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Otto Middleton is supposedly a blackcocker spaniel who according to widespread media reports is owned byCatherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Otto and his sister Ella were born into a litter of eight puppies, bred by Christian Hepburne Scott, a breeder and "sort of monthly nurse" to the dogs.[1] The names of the other siblings are unknown.[1]
According to Royal dogwatching experts, Otto became the then Kate Middleton's dog, and his sister Ella also came into the possession of the Middleton family.[2]
Media reports indicated that Otto was originally given to Catherine as a Christmas present in 2007.[3] According to a friend, at the same time Middleton gave her then boyfriend,Prince William of Wales, a black Labrador puppy to replace his elderly gun dog, Widgeon, who had been given to him by the lateDiana, Princess of Wales. Middleton's gift to the Prince allowed him and his dog to accompany her and Otto on walks.[3]
On 7 March 2010, theDaily Mail reported that Otto had been in the kennel for accidentally eating an antique pearl earring thatPrince William, Duke of Cambridge had given his girlfriend for her 28th birthday.[4] Katie Nicholl, theDaily Mail's royal correspondent, commented:
The same day,The Daily Telegraph reported that Middleton, who had "adored" the jewellery, had flown into a panic on discovering tooth marks on a tube of hand cream by her bedside. The paper quoted a friend who testified:
The newspaper also reported that Middleton subsequently monitored Otto's faeces, waiting for the earrings to emerge.[4] TheHuffington Post suggested she had to "search through dog poop".[5] The New YorkDaily News stated that Middleton was also forced to take Otto for several walks a day, in the hope of recovering them.[6] (It was elsewhere suggested that a royal aide may have been tasked with searching through the dog's excrement.[7]) In any case, when the earrings eventually emerged unwearable, as theDaily Mail''s source testified, "William told her not to worry and said he would buy her another pair",[4] adding, ""He said the main thing was that Otto was okay ... He adores the dog, who's very sweet."[6]
Later reports elsewhere indicated that the earrings were valued at $28,000,[7] and the Prince found them through a private dealer he'd personally tracked down.[8]
On March 8, Richard Palmer, Royal correspondent for theDaily Express,tweeted:
The same day, the blog Tabloid Watch claimed thatClarence House had denied the story to them,[10] although other sources suggested that Royal spokesmen refused to be drawn stating:
On March 9, theDaily Telegraph, changing their line from the previous day, proclaimed Otto innocent, having a "cast-iron alibi". Christian Hepburne Scott informed the newspaper that Otto actually lived in Yorkshire, having not been given by her to Kate Middleton, but rather to a friend ofher brother. According to the breeder, Ella had been the dog given to the Middleton family, and there was no reason to suspect Ella of having eaten any earrings.[1] Middleton's spokesman Gerrard Tyrell, of lawyersHarbottle & Lewis, also refuted the story, joking, "We have been searching in vain for the dog."[12]
TheDaily Mail later removed the story from their website, stating:
The Guardian criticised Clarence House for its refusal to deny the initial story, saying, they "could have easily nipped the story in the bud by steering the paper away from publishing. Would it have killed CH to be a teensy bit helpful on this one?"[12]
However, even after theTelegraph's exposé, newspapers were still reporting the initial story as true. On March 10,Ann Widdecombe writing in theDaily Express stated that the Prince was not upset by consumption of his gift but "found the whole episode hilarious".[13]
A year later (April 25 2011), web journalists were still citing the story of Otto and the earrings as factual.[14][15] On 12 May 2011, the British public relations website PR fire, stated that on the eve of Kate Middleton's wedding, "pet experts believe her black Cocker Spaniel, Otto, will also be getting the jitters as he picks up on his mistress's own nerve".[16]
A story, published in the Telegraph in February 2012, stated that the Duchess of Cambridge had recently received a Cocker Spaniel puppy.[17] A later story indicated that the dog was called Lupo, and was bred from Ella, the dog belonging to the Duchess's parents. The article also referred to the earlier dog story, stating "one of Ella's brothers, Otto, was said to have eaten a pair of earrings belonging to the Duchess which were bought by Prince William before they were engaged" - but gave no indication that the story was, in fact, false.[18]
In other words, news sources today tend to sacrifice accuracy for the need to publish quickly, especially if a news story is becoming viral. They thus feed on each other, passing the same content around, hoping you see the story on their site first. Just because a story may be verified from "multiple reliable sources" does not necessarily mean it is accurate.
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