SEACOAST PETS

What do you call 20 corgis barking? A stump speech. Okay, what do you call 20 corgis running on a beach? Bystanders called it hilarious, and almost painfully cute. We were on hand for this rare moment in Hampton history. 

Pembrokes and Cardigans Romp

Our dog gets email. This week the message alerted all corgis in the Seacoast region to meet-up at Hanpton Beach. Our dog marked the calendar and, an hour before the 6 PM gathering, he began to whine.

We’ve not had much luck in the past. Our first meet-up in Kingston was a frigid winter day. Six corgis showed, but not all at the same time. A spring gathering in Portsmouth was small, but the event was beyond photography – fast moving brown dogs against brown grass on a gray day. The next event lasted five minutes before a cloudburst scattered the cardigans and pembrokes.

We thought this time might be a washout too. The Interstate highway was blocked up for miles and traffic crawled on Route 1. But all the dogs were equally late and, when we arrived, a dozen stubby-legged tailless corgis were scampering near the low-tide mark. Corgis love corgis. They assign a leader and run back and forth as if they are herding the sheep they were bred to command. But they are all but impossible to photograph when the party begins.

More corgis arrived. Beach tourists marveled at the "accidental" meeting of so many dogs of the same breed. Cameras clicked. Here’s how it looked. – JDR

All photos by J. Dennis Robinson (c) SeacoastNH.com