Moray resident’s Kerry Blue Terrier becomes first dog to scale all of Scotland’s summits as well as highest peaks in Ireland, England and Wales

A dog has become the first to complete all of Scotland's summits and the highest peaks in England, Ireland and Wales - over 1,000 climbs, writes Elizabeth Hunter.

Betty has a 'full house' of all six major hill categories in Scotland - including 282 Munros, 227 Munro Tops, 222 Corbetts, 231 Grahams and 140 Donalds.

The nine-year-old Kerry Blue Terrier has also reached the summits of 22 Furths - the highest peaks in England, Wales and Ireland.

Less than 100 people have accomplished the feat.

Alongside her owner Shona Marshall the pair have now completed their final mountain summit – the 2,818ft tall Morrone, near Braemar, in the Highlands.

Shona, 60, has always been a keen hill-walker, adopted Betty during the COVID lockdowns, and a year later, the pair had climbed every Munro - a feat which takes on average 15 years to complete.

"I got Betty when she was around 16 months old," said Shona, who lives in Moray.

"We started just as we came out of lockdown, on 14 April 2021.

"One of my neighbours only had 30 Munros left to complete, so we decided to go out with him and help him finish.

"In the end, he did over 100 Munros of our round, and we completed them all a year after we started."

Keen to keep climbing, Shona then decided to add the Munro Tops to her list - a selection of smaller peaks under 3,000ft.

Shortly after came the Donalds, mountains in the Scottish Borders that are over 2,000ft high - which Shona says gave her a deeper appreciation of that area of the country.

"I was keen to do the Munro tops - which I should've done at the same time as we did the Munros!" she said.

"I certainly recommend that anybody does those, because you really do see much more of the mountain.

"Once we'd done those, we turned our attention to the Donalds in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway.

"They're maybe not the most exciting of hills, but they're great dog walks, and we really got to see a part of Scotland that you just whizz by on the A1 or M74."

After joining the Munro Society, Shona was informed that no dog had ever completed a Full House - and fewer than 100 people have ticked off every hill on the list.

Shona decided to take on the challenge, aiming to climb each peak before Betty turns 10 years old in June - and since then, the pair have averaged around four hills per week.

"It was mentioned to me that no dogs had done the full house - and I only realised at the end of last year that fewer than 100 people have done a full house," Shona said.

"The initial aim was to complete by June - by Betty's tenth birthday, because you just don't know how long you're going to have your dog around and how long they're going to be capable of walking up hills.

"When I got pushed for a completion date last summer, I thought that if we pull our finger out, we could complete within four years, so that's why the 12 April was picked.

"We had to do on average four hills a week - which was quite a challenge for the Corbetts and Grahams, because a lot of them are quite isolated hills compared to the Munros."

Their journey has taken them to every corner of Scotland - from the Highlands and Islands to the Scottish Borders - and Shona says Betty has taken it all in her stride.

Her safety is paramount to Shona, who uses a lead wherever possible to ensure Betty doesn't get hurt attempting to chase prey.

During their time in the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye, Betty even sat comfortably in a rucksack while Shona rock climbed and abseiled to reach the peaks.

"Because she is so prey-driven, she's always on a lead in the hills," said Shona.

"She would chase animals and birds otherwise - and if you're up on a ridge, you can't have her trying to chase a ptarmigan that's flown over the edge.

"She's very good on the lead - she doesn't pull at all.

"The only time I let her off is if we're on steep terrain where it's safer for us to go down individually, or the occasional river crossing for the same reason.

"She's great at using her nose and finding wee paths that have been made by deer - many of the Grahams and Corbetts don't have paths, because they're not climbed by many people.

"It's really strengthened the bond between us, I think."

Throughout her journey, Shona has been aiming to raise money for the Kerry Blue Rescue, a charity which helps to rehome Kerry Blue Terriers like Betty.

"Kerry Blue Rescue are a very small charity, run by volunteers," said Shona.

"A lot of the Kerrys need rehomed for various reasons - whether their owners are no longer able to look after them because of ill health or age, or some of them have behavioural problems.

"The charity helps people work with trainers to correct these issues or to temporarily foster them.

"It all costs money, and they're entirely funded by donations."

Shona believes that her and Betty's achievement has brought them closer together - and their challenge has also given her a greater appreciation for Scotland, its landscape, and its wildlife.

"One of the really great things about doing the full house is that we've managed to explore so much of both mainland Scotland and several of the islands," said Shona.

"I think, because we live here, we sometimes don't realise just what a wonderful country we have.

"In terms of scenery, different types of hills - some are more rugged, some are more rounded - the vegetation and the wildlife you see when you're out there. We often see golden eagles, ptarmigans and snow bunting.

"She's such a great companion on the hill - I never feel on my own," Shona said.

"I often get asked, particularly as a woman, whether I feel nervous being out there on my own, but I never have, because she's always there.

"Betty is my companion.

"Coming through COVID and living with her, I don't think I realised until I looked back, how important she was to coping with that period of time.

"It's easy to forget what we all went through at that time, and she was certainly a big help in me coping with that."

A link to their fundraiser can be found here: https://gofund.me/a58d77da

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