The beginning of the modern West Highland White Terrier breed is attributed to Colonel Malcolm of Poltalloch, Scotland in Argyllshire in the late 1800s. The story has it that the Colonel was hunting with his pack of cairn terriers when he thought he saw a rabbit running through the underbrush and shot it, only to find that he had shot his favorite Cairn. From that day on, he determined only to breed white dogs, because they were easy to see. At the same time, the Campbell of Rosneath began to breed white dogs which he called “Roseneath” terriers. Later, the “Poltalloch” and “Roseneath” terriers were combined into the West Highland White Terrier, a name coined by Colonel Malcolm of Poltalloch Estates, which remains an extremely popular breed today.