The Dogs of My Days

Am Ch Akkad Al-Sadaah (1981-1991)  

ACE-HANNAH

(Ch Akkad Sumugan-Utu x CH Baghdad Kharisma)

Ace was my first show dog, my only juniors dog, and my childhood best friend.  We bought him from John and Sue Baker in 1982 as a pet, but he turned out to be a spectacular representation of the Saluki standard (in my opinion anyway).  His movement was, and is, unforgettable,  He epitomized grace and power, elegance and strength.  

He sired a single litter which produced multiple champions and his descendents are still competitive in the ring today.

In 1984, he was awarded a Hound Group I at the Wichita Falls Kennel Club show.  It was an incredible day for a girl of 15 years.  I'll cherish the memory of it, and the memory of you, old friend.

Am Ch Akkad Barahne Wahid (1984-1995)

BARE

(CH Akkad Sumugan-Utu x CH Jen Araby Al-Khamis)

Bare was our first Smooth Saluki and a big splash in the Texas Show Ring.  He finished quickly with three majors but was never specialed.  

In his day, I thought that boys and cars were more attractive than ribbons and points, and so Bare and I did only the minimum required by the AKC.  We did, however, play a lot of ball together, and he was an avid catcher of anything spherical.  His personality was much more "doggie" than Salukis on the whole would allow, and this likely endeared him most to me.  He was not finicky, haughty, proud or manipulative.  What you saw was what you got, and that amounted to little else than an honest, sweet, affectionate hound that looked to please you and himself as best he could.

Shikadin the Dragon Master, JC (1992-2004) 

ALYDAR

(Akkad Alydan x Ch Akkad Kohl Kashi of Shikadin)

Al is a grandson of Ace, out of daughter Kohl.  He was a gift from Phyllis Peters for which I am ever grateful.  His temperament was always marked with kindness and his spirit, always light and free.  He made a wonderful companion to both me and the IGs who had entered our lives in 1991.  

A lovely, balanced example of the breed, Al had a tail injury that prevented him from being truly competitive in the ring.  He did, however, earn six points in only a handful of weekends, and I'll accept that as testimony to what he could have done if fate had been kinder to us all.

Am Ch Justa Nother Pretty Face, JC (1991-2003)

ACE  -- MY BADEY DOG

(CH Justa Bit of Brown X CH Justa Little Hardluck)

Every dog is special.  Some dogs are magical.  Ace was my magic dog.  What he meant FOR me was a living symbol of my coming of age, of my adulthood, of my independence.  He was the first dog I owned alone and brought first into my own home, and not into my parents'.  

Yet, this is only the beginning of what he meant.  He meant TO me much more.  He was my friend, my counselor, my patient traveler, my touchstone, my heart's joy and my heart's ache.  Always there for me, I wish he could say the same of me.  His absence is still felt, not every day, but out of the blue, and just as strongly as the night he passed.  

He  made life all right when it was really too much, and he made times easy when they were really so hard.  

Am Ch Justa Ficionado, SC
(1994-2006)

FUDGE

(CH Justa Bit of Brown X CH Uwharrie's Red Rain)

Fudge joined our then-small family of hounds in 1994.  He was my second IG and my first IG's best friend for 8 years.  Virtually inseparable, Ace and Fudge-man were always a team, a pair.  

In his day, he proved an exceptional representation of the breed standard while pushing the boundaries of lure coursing limitations.  Helping demonstrate that IGs were genuine Sighthounds with real prey-drive and formidable constitutions capable of carrying them at high speeds over rough terrain for long distances, Fudge assisted Teri Dickinson of Whirlwind IGs in her early efforts to get IGs recognized by both ASFA and AKC.  She achieved her goal, and I like to think Fudgie had his own little part in this groundbreaking advancement for the breed.

The Fudgeman was my friend.  We did "stuff" together, whatever stuff I could come up with from coursing to agility to dressing up for Halloween.

I know you are with Badey dog, Fudgie.  It's my turn to be without you.  You both be good and remember me.

-- GOOD FRIEND -- 

Good friend, where have you gone?
To those greener fields far beyond
The reach of my temporal hand,
Where summer spreads her fan
And offers you golden rays for sleeping.

 There you’ve found sweet silence
From the clamor of the violence
That time played upon your ‘lil soul,
Making my young dog so very old
And leaving me little more than weeping.

 No longer bound to toil,
Body returns to blessed soil;
And unleashed soul flies to heaven
Where all sweet souls join as brethren
To celebrate their being once again.

In tall grass, lie and wait
Sunning in God’s good grace
Until once more I call you near
To lick my hand and still my fears
When, in the end, I come home to you, 

Good friend.