PHOTOS BY JEFFREY LIM
THE QUEEN AND HER CORGIS
One big reason Corgis have achieved global fame is a Royal fan: Queen Elizabeth II.
It all started innocently enough, with a Corgi named Hickathrift Pippa being given to her for her 18th birthday. The royal canine had a change of name, becoming Susan.
The Queen and her Corgi became inseparable, even supposedly being brought along for the Royal Honeymoon! As the Queen really, really loved her companions, a Royal breeding program was set up, and throughout her life, she would have the honor of welcoming to her Royal Family more than 30 Royal Furry Family members.
Queen Elizabeth remains today as probably the one person in modern history who is responsible for the rise of Corgis to darlings of the public eye, not just Dog enthusiasts.
GETTING TO KNOW WINSTAR THE CORGI
Corgis are now a part of the Philippine canine landscape. One of the most recognized Corgi enthusiasts in the community is Ed Ignacio of Hevo Corgi County. We caught up with Mr. Ed for an interview about Corgis, Corgis, and Corgis — and, of course, Winstar, Mr. Ed’s winningest Corgi.
Animal Scene: What made you decide to care for a Corgi?
Ed: Around 2010, I was able to read an article about Queen Elizabeth, and it was there that I saw the Queen’s Corgi. So parang sabi ko, “Interesting kasi she was given a Corgi by her father way back in the 30s yata tapos nagustuhan niya. What made her love this kind of breed, amongst all the breeds?” So, nag-aral ako, and apparently, they’re super malambing.
We started scouting locally kung may mga magagandang breeds na Corgi, but at the time, konti pa lang [sila]. We started in, I think, 2013 or 2014. We got our first Corgi from Taiwan.
Tapos nakakuha kami mula sa Europe and then eventually Korea, where Winstar came from. With Corgis, their life is centered [around] you, yung family nila. Not just one [person], but kung sino nga nasa household. That’s what I love about them.
AS: You mentioned that Winstar is different from other regular Corgis. What’s the difference?
Ed: When it comes to Dog shows, they have standards: Ganito yung weight, ganito yung size, ganito yung taas. Ang pinaka makikita mo sa mga show Dogs, diretso ang top line. Hindi siya naka-sway back or naka-hunch. Tapos, yung ulo, maganda. Markings should be really decent.
AS: What is Winstar’s personality like?
Ed: She’s not the typical female na sobrang maamo, kaya nagustuhan namin siya as a female show Dog, kasi may konting aggression na kailangan — parang may yabang.
Her character is palaban siya. Siya yung nagbe-best of breed.
She’s now a Hall-of-Famer. Ibig sabihin, nag-Philippine champion na siya, nag- grand champion na siya, naka-attain na siya ng 100 points, tapos, international champion, junior champion, multi best, Puppy-champ. Ang dami niyang awards, nakuha niya na lahat.
AS: Does Winstar have any quirks?
Ed: She knows that she’s winning, or that she already won.
FAMOUS CORGIS
Here are some of the famous Corgis — among so many — who are either in the spotlight offline or online, or both.
MOLLY, THE THING OF EVIL
Horror writer Stephen King has a Corgi named Molly, whom the author proudly shows off on his social media. Leave it to Mr. King to come up with a creepy nickname — The Thing of Evil! — for a beloved member not only of his family but of the fan community.
RALPH
Ralph was one of the big “small” Dogs of Instagram, and his profile was not only about how cute he was, but also about the joy of being in a Corgi-loving family. His profile now features Harry, and it’s still a lot of Corgi cuteness.
RUFUS
Leave it to Corgis to penetrate the corporate world in the form of Rufus, the original mascot for Amazon.com. He was family to one of the first engineers, and he attended office meetings and had fun chasing tennis balls in the office. Even though he passed away in 2009, his influence is all over Amazon, from pet-friendly office culture to having a building named after him.
EIN
While Ein technically isn’t real, as he is a character in the anime Cowboy Bebop, he has become the Corgi representative to anime lovers. And given his hyper-intelligence, it’s no wonder that he was rightfully a Corgi.
