Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

It is said that given the option of being in the company of a dog or a human, Dania would invariably bid you goodbye and suggest you meet on another occasion. Common to the English-this Canisphilia is very much a charming if slightly disturbing trait entrenched in the English sensibility. A people born of reticence and understatement the dog affirms the ideal of what a relationship should be. For as Kipling states’ Buy a pup and your money will buy- Love unflinching that cannot lie-- Perfect passion and worship fed, by a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. Like every person ever to have bought a dog-Dania suffers the initial if unwarranted investment-that will ultimately end in tears.

Of course like every sensualist this is overlooked and deferred-buried to the overwhelming joy the dog will bring. Lara aka lala and Daisy were central to this love affair- protagonists that played central roles in the twenty years that they lived. For each came with an endearing and loving quality almost anthromorphic in form, loving in shape. Lala the more dominant was fearless and feisty; cantankerous and opiniated –a sufferer of no fool. This maltese-shiatzu wasn’t you’re typical precious dog- she bucked the limitations of her gender-always for example peeing with one leg cocked. She was a master rhetorician-fluent in the language of whining to communicate whatever deed she wanted

The elder of the two dogs she played the superior to Daisy-a Springer Spaniel. Lala always reminded me of Martha Gelhorn the battle worn journalist and travel writer. Always a committed leftist (lol) forever championing the underclass and loving Dania. Daisy the sweetheart was the polar opposite to Lala; she was amiable and patient with the most trusting of nature. Intuitive and sensitive to the feelings of others she was almost absolute in her altruism. An epicurean by heart-she certainly loved the finer things in life. Foods, wines (lol), the gentle glow of the fireplace: Daisy was always at centre of any luxury

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passsion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long--
So why in--Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

"He is a gentleman. He grew up with the saluki." --Arab Proverb

Arabian Bedouins had been breeding Salukis for hundreds of years. These noble desert hounds are known for their exceptional stamina, intelligence and loyalty. Their general physiology is one of grace, poise and symmetry-the Bedouins called them the wind drinkers.

Long-bodied, slim-natured, abdomen-atrophied, high limbed dogs, the Salukis fine quality lies in its hunting skills-serving as a speedy hunting dog that operated in packs. They often hunted in tandem with falcons which located the prey for the dog to hunt down.

The Saluki derives its name from the great ancient city in Yemen located in the Hajjour region of Hadramout. The site of Saluk city, in particular, was called Hasal Al-Zeinah and these had been ancient city monuments. Some books of old history talked about the fact that the city houses and parts were built of precious metals. It is within t his city that the famous Saluki breed was first sighted.

The assimilation of the breed into western society came about during the eightieth century where the first successful breeding conducted by an Ms Florence Amherst was established. A champion of pure breeds-she argued for the existence against an apathetic public. The Salukis popularity only took hold in the 20s when officers returning from the Middle East and Arab revolt bought their pet saluki with them.

Dogs, Vogue and a little Beaton

‘If it’s in Vogue, it’s smart,’ announced British Vogue in its first issue on 15^th October 1916. True to its word, dogs have been ever-present ciphers in the spirited and glittering world of fashion and art. From the miniscule to the large, these ‘smart’ breeds are an enduring testament to the role they play in people’s lives; in the general consciousness of those that not only need companionship but demand an augmented extension to their sensibilities.

It was in 1909, that the newly acquired Vogue first started to notice the burgeoning trend amongst society women of New York, Paris and London. Dogs started to assimilate the very merits normally attributed to dresses, shoes and hats. Indeed each season would bring about the new ‘in’ dog with pronouncements made by the leading arbiters of fashion as to what every self respecting lady should have; famously Dorothy Parker flippantly asked what would happen to Pugs now that the Pekinese were de rigueur .

The thirties which officially heralded the age of modernity initiated a fascination for larger dogs; the phenomena saw interest grow for breeds like Cairns, Sealyhams, Salukis and Afghan hounds. There was a frenetic need amongst women of a certain class as to who could outdo the each other in the bid to find larger and more exotic types. Each trend-however ephemeral –suggested a political underpinning; where the consumption of say- larger dogs resonated with the growing belief amongst modern women of their growing equality.

The Post war period saw a profusion of breeds proliferate and whilst the turning wheel of fashion continued to turn. There was a growing discrepancy between the exclusive dogs heralded by the elite and the dogs championed by the majority. It was the British kennel Club that records the registering of twenty-one Afghans in comparison to the one thousand Labradors and the five thousand Airedales.

The decline and fall of the British aristocracy and the erosion of the large estates had a decisive effect on the ideal of the larger dog. As the platonic ideal was diminished and England began life under rations- dogs became smaller, more economic and so this socio-political state fed into the general aesthetic. There was a demand for breeds like the Chihuahua and mastiff-short haired breeds and non-shedders like poodles which were easy to maintain and were congruent to city living. New exemplars of the day were catapulted to the public forum-figures like Jacqueline Bouvier, Gloria Guinness and CZ Guest. These demigods were an amalgamation of the modern, fast paced, liberated woman with nothing larger than a Yorkshire terrier. Forever this image was to be imprinted on our consciences and as stayed with us ever since.

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The Lady, the Pug and the Maltese

The ingredients say it all: each constituent a proposition in grace and refinement. Whether it’s our mysterious friend or Lee Radizill, the Maltese or the pug- In their summation they suggest sophistication and class. The Maltese originally called the ‘Canis Melitaeus’ is renowned for its intelligence and sensitivity-the Pug-the more easy going and ebullient. Both are icons of fashion and chicness-both the accessible accessory of choice.