Last week's B.A.W. was the Brittany, one of the most popular gundog breeds in the world. This week we'll have a look at its cousin from Normandy, the almost completely unknown, curly-haired "clown of the marsh" named the Pont-Audemer Spaniel.

The 'Ponto' as it is affectionately called, is one of several Épagneul (pointing spaniel) breeds from France. It is named after the small city of Pont-Audemer, in Normandy. The breed was once relatively common in north-western France, but time, fashion and two world wars took their toll. Today, the Ponto is just hanging on with an average of only 30 to 50 pups born per year in the whole world! 

As far as I know there are only 3 Pontos in North America, all of them in Canada. Two live here in Winnipeg and one in Ontario.  In France there are only about half a dozen breeders and because there are so few Pontos around, the breed doesn't have its own club but is part of a club that represents three breeds, the club de l' Épagneul Picard , du Bleu de Picardie et du Pont Audemer.

The preview of the book that I now have on-line includes the entire Ponto chapter. It has a ton of information on the breed and features photos of my wife's dog Uma, Uma's cousin Vinnie and various aunts and uncles from France. You can click on the book below to flip the pages or to enlarge it for easier reading on screen.

Enjoy!

Read more about the breed, and all the other pointing breeds from Continental Europe, in my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals