CHAPTER XIII 



THE BARUKHZY AND ALLIED EASTERN 

 HOUNDS 



BELONGING to the interesting Greyhound family, but approximating 

 more closely to the Deerhound than to the Greyhound proper, is 

 a curious-looking hound sometimes found in this country under 

 the name of Afghan Greyhound, but more correctly by the name 

 adopted above. After the Afghanistan War several of these hounds 

 were brought to England, and occasionally the Foreign Dog classes 

 at our shows were enriched by an entry of one. Mr. Carter, of 

 Carshalton, had one specimen that was frequently benched 

 Rajah II. by name; while another was Motee, owned by Mr. Tufnell. 

 Rajah II. was a very active dog, and lived to a good old age. He 

 was a fawn, merging into red on the back. His coat was abundant, 

 but fine in texture ; while the dog was feathered on flank, breast, 

 tail, and legs. The ears of the Barukhzy Hound are large and 

 pendulous, and covered with wavy hair some 5in. or 6in. long. 

 In the bitches especially there are tufts of hair on the loins ; while 

 there is a fringe of curly hair as a sort of topknot. 



To judge by the general appearance of the Barukhzy Hound, 

 one feels inclined to write it down as a soft, timid animal. This, 

 however, is far from being the case. Some six years ago we 

 received from Major Mackenzie a most interesting contribution 

 upon these hounds, and in that the dog is described as bold and 

 courageous to a degree. Moreover, the writer was speaking not 

 only of a very large number that he had kept while residing in 

 Switzerland, but also of the hound as found in Afghanistan. 



Major Mackenzie thus writes: "The sporting dog of Afghanistan, 

 sometimes called the Cabul Dog, has been named the Barukhzy 

 Hound from being chiefly used by the sporting sirdars of the royal 

 Barukhzy family. It comes from Balkh, the north-eastern province 

 of Afghanistan, where it is believed that dogs of this variety entered 

 the ark with Noah. That it is an old variety (probably the oldest 

 domesticated breed in existence) is proved by very ancient rock- 

 carvings, within caves of Balkh, of dogs exactly like the Barukhzy 



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