Page 29 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Special Edition 3
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T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 2 9
However, the Sloughi deserves that one An Italian poet, no less, Gabriele
should get attached to it just like to other d’Annunzio, knew to define it in a very
sighthounds. complete manner in his book “Le Feu” (“El
Fuego”) which is almost a standard, but we
If, in his so beautiful eyes, he seems to keep would sincerely pity the judge, who in the
the yearning of the Orient, his thoughtful ring, would look for a Sloughi with a
gaze often turns very soft for his master, blackish tongue (le Feu p. 253), to award
for whom he has a rock-solid loyalty, let us him a CAC.
call on all the owners of this beautiful
animal. Of those we also ask if they have Many things are said about the Sloughi; in
ever seen a Sloughi lacking in courage; our opinion not enough of some and too
cowardice is excluded from his much of a romance fantasy, we think
temperament, which is eminently General Daumas exaggerates a little when
combative. he speaks of this dog; just as there is no
certainty about his name, nothing
In no way stupid for that matter, the myth demonstrates the truth of the legend of the
of lack of intelligence has lived, and creation of the breed by a cross of dogs
everyone knows that one can train with she-wolves, nevertheless supported
sighthounds; any dog for that matter that by Buffon, the dog-wolf sighthound.
one takes care of shows in his existence
that he does not always act on instinct, but This hybrid breed would have to go back
most often by reasoning. very far in antiquity, because hieroglyphs of
certain hypogeum and sarcophagus
Is the bearing of a Sloughi less majestic reproduce for us, in a very clear drawing, a
than that of a Greyhound or a Deerhound? sighthound that is a spitting image of a
Certainly not. Sloughi.
Evidently, his lines, as harmonious as those More convincing, to demonstrate the
of the Greyhound or the Syrian, are shorter antiquity of the Sloughi, is the painting of
and better adapted to the work the Arabs the Mastaba of Phtahhetep (Dumichen,
expect of their dogs, but, nevertheless, we Resultate, plVII) that we borrow from the
are convinced that any dog fancier will so remarkable book of Mr. Alexandre
recognize: first that there are qualities Moret, “Rois et Dieux de l’Egypte” (“Kings
adapted to his function and, next, that he and Gods of Egypt”).
can delight the eyes of an artist painter or
sculptor.
