Lacy the Lurcher
On our routine visit to the vet last Friday, everyone fell in love with Lacy, and told her how sweet and pretty she is. She loved the praise, and had a great time. 🙂 They asked where I found her, and if we knew what she was mixed with, since they see quite a few retired racer greyhounds there, but greyhound mutts seem to be rather rare. I told them we had adopted her from a rescue, and that we know she’s part greyhound, and the other part is a mystery. My suspicion is that her other half may be collie; our vet thinks that is quite likely, too.
Earlier this week, I did a little online searching for collie/greyhound mixes to see if I could find photos. In doing so, I stumbled upon a website selling lurcher pups. I’d never heard of a lurcher, so that led to more online searching.
In short, I learned that lurchers are a crossbreed of a sighthound and a herding dog, and the most common combination is greyhound/collie. I think they are pretty much un-heard-of in the U.S., but these dogs became popular in the U.K. back when Queen Elizabeth 1 made it illegal for commoners to own a greyhound. We’d always wondered how an unspayed greyhound mama dog (obviously not a rescue, since they are all spayed/neutered) had been unsupervised enough to conceive a littler of mutts; now we’re wondering if perhaps Lacy’s litter was bred on purpose as lurchers, and for some reason the owner couldn’t keep the litter. A suppose that will remain a mystery, but we did have a little history lesson in the process! (Love that sneaky schooling!) My search to solve a doggie mystery has created even more questions!
A old quote about the qualities of a lurcher:
“Originally bred from a cross between a Greyhound and the shepherd’s dog giving the required speed and fondness of the chase of the one and superior intelligence of the other.”
I even discovered and joined a lurcher flickr group! Whether she was intentionally bred to be a lurcher, or whether it was purely accidental, she is still a sweet, fast, beautiful, intelligent dog, and we love her! (I’ve created a flickr set just for Lacy!)
Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »
I recall reading about a lurcher, perhaps just the mention of it, in a book set in England. At the time, I wondered what exactly a lurcher was — I knew it was a canine from the context — but just shrugged and went on reading. Now I know, thanks to you!
.-= Ellen´s last blog ..My Home is Always Messy =-.
How interesting! She is a beautiful dog!