Happy National Welsh Corgi Day - Meet Hammy and Olivia!

We’re conditioned to root for heroes. They keep us safe, protect our community, and lend a hand to social justice by giving a voice to the voiceless. Some heroes are armed with superpowers, while others hide their capes. Communities rely on heroes in a time of need and applaud them for accomplishing tasks that are otherwise unattainable to most.

The dog world has its fair share of heroes, too. German shepherds are racking up accolades for their local law enforcement precincts while golden retrievers everywhere are being trained to remind their humans to take medicine at certain times and perform the Heimlich maneuver in the event their owner starts to choke. We love heroes… and this post isn’t about them.

Because every hero or betting favorite needs an underdog, and there is no dog more likely to get picked last in kickball than a corgi. However, what they lack in canine evolutionary advancements, they make up for in grit and determination. They aren’t blessed with the longest legs (you’ll question where the shin starts) or the fluffiest tails (they don’t have one), but today is National Corgi Day, so my job as a proud owner of two of these tripping hazards is to convince you why you should leave these poor pups alone on this universally recognized holiday and let them have their fun. You can absolutely continue with the ridicule again starting tomorrow (along with the other 364 days each year).

They look like loaves of bread with stumps for legs, and it’s not their fault. They didn’t ask for carbohydrate comparisons, so you can stop pointing at them and laughing at the dog park, Debra. They don’t need your public mockery. Now, if you have a gluten allergy you can kindly move on to the next paragraph…otherwise, hey there, starch lovers. Just like your bakery aisle’s bread varieties, corgis are no different. White? Whole wheat?

We have Pembrokes and Cardigans with the latter having a boastful tail. Within each of those sub-breeds comes their own versions of coat colors. Can’t pick just one? That’s fine. We’ll mesh three of them together and call it a “tri-color” (like our 8-year-old Pembroke, Olivia). In our home, she’s the sassy authority figure with designer taste and a calendar filled with drama. Imagine the canine version of Cher Horowitz from Clueless, and you have Olivia. Bone chewing? As if. The red corgi coat can vary in intensity, so most would confuse it for a “tan” or “beige”, however, Hamilton (“Hammy”) lets his red, freak flag fly. He’s our 6-year-old Pembroke with joie de vivre unlike any other.

Fi tells us he sleeps 16 hours a day with his little stumpers motoring during the other 8 hours. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed when you compare him to Olivia, but his energy and joyful aura can fill an arena. Side by side, these loaves look like they were put on separate toaster settings with Hammy at a level 2 and Olivia at a 9, but even the “burnt” coats are just as soft and snuggly.

Every dog serves a purpose… even the butt of every dog world joke. Corgis were bred by farmers in Wales as universal barnyard animals to help herd sheep and other livestock. For this reason, the breed’s tails are docked so that they won’t trip on them in the open field. They’re super athletic, which you may not assume at first glance, but their little legs and overall anatomy requires a lot of leg-work (badum tss) in order to keep those large torsos in shape.

Corgis put on weight at an alarming rate if not properly monitored, so ensuring that they get their daily steps in helps me keep those tummies lean, preventing them from dragging on the ground. Now, like any short friend, they need to walk at a livelier pace to keep up with a Doberman or Labrador, so we like to think that not all steps are created equal (ahem, Fi?), but keeping tabs on how these little potatoes rank within their breed tends to even the playing field nicely for us (and keeps corgi feelings from getting hurt).

The other side of the wellness coin is their diet. They’re incredibly food motivated, but unhealthy snacks have a habit of sticking to their waste lines like the pint of Ben & Jerry’s I ate last night… Marley & Me pairs best with Cherry Garcia. Don’t ask me why… it just does… but that’s beside the point. What you feed your dog matters and while we’re all for allowing your furry best friend to polish off your dinner plate, we just want it to be with food that helps fuel their active lifestyle and power those daily step goals.

Hammy and Olivia wrote “Barkcuterie”, a dog-friendly charcuterie board book with over 180 pages of recipes for your dog. Now, I know what you’re thinking: they don’t have thumbs, so how can they write a book? Newsflash, Linda, your dog doesn’t either, but when you’re the dogs that are too short to ride the good rides at the amusement park while all your friends have the times of their lives, you have a lot of time on your paws to make sure kitchen creations don’t suck…and that’s what these two did. If you’re so inclined to preorder their cookbook, it might give these two a reason to laugh back at the Pit Bulls at the dog park after a little confidence boost. Supporting a corgi on National Corgi Day? We think that sounds like a good deed that your kitchen will thank you for.

Now, having short legs doesn’t mean that they should have a short vocabulary. When they aren’t achieving culinary feats, they’re entertaining 10 million people on social media. So, while you may not have anything to do on a day dedicated to dog world’s lovable losers, we think it can’t hurt to smile (even if it’s at us and not with us).… so maybe come see why I (and millions of others) love corgis. If you cross paths with a corgi today, maybe give the bread loaf a pet. I mean, after all, they do reside at Buckingham Palace, and your poodle can’t claim that, Kevin.

So, stop bothering Corgis and let them get their steps in. Happy National Corgi Day!