A Good Story

A paraphrased version of "Call It Kismet" by Kim Allison, published in the Fall 1994 ASA Newsletter.

1971…

It was a snowy Sunday in Baltimore as I sat near a window, wistfully anticipating school closure the next day. Suddenly, my attention was seized by a pair of leaping deer. No. Dogs! A pair of dogs as elegant as gazelle performed their ballet across a glistening white stage. Having always been charmed by canines of every shape and size, I knew that these creatures were surely the royalty of dogdom. I called to my parents and sister, and my urgent appeal was met with contagious enthusiasm. Without delay, we were out the door, pulling on winter gear as we went. Our father followed closely with the bait - chicken hotdogs. By the time we reached his delivery truck, the dancers were in the distance.

They were male and female, prince and princess, as swift as they were beautiful. Cautiously we approached, hoping to gain their confidence, for it would be impossible to catch them otherwise. With amazing agility, the exquisite duo twirled circles through the freshly fallen snow. Curious yet wary, they kept us at arm's length. The male was the surer of the two and, despite his suspicion, he was finally convinced to accept the treats we offered in the shelter of the truck. His partner, however, took flight between some houses and was lost to our sight. After a time, we reluctantly left the area, hoping to find their owners and bring them to the place where she had last been seen.

Slowly we drove the neighborhood, seeking direction from anyone out in the blizzard. We were guided eventually to the house from where they had come. No one was home, and we were told by neighbors that they had gone in search of their dogs, so we left our phone number and went home.

Back at our house, my sister and I bestowed on our visitor all the luxuries our mother would allow. When the inevitable phone call came, we learned of the exotic origin of our visitor, a champion Saluki whose ancestors stemmed from the Middle East. He and his companion had escaped their fenced yard from atop the unusually high snow drifts. We rejoiced upon hearing that she, too, had been safely recovered.

With all the regal bearing of his heritage, our guest awaited the arrival of his chariot. For me, it came too soon, and as he took his leave of us, I knew I would always remember the day I entertained a prince.

1983…

I finally brought home my first Saluki, my long-awaited desert princess, Sandy. Fourteen months later, Jade joined our family, and in 1985, Kamar became our third Saluki and first male. We had by that time moved to Pennsylvania and I had begun to show the Salukis, meeting other Saluki owners and getting quickly addicted to Salukis as a lifestyle.

1987…

My first litter was born (Kamar x Sandy), and shortly thereafter I was relating the story of my first brush with Salukis to a fellow fancier. Being from Baltimore, she recognized the neighborhood of my childhood as the former neighborhood of a Saluki breeder we both knew. That breeder had also moved to Pennsylvania, and I was unaware she had ever lived in the area where I grew up. The next time I saw her, I recounted the snowy adventure and asked if she remembered any such happening. Not only did she remember "two kids and their father in a Tastykake truck", but she was able to tell me the names of the two Salukis, a male and a female, "Faisal" and "Faidre."

Chills went down my spine as I realized that the first Saluki I had ever seen, 16 years before, had been none other than Ch. Billa De Esta's Faisal II, F.Ch…. the only common link in both sides of my first, outcrossed litter… the only Saluki, at that time, to appear in the pedigree of every Saluki in my house! I wonder what Faisal knew on that first, fateful visit that I didn't know.

2001...

Found in a 1975 Saluki World magazine I borrowed from a friend:

This is Faisal (forefront) and Faidre (behind), the two Salukis in the story of my first Saluki sighting.