Danbury Darlings Don Dead Dog Duds

March 21, 2008

An English couple has an unusual way of remembering their deceased dogs. They’ve had the canines’ fur spun into yarn and woven into sweaters.

UNITED KINGDOM –- Beth and Brian Willis are dog lovers. They’re also lovers of their dog-hair sweaters, which they say keep them warm and dry during the winter months.

They initially learned about the unusual use of canine fur from breeders.

“We found out from the breeders, we got the pups from, it was possible to use their coat for clothes,” said Mrs. Willis.

The first sweater was made in 1990 from the fur –- which can be spun into a kind of wool -- of Kara, a Russian Samoyed. As Mrs. Willis explained, the dog was still alive at the time.

“It would just fall off the dogs and I would run a wet hand over the carpet and pick it up,” she said.

Kara died 12 years ago, but the “jumper” made from her fur is still going strong.

The Samoyed breed’s coat was desired in Russia, where the dogs were used to keep children warm. Most popular in the northern part of the country, their fur is softer than alpaca.

Another dog owned by the couple, a Swedish Lapphund, named Penny, died in 2002. By then, Mrs. Willis had already begun another sweater with fur she’d collected over the years.

Her 73-year-old husband, a former removals (Eds. Note: moving) firm employee, wears his sweater each weekend when he goes shopping for groceries.

He said he almost always breaks a sweat by the time he gets to the market.

“They are extremely warm and pretty much waterproof. Unless it’s bagging down, it is fine,” he said.

To have the fur spun into wool, the couple sends the material to Malise Mcguire, a 60-year-old who has been spinning dog hair since 1977.

Apparently, the trend is popular among breeders.

“It takes about 30 ounces to make a jumper, but you would need 40 ounces at the start as you lose some in spinning,” Mcguire said.

She said that the Willis’ have had about five pounds, preshrunk and wrapped – to be later knitted by Mrs. Willis.

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