The small stray dog that became foundation stock for the Boykin Spaniel was named Dumpy.
Around 1900, banker Alexander L. White found the little spaniel-type dog near Spartanburg, South Carolina. White noticed that the stray had talent for retrieving and sent it to his friend and hunting partner, Lemuel Whitaker Boykin, near Camden.
Boykin developed the dog into an effective turkey dog and waterfowl retriever. The emerging breed needed to be compact enough for hunters’ small boats on South Carolina’s Wateree River swamps. Several breeds reportedly contributed to its development, including the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, American Water Spaniel, and pointing breeds.
A common mix-up is to confuse Dumpy with Boykin himself: the breed is named for Lemuel “Whit” Boykin, not for the founding dog. The Boykin Spaniel later became South Carolina’s state dog, and the Boykin Spaniel Society began maintaining a studbook in 1979.