Wheaten Terrier enthusiast brings international recognition to rare breed

A woman from Mapleton Township has been raising a special kind of terrier for more than 30 years. CTV’s Karis Mapp reports.

A dog-breeder from Mapletown Township is sharing her love for Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers with the world by raising awareness about the uncommon animal.

Lorene Jones, who lives south of Arthur, first discovered the Irish farm dogs when she came across a breeder walking with one.

“Time went on and our poodle had passed away. So, I called the breeder and she didn’t have any puppies available,” said Jones.

Instead, the breeder offered Jones the female dog she was using for breeding. A deal was made that the dog would live with Jones and brought back when it was time to breed.

“Turns out we love having puppies so we continued,” Jones explained. “After that lady passed away, we continued breeding the dogs.”

It has been 35 years and Jones said she’s only fallen more in love with the animals.

“They don’t shed, which is really a bonus with dogs. But then, when you get into their personalities, they’re super smart,” she said.

Her dogs have been showing their intelligence by competing in various shows, including agility and hunting competitions.

Jones’ dog Xena even took her abilities overseas to Birmingham for an invite-only event, after qualifying at a show in Toronto.

“We had a judge from the U.K. judging that show. Xena won Best of Breed, so that got her the invitation to go and show at Crufts, which is the world’s largest dog show,” Jones recalled.

“We had 77 Wheaten entries to go against.”

One of the competitors was Magnus, owned by Jane Charleton from Plymouth.

“I was there with my two Wheatens and [Jones] came and wanted to say hello. She announced that she was a visitor and we just absolutely hit it off,” Charleton said.

While the pair can agree that there’s something special about the Wheatens, they worry that people in the future won’t be able to own one due to a lack of awareness.

“They’re on the vulnerable breed list in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Part of it is that people don’t know that this breed exists,” Jones said.

Charleton adds that while breeds like retrievers may have thousands of puppies born a year, an animal like the Wheaten Terrier has far fewer.

“The demand for puppies has really dropped right off and as a result, some of these lovely, lovely breeds are in danger of disappearing,” said Charleton.

That’s why Jones continues to run Diamondjewel Kennel and breeds two litters a year, yielding roughly 14 pups.

“There is such a joy because I’ve raised them from birth, and their mom and their grandma and so on,” Jones said. “They are like family.”