Gracie
The only time I ever heard Gracie howl was when we first met, at an animal shelter near Bristol in January 2004. She had only just arrived there and within the week, following veterinary and home checks, she was on the way home with us.
Little was known of her background, other than she had been rescued as a puppy in 2002 from a breeder who was banned for life from keeping animals, had lost a toe following a traffic accident and was finicky with food. She subsequently went to a young family elsewhere in the southwest but was being rehomed because she had apparently nipped at their toddler the previous evening. She had been renamed Gracie on arrival at the Bristol shelter.
She has remained in good physical health, despite numerous cuts and bruises (she heeds no obstacles when there are real or imaginary small mammals to chase). However, she was subdued for a long time, showing little interest in treats or toys or indeed normal food. The turning point came with a course of reward-based dog training, Lincolnshire sausage proving sufficiently tempting to her.
She started then to relax, but I would say that it took at least 18 months for her to settle completely, in which time she contended with a relationship breakdown, relocation to the South Coast and a subsequent move of house. She has coped admirably with all of this and continues to thrive, doing normal doggy things like showing interest in the next meal, playing with squeaky fluffy toys, savouring bones, lying on her back for a tummy rub and rolling in horse/fox/badger excrement (given half a chance).
She also enjoys chasing and rough and tumble games with selected other dogs, particularly male puppies, although she seems more reticent in larger groups of dogs or people. She is often reserved initially with people, unless they are carrying treats or are cat owners, in which case she becomes particularly friendly – not to the cats though!
She is unfazed by fireworks and gun shots; in fact she shows keen interest and I wonder whether she was previously involved with “field sports”.
No-one mentioned sloughis during the adoption process, indeed Gracie’s papers state that she is a “lurcher cross”. By chance leafing through a dog encyclopaedia a few months after the adoption, I saw a picture of a sloughi and a description of the breed temperament, which seemed to fit her very well. E-mail correspondence with someone from the breed society suggested that she was one of the dogs rescued in 2002.
This whetted my interest in sloughis, but periodic searches of “sloughi rescue” yielded little until I came across the sloughi rescue forum early in 2007. The forum co-ordinator has been very helpful in piecing together some details, although much remains unknown. Whatever her story, I cannot help but pay tribute to Gracie, who has remained so loyal and given so much.
Written by Alison Mesher
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