Suzi
Suzi was more than just a dog – she was the catalyst that changed my life.
Before Suzi, I had 3 crossbreed dogs – Kim, Max and Freya, and people were shocked that I had so many dogs. Then a friend asked me to go with her to a gypsy site and pretend I wanted a Saluki. Twelve years ago I wasn’t even sure what a Saluki was. In short I ended up paying £50 for a mangy, arthritic, bedraggled dog that didn’t look like any breed. I was asked to look after her for one night – and so I bathed the miserable creature and gave her a bed and a meal. The next morning when I went to see her, she walked up to me and pressed her head against my chest – unusually demonstrative for Suzi – and that was it. I knew she was here to stay.
She was my first sighthound, my first Saluki and the reason I first set foot in a gypsy camp. Since then I’ve been in and out of many. Thanks to Suzi I fell in love with Salukis and was determined to get all the Salukis in Wales out of working homes. I didn’t achieve that but I have bought over 30 of them so far and sent them to rescue or rehomed them myself. And going into a gypsy site has meant that I have since acquired nearly 200 sighthounds – most gone to rescue, though some stayed.
Suzi (she has always been called that) was a famous hare courser – a three hare dog – which is apparently very good. She was coursed half to death and, when she couldn’t run any more, she had a litter of pups. And then she was redundant.
Suzi had a great sense of humour, she adored children; she was never a cuddly dog. She would demand attention when she wanted it and, if given unwanted attention, would give one a baleful look and walk away. It took a long while to get her well. But eventually she was running and laughing with the joy of a happy, fit Saluki. She and her daughter Lily used to take themselves off to big fields and tear around for ages. No other dog had the stamina to keep up with them.
I loved life with Suzi. Thanks to her also I made some wonderful friends working in rescue. Thanks to Suzi, I’ll always be looking out for Salukis in trouble. Suzi left Kim’s Home in February 2011 aged nearly 16.
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