Sandy and Kids

Hiswill's Sahara Sarah, *very* loosely translated, means "desert princess" and in my eyes she was just that... my first Saluki, my precious pearl, my piece of antiquity, long-awaited and much loved. I remember bringing her home, setting her in the middle of my living room, and just looking at her. I couldn't believe my eyes - I finally had a Saluki, right here in my home, and she was all mine! Words could not express my delight at this dream come true. And as impressed as I was with her presence was precisely how unimpressed she was with mine. I was about to learn about life on a Saluki's terms. I got over my hurt feelings, once I realized her demeanor wasn't so much one of disdain for all of my fawning as it was one of entitlement. It just came with the turf. "Of course you love me, I'm beautiful and special, and you're very privileged to have me." How could I feel hurt about that? She was right.

Sandy produced my first litter on 1/31/87, at which time I chose the name Aijalon (Hebrew for "Valley of Gazelles") from my Bible dictionary. Her kids by Kamar were what I called "Keri and the Creams", a litter of eight - seven creams and one grizzle. Four became AKC champions, 6 ASFA field champions (some multiple LCM's among them), and they won the ASA Krisna Cup for Kamar three years running (no pun intended), and the Taruna Cup for Sandy for two years (one year less than Kamar because I wasn't yet an ASA member at that time).

Sandy was 14-1/2 when she was euthanized in my arms. Her diagnosis was kidney failure, irreversible. Her contribution to Aijalon Salukis is undeniable. How could I deny her an end to her discomfort at the final stage of her life.

Alias: Sancy Fancy Pancy Poo (OK, you can groan. I know her breeders are.)

Some of Sandy's kids can be seen on this page.