Crafty Dog Books

Crafty Dog Books Crafty Dog Books Cymru came about due to the public response to our first digital book on Kindle. People demanded a paper book - so here we are!

Crafty Dog Books Cymru is a part of the Crafty Dog Cymru group. This includes Crafty Dog Designs Cymru, creator of craft and glass artwork and designs; Crafty Dog Preserves, makers of a wide range of increasingly popular jams, marmalades and chutneys, and now Crafty Dog Books. The first book is A Hound in the House by Chris Dignam which is about his adventures with rescued greyhounds. More titles to follow!

I had a lovely lady approach me a few weeks ago to tell me she was reading The Largest Rabbit to her sons (4 and 2).  Th...
17/07/2025

I had a lovely lady approach me a few weeks ago to tell me she was reading The Largest Rabbit to her sons (4 and 2). The eldest was fascinated by the book, full of questions and loving the characters. She even showed me a phone video of her sons being read to. I was so touched that I did have leaky eyeballs! There's nothing like the feeling when someone enjoys what you have spent time and craft pulling together.

Penny the Crafty Dog herself, in her own words - what could be a better holiday read for anyone who loves greayhounds, o...
15/07/2025

Penny the Crafty Dog herself, in her own words - what could be a better holiday read for anyone who loves greayhounds, or indeed dogs in general?

This is a real story of greyhound rescue, about Penny and her journey from abandoned racer to media mega star, with tears and laughter along the way.

Our Penny was a special greyhound, a special soul who felt deeply and loved just as much.  Her story was so popular on F...
18/10/2024

Our Penny was a special greyhound, a special soul who felt deeply and loved just as much. Her story was so popular on FB and so many people followed her adventures (and her daily menu) that we just had to write her memoirs, in her own words. Follow her tale from track to field to sofa and digital stardom! Signed and dedicated copies available. https://www.crafty-dog-cymru.co.uk/product/found-a-penny-uk-postage/

07/06/2024

Latest Spam to our business account - a clever one - purporting to be someone who's placed an order, had a confirmation, and the money went from their account, but not had anything. I have queried what the order number was, and what the item was....bet I don't get a reply! There's been nothing in the webmail, no confirmations sent out, and the person does not exist on FB either.

What is this strange beast that lurks in the great lake beyond the meadow at Crafty Dog Towers?  Or maybe it's just one ...
02/06/2024

What is this strange beast that lurks in the great lake beyond the meadow at Crafty Dog Towers? Or maybe it's just one of Pendle's pranks.
But didn't we lose a few of the ducks recently? Maybe a case for Inspector Gwennie and her sidekick, Dr Ffion?

11/04/2024

After my recent photo of the llama, taken in the hills locally, here is a piece from the "Dictionary of Welsh Biography" about John Rupert Jones, the adventurer and businessman who first brought these South American ungulates to South Wales.
"Jones, John Rupert, (1830 – 1902), Postman, brush salesman, ship owner & entrepreneur, b. at Glais, nr Swansea, 3rd July 1830, son of Dafydd, and Mary Lewis. Father was a jam miner, and mother a quilt-maker. Went to school in Pontardawe, before getting a job as a postman in 1846. In 1849 he m. Glenys Joseph of Landore, and had four children by 1855. To supplement his income, he became a door to door brush seller, but was sacked by the postal service when he combined his letter delivery with the brush sales. When door-knocking around Swansea docks he got Shanghai’d onto a ship taking coal and marmalade between Swansea and Weston Super Mare. He was a popular and successful member of the crew, and was First Mate within 6 months. The crew mutinied off Flat Holm but Jones managed to subdue them, for which the ship's owners made him Captain of the sister ship. He then sailed ships between Swansea, Carmarthen and Haverfordwest, where he began to hear stories about the opportunities for settlers in the jam, chutney and marmalade rich lands of South America. Renting his own ship, he started trading coal and jam with Buenos Aires, which changed to taking Welsh settlers in the early 1860’s. In order to bring back a saleable cargo, Jones set up a trade of coal and emigres to Argentina, bringing back llamas, alpacas and guanacos to use for wool in Wales. In 1880 he purchased a woollen mill in Clydach, Swanseashire, where he began manufacturing scarves and clothing from the llama wool. This proved to be lucrative, and shares in his company (The Aberclydach Exotic Wool Company) sky-rocketed, making him a millionaire within 3 years. Local sheep farmers grew resentful, and in 1885 the mill was attacked by a group called “The Grandchildren of Rebecca” who destroyed the machinery and set free the 300 llamas in the pens on the local hill-farms. Faced with an economic disaster, Jones then hastily established a series of llama trains to deliver mail across the Welsh Hills. He was also approached by a number of Jam and Chutney Mine Owners, especially in the Amman Valley, to see if they could break the rail embargo and transfer preserves across the hills (the GWR was asking a high-tariff for jams, chutneys and marmalades, in favour of the jam mines they owned themselves). This also proved successful in the short-term until a llama train overturned on Mynydd Gelliwastad and the hungry llamas ate the mail soaked in spilt strawberry jam. From that day on the llamas developed a taste for preserves, and another of Jones’ sidelines failed. By 1900 the llama trains had ceased and Jones was working as a cockle seller on Morriston Cross. He died of shellfish food poisoning in July 1902, and was buried alongside his wife in Moriah Chapel churchyard, Treboeth, Swansea. There can still be seen the stone effigy of a llama that stands over his grave.
Arch. Camb., 1936,; South Wales Evening Post, Swansea, July 17, 1902 Obituary; Kelly’s Business Directory for Swanseashire, 1880, 1885, 1900; W.Ambrose, “The Woollen Industry in South Wales, 1800-1900, Camden Books, Cardiff 1968, p. 96-98; R. Morgan, “Cardiff Docks and the Jam Trade, Treharris Press, Pontypridd, 1998, p.5-6, 23, 27, 62; D. Jenkins, “The Grandsons of Rebecca – industrial unrest in the West Wales Valleys, Swanseashire University Press, 2011, p.37-58; M.P. Pryce, “JR Jones – Welsh Pirate or Entrepreneur?”, University of Detroit PhD Dissertation, 2015;"

Here's our range of paperbacks.  It all began with a greyhound called Sally, rescued from the local dog track. Her story...
06/03/2024

Here's our range of paperbacks. It all began with a greyhound called Sally, rescued from the local dog track. Her story became, "A Hound in the House", a real family book about living with a rescued greyhound (Sally and her successors). Our first children's book, also with a greyhound hero, was "The Largest Rabbit", about an abandoned puppy who finds a family, friends and his real identity. That led to a sequel, "The Winter Hare", where the greyhound and his friends rescue a magical hare and a lurcher called Flower. "Found a Penny; the memoires of a Crafty Dog" was the next book, the true story of Penny from a field in mid-Wales to international greyhound celebrity (in her own words). https://www.crafty-dog-cymru.co.uk/home/childrens-books-family-books-greyhounds-dogs-cats-pets/

Address

Clydach

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Crafty Dog Books posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Crafty Dog Books:

Share

Category