CHAPTER LVII 



Italian Greyhound 



ROM the small running or coursing dog of the period illus- 

 trated by Roman and Greek statuary to the small Italian 

 greyhound was a much shorter journey for breeders to 

 follow than the raising of the breed to the size and fame of the 

 greyhound of England. We have not succeeded in finding 

 any representation in old statuary of this pet hound, the ladies' dogs which 

 we have so far come across being Pomeranians, as we now call them, or to 

 dogs that bore a resemblance to the Maltese dogs or French poodles. They 

 seemed to be all long haired dogs and so distinct from the graceful outline of 

 the Italian greyhound that if the latter was in existence at the time of the 

 Roman Empire they were not the popular or fashionable dog. 



Between that period and the development of painting on canvas the 

 Italian greyhound advanced to a leading position as a lady's pet and appears 

 also as the favourite of many prominent men, even associated with high 

 church dignitaries and given prominence in paintings of important his- 

 torical events. The weight of testimony is very decidedly in support of the 

 correctness of the name, for these small dogs are far more often seen in 

 Italian scenes or paintings with Italian affiliations than any other dog and 

 are not by any means so frequently met with in paintings of other countries. 

 A well known instance of this kind is the painting of the Italian consort of 

 James II, by Paul Veronese. The dog is not a beauty, from our standard 

 of quality, but he doubtless pleased Her Majesty just as well. Previous to 

 that another royal portrait, that of Anne, the consort of James I of Eng- 

 land has on the canvas a pet greyhound. 



While it is desirable to get a small Italian greyhound diminutive size is 

 secondary to certain characteristics pertaining to the breed, which are 

 unfortunately too frequently lost sight of by the ubiquitous all-round Judge 

 to whom the duty of deciding upon the merits of the Italian greyhound is 

 invariably given. It must be understood, first of all, that this is not a toy as 

 to weight and that many of the very small dogs resembling Italians are 



67 s 



