The Canadian Cardigan Corgi Club is deeply saddened to announce the passing, on September 14, of Dr. Charles D. MacInnes, known to the Cardigan world as Charlie. He didn’t just ‘have Cardigans’: for decades he was the focal point for the breed and its development in this country. Cardis were a family legacy from his aunt and uncle who imported dogs from Wales to work cattle on their Alberta ranch. But it was Charlie who put these wonderful dogs on the map in the show ring, culminating in the first Canadian Best in Show win with Can/Am Ch Finnshavn’s Alexander Selkirk, in 1989. And it was Charlie who was the driving force behind the formation of the CCCC in 1979, at his kitchen table. He served this Club ably in many positions over the years, as vice-president, newsletter editor, and specialty show chair, among others our first National in 1987 and the Millennium Specialty in Cardigan, PEI, in 2000.
Perhaps even more importantly, Charlie provided boundless support and encouragement to newcomers to the breed. Nearly every Cardigan breeder in Canada over the past forty years or more got their start with a Finnshavn dog, or soon included dogs of Charlie’s breeding in their lines. And he certainly made countless people happy, with the puppies that they acquired from him. We all owe him a great debt.
Everybody who knew Charlie has a ‘Charlie story’, if not three or four. Please share them with us.
I am certain that his welcome at the Rainbow Bridge was tumultuous. I hope he was wearing the kilt!

Charlie with a young Selkirk.