ratting terriers were then most likely bred to the Beagle or Beagle crossbred dogs and other dogs. Maximizing the influences from these various breeds provides the modern Teddy Roosevelt Terrier with a keen sense of awareness and prey drive, an acute sense of smell, and a very high intellect. Although they tend to be aloof with strangers, they are devoted companion dogs with a strong desire to please and be near their owners at all times.
The Manchester Terrier is a breed of dog of the smooth-haired terrier type. It was first bred in the 19th century to control vermin, notably rats, at which it excelled. So efficient at the task was it that it often appeared in rat-baiting pits until that sport, which had effectively been illegal in the UK since 1835, finally died out at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Black and Tan Terrier was a broad breed or type of terrier that was one of the earliest terrier breeds. Although it is now extinct, it is believed to be the ancestor of all modern Fell Terrier breeds and the Welsh Terrier, a breed recognised by The Kennel Club.
Rat-baiting is a blood sport that involves releasing captured rats in an enclosed space with spectators betting on how long a dog, usually a terrier often referred to as a ratter, takes to kill the rats. Often, two dogs competed, with the winner receiving a cash prize. It is now illegal in most countries.
Jemmy Elton Shaw, also known as Jimmy Shaw and James Shaw, was a 19th-century pioneer fancier of the early dog show days, a promoter of dog fighting and rat-baiting contests, a breeder of Old English bulldogs, bull terriers and toy terriers and a contributor in the development of fancy rats.
Bull and terrier was a common name for crossbreeds between bulldogs and terriers in the early 1800s. Other names included half-and-halfs and half-breds. It was a time in history when, for thousands of years, dogs were classified by use or function, unlike the modern pets of today that were bred to be conformation show dogs and family pets. Bull and terrier crosses were originally bred to function as fighting dogs for bull- and bear-baiting, and other popular blood sports during the Victorian era. The sport of bull baiting required a dog with attributes such as tenacity and courage, a wide frame with heavy bone, and a muscular, protruding jaw. By crossing bulldogs with various terriers from Ireland and Great Britain, breeders introduced "gameness and agility" into the hybrid mix.
Bunhill Row is a street located in St Luke's, London Borough of Islington, London. The street runs north–south from Old Street to Chiswell Street. On the east side are the cemetery of Bunhill Fields and the open space of the Honourable Artillery Company's Artillery Ground.
The Paisley Terrier was a breed of terrier-type dog that is now extinct. Originating in Scotland, the Paisley Terrier was bred primarily as a pet and showdog version of the Skye Terrier, and was the progenitor of today's Yorkshire Terrier. The breed was called the Paisley Terrier since most of the dogs came from that location, but it was also called the Clydesdale Terrier, for another location in the Clyde Valley where the dogs were bred.
The Westminster Pit was a well-known blood sport arena in nineteenth-century London, England. It reached a zenith of popularity between 1820 and 1830, and hosted such spectacles as dog-fighting, cock-fighting, bear-baiting, badger-baiting, monkey-baiting, and rat-baiting. A legal enterprise at the time, the Westminster Pit openly declared its activities, ushering notoriety on the district in which it existed.
A ratter is any dog used for catching and killing rats and similar vermin. Specialized rat-catching breeds are found in many countries. A typical ratter is small to medium-sized and has a short and smooth coat, however a wide range of dog breeds and landraces may be used. The use of ratting dogs is widely considered to be the most environmentally friendly, humane and efficient methods of exterminating rodents. Ratting dogs are considered more efficient than domestic cats.