There are few creatures on earth as pure and comforting than a golden retriever.
From their silky ears to their kind smiles, these dogs take their role as ‘good boys’ extremely seriously.
And so I genuinely cannot imagine the joy I would feel if surrounded by 361 of these gorgeous, golden angels.
Would I pass out with happiness? Would I stroke their fur until my palms wore away? Perhaps it’s best not to find out…
However, this is the dreamy scenario experienced by a big bunch of dog lovers, who assembled at Guisachan House, Tomich, Inverness-shire, to celebrate all things golden.
A total of 361 golden retrievers frolicked and played in the grounds of the stately home, looking delighted to be be among so many of their distinguished friends.
The marvellous-in-every-way event was held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of golden retrievers receiving recognition as a breed, with Members of the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland (GRCS) in attendance.
According to the Friends of Guisachan website:
In 1868, Nous, a Wavy-coated Retriever, and Belle, a Tweed Water Spaniel were bred together by Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, later known as Lord Tweedmouth.
From that breeding he kept two yellow females, Primrose and Cowslip and gave one male, Crocus, to his son, Edward Marjoribanks.
For many decades it was thought that there was a fourth puppy, Ada, but that was subsequently determined to be erroneous.
Ada was from a second mating of Nous and Belle and was given to Lord Tweedmouth’s nephew, the 5th Lord Ilchester, beginning the famous Ilchester line of retrievers. Thus it was the offspring of Nous and Belle that became the foundation of the breed subsequently known as, and now universally loved as, the Golden Retriever.
UNILAD spoke with Ashleigh Craigmile, proud owner of the beautiful Chewbacca.
Ashleigh explained:
The meet up was for the 150th anniversary of the first litter born of goldens!
They were first bred in Scotland by crossing a wavy haired retriever with a golden spaniel by Lord Tweedmouth from Guisachan estate!
She added:
It was such a wonderful day with people travelling from all over the world! New Zealand, America etc!
Ashleigh and Chewy were joined by their best pupper pal, Buddy, who made sure to Instagram some truly paw-fect clips of the day.
Each dog looked like the regal Lord or Lady of the kennel they truly are, appearing quite content as they returned to their ancestral seat.
Those who attended the event appeared to have enjoyed a truly magical experience, with the green Scottish fields gleaming gold with an ocean of the iconic dogs.
One excited person tweeted:
New world record of number of golden retrievers in the same place at once!! 361!!! We were there!!!! Woohoo.
And The One Show have been filming all day at The Guisachan Golden Gathering …. an exciting day with Richard Cleaver — feeling excited.
Another described the scene as being ‘what heaven looks like’.
Is it just me or would anyone else enjoy this sort of weekend way more than a festival?
You can follow the adventures of Chewbacca the golden retriever on his woof-ly Instagram.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.