(From The Iceland Dog 874 - 1956, Mark Watson )
Kari was a black and white pied dog given to E. J. Oswald at Bessastadir by Dr. Grimur Thomsen, the famous Icelandic poet. He wrote "By Fell and Fjord" in 1882, published in London.
From page 219: -
"He (Kari) was pure white, with the exception of his black cheeks and nose and pricked black ears, which stood up like two sharp points of rock out of a snow-drift. Indeed in snow he became almost invisible. A sweeter nature than Kari never ran on four legs: Nothing would make him bite or fight; he was friends with the whole world - except, indeed, pigs and donkeys. There are none in Iceland and he looked on them with the utmost disgust, and could scarcely be induced to pass them. I never knew a dog who understood language so well, or who tried so hard to talk. All these attempts were not always very agreeable, and as he shrieked with delight at the prospect of a game of ball, or a walk into town, etc., there were many words that we tried conceal by spelling them; but in two or three days Kari would learn the alias of anything that concerned him, and excite himself as before. Of course he learned plenty of tricks, such as picking pockets at a sign with the utmost delicacy, returning the property afterwards with apologetic grace: he was, in short, the blithest and kindest of companions, evidently inheriting the qualities of many generations with intense human fellowship."
"There are long-haired and short-haired varieties, but even the latter have fine thick coats. They are mostly black or white, or fawn, in colour: they are very fleet and hardy, and most companionable creatures."
Like Kari, my Kata often sneaks napkins off the laps of dinner guests without their knowing it.
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