I had my first Saluki in 1981 after meeting Eileen Skelton-Fortune and her Daxlores in Cranleigh, a few miles from my family home in Abinger Hammer, Surrey, UK. Many more have followed who have given me the most immense pleasure and caused a great number of serious problems too! I have known Michael even longer than the Saluki years and have shared our faith, various hounds and our fortunes, good and bad and very bad. Michael was with me for part of the 7 years I lived in the Holy Land, just outside Jerusalem, and all our remaining Salukis come from that country although bred with our UK hounds and Finnish/Israeli and Desert Bred lines. We are now a retired aging pair living on the lower slopes of the Troodos Mountains on the island of Cyprus where we both have small traditional houses outside of town because, of course, we have 6 also aging Salukis who somehow survived the nightmares of recent years.
The bad years have taken their toll on some from this most sensitive of breeds and one now has become increasingly ‘difficult’ (polite word for infuriatingly mad). Although all are family the males fight and have to be separated, some occasionally, some always and right now the crazy one will only stay or sleep in the same room as his brother if the door remains open. Fine until the other males want to go out or when the regular night-time troop of foxes and wildcats arrive. I need to shut the doors at night! Read on how I cope from day to day with the beloved ones and all the ailments associated with age (theirs and mine!) .
The bad years have taken their toll on some from this most sensitive of breeds and one now has become increasingly ‘difficult’ (polite word for infuriatingly mad). Although all are family the males fight and have to be separated, some occasionally, some always and right now the crazy one will only stay or sleep in the same room as his brother if the door remains open. Fine until the other males want to go out or when the regular night-time troop of foxes and wildcats arrive. I need to shut the doors at night! Read on how I cope from day to day with the beloved ones and all the ailments associated with age (theirs and mine!) .
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