Staffordshire cats and dogs – well I think they are!

I thought these guys deserved a mention on here.  I found them in the bottom of a box of junk and something told me they were interesting.  One was damaged and the other was in good condition, but minus the baize on the bottom.   I took one to a car boot sale and a dealer pounced on it instantly so I told him it was reserved for someone and took it home. I then took the undamaged one to an Antique and Vintage fair and a well known TV antiques dealer asked about him.   He told me that the pair would be much more interesting to a buyer,  so I reunited him with his friend and did some research. Turned out they were quite old, still struggling to work out whether they were cats or dogs but consensus seemed to be that one was a cat and one a dog.  Apparently they are Staffordshire and early to mid 18th Century.  Who would have thought it!   There was a lot of interest in them when I eventually got round to putting them online to sell them and they ended up in America.  It taught me a valuable lesson, always do your research first.