Known for their short, stubby legs, smiling faces and their intelligence, Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite dog breed is the Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
The popularity of the dog has increased over the past few years with the American Kennel Club reporting the breed broke into the top ten most popular breeds for the first time ever on May 1, 2020.
In Augusta, there’s an active group of corgi owners who meet on most weekends and sometimes in the middle of the week at area dog parks.
Amanda and Jim Duffy have two corgis – Petunia Blossom, 4, and Gemma Ellyn, 2, otherwise known as P.B. and Jelly.
“We are originally from New Jersey,” said Duffy who was looking for people with common interests. “This started out as a page on Facebook.”
Not knowing other corgi owners, she did Internet searches for corgis and found a Georgia corgi owners group.
“Most of their events are in Atlanta,” she said. “We drove to one, and it got rained out.”
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Traveling about three hours to north of Atlanta was too much, so she doubled her efforts to make a corgi group in Augusta happen. She created the Augusta Georgia Corgis’ group on Facebook in June 2019. It has 124 members with more than a dozen people regularly attending.
Shelby White and Michael Ratliff attended their first corgi meet-up Jan. 17 at Riverside Dog Park with their fluffy tan and white corgi, Tucker, 5. She said they were looking for a way to socialize their dog with other dogs his size.
“He’s a little dog, but around big dogs, he can’t keep up,” White said.
Tucker is Internet famous. A photo of his tushy has been used in England for greeting cards, but his fame didn’t stop him from having a good time with other corgis. He seemed to be in his stride at the event, running around, chasing and being chased by other corgis.
Matt and Savannah Epps also sought out the group to socialize their pup, Bentley.
“It’s easier for him to play with dogs his size,” said Savannah Epps. “We don’t have to worry about a giant dog stepping on him.”
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Duffy said they are always interested in having more corgi owners participate in their events. Usually, the activities are simple – a meet-up at one of the parks. There are several in the area including Riverside Dog Park in Columbia County, Pendleton King Park and the North Augusta Bark Park. But they’ve also had themed events such a birthday “pawties,” a corgi Halloween costume contest and a corgi Olympics.
Besides being a good way to allow their pets to socialize, corgi owners find the events good ways to learn more about the breed. Owners talk about issues like shedding and barking and teething.
Corgis are vocal, and they do shed a lot, according to an AKC video on the breed. And they love to chew, Duffy said.
And then there’s the herding aspect of the breed. They were mainly used to herd cattle and sheep. That trait is still in them, she said.
“They do herd my hubby and I, but it’s comical because P.B. has to lead the way and Jelly has to follow us around the house,” she said.
Not only have Duffy’s corgis made friends, but she said she has as well.
To learn more, find the Facebook group @augustagacorgis.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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