Bascottie

The Bascottie is a hybrid mix of the Basset Hound and the Scottish Terrier. The hybrid is a modern breed and does not have a history outside of its parent breeds. Most of the character and physical traits mirror the Scottish Terrier, whose roots extend far back in history. The ancestor of the Scottish Terrier, the long extinct Scotch Terrier, was first described in 55 BC by the Romans, identifying the small dogs as agile hunters who went to the ground after their quarry. The Romans named these dogs Terrarii, which is Latin for workers of the earth. Over several centuries, the Terrier group lived and thrived as earth dogs in Scotland and England, making their way to France and parts of Germany as well. By the 1800s, the Scottish Terrier was firmly established as a wire-haired small Terrier of the Skye group, which differed from the smooth coated Terriers of England. The Basset Hound hails from France and was most likely a short-legged mutation of the St. Hubert Hound known today as the Bloodhound. Purposefully bred as curiosities for aristocrats, after the French Revolution the common people discovered they could follow the Basset Hound on foot during a hunt. This fact gave these gentle, sad-looking creatures a position among the hunting companion breeds. Today, the Bascottie resembles the Scottish Terrier more than the Basset Hound, but you cannot mistake the sturdy short legs of this hybrid; they are quintessential Basset Hound legs.