The Italian Greyhound. 341 



strong and hardy, full of life and play, are never 

 sheeted, and can stand a shower of rain as well as 

 any other dog. Moreover, they are remarkably free 

 from illness or disease, and no case of distemper has 

 ever occurred in her kennels. The bitches suckle 

 and rear their own puppies from four to six at a 

 time, and are no more trouble than are other dogs 

 on similar occasions. The great difficulty Miss 

 Mackenzie finds is in obtaining fresh blood of the 

 real Italian greyhound, such I mean as does not 

 contain terrier cross however remote. The latter is 

 shown where puppies come black and tan, whilst 

 in the real article, only whole coloured or perhaps 

 fawn and white or red and white young ones are 

 born. 



It may be interesting to note that the parent of 

 Miss Mackenzie's kennel was a dog called Jack, 

 purchased in 1879 in Smithfield Market from a 

 labouring man for ten shillings. He was a beautiful 

 dog, about i lib. in weight, strong, symmetrical, active, 

 thoroughly healthy, and pretty well on to eighteen 

 years of age when he died ; he never sired a 

 badly coloured puppy. From the butcher purchaser 

 in the market, Jack went to Miss Mackenzie, with 

 whom he died. Of course there was no pedigree. 

 However, ten years or more after at one of the 

 Birmingham shows, a visitor introduced himserf to 



