Something For The Weekend

The late, Great, Chalky the Jack Russell, takes a dislike to the sound equipment and once again upstages his Master, British TV Chef and Restaurateur Rick Stein.

I promise this is not turning into a dog blog but I could not resist this.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

XXX

Greyhounds

Erté

The Greyhound, one of the oldest breeds; beautiful, elegant, loyal, gentle, kind and frequently depicted in art...

The greyhound has deep roots in the history of the world. Evidence of the existence of greyhounds over 4,000 years ago is found in murals, sculpture and paintings of dogs strikingly similar to the hounds we see today.

Greyhounds claim descent from the desert dogs of the pharaohs and Arab sheiks. These ancient dogs were held in high regard in the Middle East and were the companions of Egyptian and Arab princes. Etchings of greyhounds have been found on the walls of the tombs of ancient pharaohs. The pharaohs prized greyhounds both as pets and hunters. The Bedouins, too, so admired the greyhound that it was the only dog permitted to share their tents (a high honour in nomadic tribes) and to ride atop their camels.

 Bedouin with Salukis, relatives of the modern day Greyhound and the oldest domestic dog breed in the world.

Greyhounds are the only canine mentioned in Holy Scripture. In the writings of King Solomon (considered to be the wisest of the wise) greyhounds are described as one of the four mighty beings no one should go against (Proverbs 30:29-31).

Greyhounds were introduced in England just prior to the ninth century through the many conquests, crusades, and wars with Middle Eastern tribes. Their speed, agility, and keen eyesight made greyhounds highly prized as sporting dogs by British royalty. Canute enforced laws which stated that only free men could own and hunt with greyhounds. These restrictions, enacted to keep poachers out of royal forests, became known as the "Forest Laws."

Misse and Turlu, The Greyhounds of Louis XV

Eros, Prince Albert's favourite Greyhound, Sir Henry Edward Landseer, 1841

Thomas Gainsborough, portrait of Elizabeth Jackson, C 1760, stroking a young Greyhound

Marchesa Luisa Casati, Giovanni Boldini

Jean Gabriel Domergue

Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America, with her Greyhound 'Long Goodie' 1925

Today Greyhounds are used for racing and hunting unfortunately all too often there are reports of extreme cruelty, abandonment and worse.  Earlier today I was reading about the plight of the Galgos (Spanish Greyhounds):

The Spanish Greyhound, or Galgo, is one of the most persecuted dog breeds. Galgos are used to hunt hares in the Spanish countryside. They spend their lives in damp, tiny, dirty holes or windowless shacks deprived of daylight, exercise and affection. They are typically fed only water and stale bread. At the end of the hunting season, countless are abandoned or worse.

Sadly, the Galgo’s native land still views it as a second-class animal and few Spaniards will own them as pets. They are bred carelessly and used for hunting by galgueros (Galgo handlers). At the end of the hunting season in Spain, the Galgos deemed worthless or too costly to maintain are destroyed in a variety of inhumane ways – including being hung, dumped into abandoned wells, shot, and even burned to death. 

The lucky ones are rescued by a handful of shelters in Spain, operated by dedicated individuals. Almost all of the resources to help the dogs come from outside of Spain, namely the U.S., U.K., Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland and Germany. 

There are a handful of Spanish shelters dedicated to saving the Galgos and other unwanted animals of Spain. Although more and more galgueros are willing to give their unwanted dogs to the shelters, the abuse and torture of Galgos continues. Organizations like GRIN are dedicated to the welfare of the Spanish Galgo and sighthounds worldwide, and assist the Spanish shelters with adoption, veterinary care, and fundraising. 

I have been looking at some horrific images today, I will spare you the details, I was in tears at one point.  Fortunately there are many organisations all over the world who rescue sight hounds and try to re home them. Greyhounds make wonderful pets, people seem to be put off them because they are under the misapprehension that Greyhounds need a lot of exercise, like all dogs they do need exercise but nothing excessive, they are actually rather lazy and enjoy nothing better than lounging about, they can exist perfectly happily in apartments and like to give and receive lots of affection.  I would love a rescue sight hound as a companion for Crusoe, he would love a girlfriend!  I just have to persuade MG.  I was looking at galleries of the dogs up for adoption...more tears, I want them all.

http://galgorescue.org/
http://www.galgonews.com/
http://levriers.net/

http://www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk/
http://www.greyhoundrescue.co.uk/

http://greyhoundgap.org.uk/

http://www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/topFrame.htm
http://actuanimaux.com/

www.gap.grv.org.au

If you would like me to include an organisation, let me know and I will add it to the list.

 Bedouin with Salukis

Pyrenean Weekend

It's been a fabulous weekend here in the Pyrenees, this shot of the mountains was taken first thing in the morning, the early morning sun is just hitting the mountains, you can see how the snow is melting.  I could not resist the other shots, a Pyrenean Mountain dog with Crusoe, does anyone remember Belle and Sebastian?

The Pyrenean Mountain dog in the picture is called Falko, he is a puppy but already huge, Crusoe naturally has the heart of a lion and thinks of himself as a big dog, but when in the presence of a giant I think he feels overwhelmed however his unique terrier intelligence always shines through! Falko is the sweetest, softest, mutt imaginable, all he wants is attention and hugs, big dogs normally have a shorter lifespan than small dogs but in the case of Pyrenean Mountain dogs they can live up to seventeen years old, they are gorgeous.

Falko, a great, big, fluffy bear of a dog!

Still from the delightful sixties children's TV program;  Belle and Sebastian

Crusoes Lucky Escape

Crusoe Playing In The Garden This Morning

I would like to thank you all for your kind comments and concern regarding Crusoes illness. Turns out he has had a very lucky escape. The illness he was inflicted with was 'Piraplasmosis' a potentially fatal parasitic disease that attacks the dogs internal organs, the vet told us all dogs react differently to the disease depending on the age and the dogs immune system. Contracted via a brown tick bite, brown ticks are the dangerous one's and they are prolific in South West France, hardly found in Northern France and the UK (all ticks, potentially carry parasitic diseases). There is a vaccine for this illness although it is very expensive and not totally effective, apparently scientists are still working on an effective vaccine for this disease.

Crusoe appears to be fully recovered, his amazing appetite has certainly returned and he has responded to treatment well, although we are still monitoring him closely, we are hoping that there will be no repercussions.

I stress once again if you are in South West France and have a dog, be very vigilant, even if your dog has a tick collar and has been protected, (which I still strongly recommend) it is the first bite from the tick that gets the parasite into the dogs system, before the chemicals from frontline or tick collars kill the tick. And remember if your dog suddenly goes off food or appears listless go to the vets immediately.

Sheep On The Move, 'Tick Magnets' In The Lane Just Outside Our House, Yesterday Afternoon

I cannot wrap Crusoe in cotton wool, he would be miserable if he was not free to run, he is a true terrier always running through the fields, digging in the earth, rolling in long grass and chasing deer in the woods. The ticks are everywhere at the moment, not helped by all the livestock and wild animals in this area, sheep and deer being the worst tick magnets!  All I can do is protect him with anti tick products and fingertip search him after every walk. 

Crusoe Unwell

Crusoe is not very well at the moment, yesterday evening he did not eat his food, which is unheard of for Crusoe.  This morning it was still untouched and he was violently sick, we did not mess about we took him to the vets immediately.

After an examination and tests it was confirmed that he has picked up a parasitic illness via a tick, the parasite  attacks the liver and kidneys, the vet told us he has probably had it for about three or four days, she gave him three injections and a course of tablets that he has to start tomorrow morning, hopefully we caught it in time, he should be feeling better soon and be fine by Monday, fingers crossed.  I am pleased to say that he has now eaten a little food, and already appears to be a little better.

Even though Crusoe is Frontlined once a month in Spring and Summer, has a tick collar and we check him regularly for ticks, the little buggers still got him. The countryside around South West France is notoriously bad for ticks, much worse than the UK, and some ticks can kill, so please be vigilant if you have a dog or are bringing a dog to France this Summer, if your dog suddenly goes off food, take him/her to the vets straight away.

I will keep you posted on Crusoes recovery.

Crusoe The Chicken Rustler Strikes Again!

This was the last thing I needed this morning, I have been a bit manic the last couple of days (uh weeks)  preparing for the Christmas onslaught. 

I let Crusoe out this morning at around 9 am, for his morning abloutions, but half an hour later he had not returned, this is always a worrying sign, if he is not back within 10 mins it can only mean he is up to no good.

Now Crusoe has a long history of chicken rustling in the village it started with sheep worrying, not good, especially as the mayor of the village is also the local shepherd we soon knocked that on the head with the aid of an electric shock collar, sounds cruel I know but you don't mess with shepherds in the Pyrenees, it's either serious measures or he will be shot.

That worked, but every so often he get's the urge to chase chickens, he has not done this for around 18 months so I have been lulled into a false sense of security, our land is impossible to fence off and even if it was fenced, Crusoe who is the Houdini of dogs would find a way out, it always amazes our dog owning friends, when we visit with Crusoe "No,  don't worry he can't get out, our land is secure"
Crusoe ALWAYS find a way out!

So, this morning, after he had not returned I went to look for him and take out the rubbish to the recycling bins at the end of the lane, at the same moment Leon, very grumpy old peasant (Peasant is not a dirty word in France) was coming up the lane, walking his dog, now Leon is not a big fan of Crusoe.
He has a beagle, who looks very ill and has been tied up all his life!  At that moment Crusoe chose to appear out of nowhere with a chicken in his mouth, he dropped it at my feet, still alive, but in shock, Leon, who had unfortunately witnessed the whole thing, started having a go at me, dog should be tied up etc. etc.
 First priority for me was to find Crusoe, before the villagers, in case they shoot him, Crusoe had run off and gone into hiding.

Second priority find chicken return to owner.  I eventually found Crusoe after much whistling, stomping around ice, snow and mud, cowering in the bottom field (he knew he had been a bad boy) and has been sulking in his basket for the rest of the day, I eventually found the petrified chicken and returned the chicken to it's owner, but she told me there was another missing chicken, MG informed me much later (after Crusoe had been found, and was safely in his basket)  he saw a chicken in the garden, but was too busy to do anything about it, Oh joy, all I can say is, Crusoe, for the forseeable future is under house arrest and will be supervised at all times outside!