Border Collie in Bronze

Text and illustrations by Ria Hörter

“They are frozen in time and sometimes deceptively real. Perpetuated in stone or bronze, looking over water, streets, parks or squares, dog statues can be found all over the world.”

“RUSWARP” (pronounced Russup)
Border Collie (1976-’90) by Joel “Jo” Walker

Charming Places

In the north of England, Northern Rail trains connect the towns of Settle and Carlisle. One of the stations on the route is Garsdale Head, a hamlet in southeast Cumbria, within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. There are 18 working farms in the Garsdale Valley. Because of the elevation and high annual rainfall (up to 100 inches), only hay and silage can be grown, so all the farms raise stock.

On the southbound platform of Garsdale’s train station is a life-size bronze statue of a Border Collie named Ruswarp (pronounced Russup).

The Story
Behind Ruswarp

In the 1980s, Graham Nuttall, a quiet 41-year-old from Burnley, Lancashire, became a co-founder and first secretary of The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line (FoSCL), a movement protesting the threatened termination of the train line between Settle and Carlisle. Both Nuttall and Ruswarp, who regularly rode the route, signed a petition against cancellation of the 73-mile line. Man and dog were inseparable and traveled frequently together by train to Garsdale, their base for long daily walks in the Lake District mountains and hills.

The protests were successful. In 1989, the plan to close the line was dropped.

In January 1990, Nuttall and Ruswarp travelled on a return ticket from their hometown of Burnley, to Llandrindod Wells in Wales, where he planned to walk in the Welsh mountains. Neither returned from the mountains.

Intelligence and Courage

Nuttall’s neighbors notified the police, and rescue teams searched the Elan Valley, but without success, despite a great deal of attention in the press, and posters distributed in the region. On April 7, 1990, David Clarke, a hiker and mountaineer, found Nuttall’s body by a
mountain stream. Next to him sat 14-year-old Ruswarp. The dog who had guarded his master’s body for 11 cold winter weeks was so weak he had to be carried from the hills. He was cared for by a local veterinarian whose bill was paid by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The RSPCA also awarded Ruswarp the Animal Medallion and Collar for Vigilance, and the Animal Plaque for Intelligence and Courage.

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=116167

Posted by Alex on Dec 4 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.