Dog owner claims his corgis are related to the late Queen’s last litter and walks them in Windsor

A dog owner who described two of his pet corgis as “cousins” to the late monarch’s famous hounds after claiming one of his dogs bred with a stud from the same litter, has said caring for his corgis has given him an insight into the Queen’s character.

Sam Cader, 42, from Windsor, and his partner, Paul, 49, were looking to find a suitable partner for their pet corgi, Jam, to breed with in 2020, and contacted the late Kevin Dover, who was one of the UK’s top corgi breeders and exhibitors.

Sam, who runs a care home in Ruislip, said Jam was matched with the brother of an award-winning stud called Pemcader Thunderball which had been selected by the palace for the Queen’s last litter of corgis.

He remembers going on a dog walk to Windsor Castle the day the Queen died and said: “It affected me more than I thought because she was all I had ever known, whether it was the very first stamp I held or the very first banknote, it always had her name on it, so she was a constant.”

Sam, who has four dogs, a pet Labrador named Marmalade and three corgis, Jam, Honey and Snowdon, which he calls his “girls”, hopes to keep his dogs’ royal lineage alive and is planning on expanding his canine family in the near future.

His “girls” have become popular in Windsor where they are regularly invited to attend public events as well as on social media where they have amassed more than 12,000 followers.

“I feel like I understand the Queen a little bit more,” Sam told PA Real Life.

“So, I think that I get a bit of understanding about her as a person.

“You are really all in with these dogs, you are either all-in or they are not your cup of tea at all.

“I feel like by having three of them, I get an insight into her character.”

Sam always wanted a dog growing up but his mother always refused, claiming she was allergic to fur, which he later discovered was not true and had been a ruse to avoid getting one.

“I’ve barely forgiven her,” he joked.

When Sam’s partner suddenly passed away in 2012, he decided it was time to welcome a furry friend into his life.

“There was one particular weekend where I didn’t actually speak to anyone and I remember going to work on the Monday thinking, I don’t particularly like this,” he said.

He visited a local breeder in Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and returned home with a nine-week-old blonde Labrador a few hours later.

His late partner had suggested if they were to have a dog it should be called Marmalade, thinking it would be a fun name to call out in the park, so Sam decided to honour his wish.

“That’s what started my journey really, and it’s been a marvellous adventure,” he said.

Sam met his current partner, Paul, in 2014 and it was he who suggested expanding their furry family but with a “slightly smaller and more manageable” breed.

“That’s when we started on our corgi journey,” said Sam.

In late 2017, the couple visited a breeder in Tregaron, Wales, who uses corgis to heard cattle, and purchased one of the pups which, in keeping with the condiments theme, they decided to name Jam.

That was only the beginning and a few years later they decided to find Jam a suitable breeding partner.

After researching online, they stumbled upon Kevin Dover, one of the UK’s top corgi exhibitors and breeders, and approached him to find Jam a suitor.

Sam said they were originally hoping for her to breed with an award-winning corgi named Pemcader Thunderball.

“He politely declined and offered us his brother, and the reason why, was because this particular corgi had been the stud that the late Queen had used for her last litter,” said Sam.

“So, I do informally say that they are cousins because that is the lineage.

“I think also living in Windsor, it’s even more ironic.”

Jam gave birth to five female pups in November 2020, and Sam decided to keep two of them, Honey and Snowdon.

“We have a condiment theme but Snowdon actually broke the mould, because she was the most difficult to be born,” said Sam.

Snowdon was born breech, meaning backside first, and for a minute Sam was not sure she would survive.

“She took a long time to come out,” he said.

“She was unresponsive and needed a lot of massaging, warming up and blowing into her mouth, and she was the biggest puppy – she was enormous.

“I think the other pups were around 160g (grams) and she was around 380g.

“And so the biggest mountain in Wales is Snowdon and that’s why we broke the mould, we just wanted to make her feel a bit more special.”

He also pointed out that there is still a royal link, as the late Princess Margaret was the Countess of Snowdon.

Sam said he often gets stopped while out walking his dogs around Windsor as they tend to stick close together, in a tight pack.

“When they walk together, they are all synchronised,” he added.

“It’s really peculiar how they are like a little girl group or girl gang.”

Passers-by often comment how they resemble the Queen’s corgis without knowing they are, in fact, related.

“Everyone says, ‘Oh look, the Queen’s corgis’,” said Sam.

“Because when we’re walking around Windsor it’s inevitable that you have that sort of comment.

“I have stock lines, like ‘Oh don’t tell anyone’, or ‘someone left the back gate open’.

“When I say to people, they are actually related, they don’t quite know what to say and are taken aback.”

Sam has created an Corgis of Eton Instagram page for his trio which has over 12,000 followers.

His beloved “girls” are often called upon for local events like shop openings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

“They are quite well known,” he said.

“When we go out and about they are a breed of dog which incites people to smile and ask questions.

“It breaks down this barrier very quickly where people just come over and want to talk to you or just say hello.”

Last year, Sam attended a Christmas party hosted by Ancestry, the world’s largest genealogy website, where he discovered the company had launched a Know Your Pet DNA test.

Having always wondered about his pet Labrador’s heritage, he did one of the tests which confirmed Marmalade was 100% Labrador before the others followed in her paw steps.

The test also reveals genetic traits which shape the dog’s physical appearance and behaviour.

“The physical traits were quite simple for me to verify, like for example Honey doesn’t have a tail, because she’s a bob-tail corgi, so she has a little ruffle, a bit like a rabbit,” said Sam.

“But Jam, her mum has a very long, fluted, sort of feather duster of a tail.”

In terms of behavioural traits, Sam could see whether his dogs had a genetic predisposition to being fearful of going to the vet or showing aggression when meeting new dogs.

The most surprising finding was that his corgis did not like being left alone.

“I’ve always known them to be pretty calm, being left alone,” he said.

“But, in actual fact, it’s because they are with Marmalade or with each other.

“I’m now very mindful that I need to leave something with them, whether it’s the television on or a bone to chew on.”

Going forward, Sam hopes to continue breeding with Honey and is looking to get into the “showing world”.

“It’s been brilliant, because they have reminded us to be joyful and start the day off with a greater amount of enthusiasm, and every day is a new fresh adventure,” he said.

“It’s been marvellous.”