When I look deep down in to my memory, then there was already very early a dog in my life. A big ochreous dog, somewhat alike a Viszla but he might as well have been a mixture of various sorts of dogs. And as sudden as he came into my life, he disappeared a few years after.
  One day, when I was about 14 years of age, my dad brought along a young little black dog. After the summer-holidays he had found her in the backgarden of his office, tied up to a bush with a rope tightly twisted around her hind legs and all but dead. The dog was hardly able to stand up but as time went by she recovered more and more, but always had this slight nervous twitch. The rest of her life she was an appreciated and self-assured member of the family.  Years hereafter, when my youngest daughter was more or less 14 years of age, she drove her parents mad by continuously begging for a dog. A Bobtail was her absolute wish. My wife at that time was in no way a doglover but finally she agreed and some hairy monster came in. But not such a huge one, on the contrary a very tiny little York turned out to be the compromise. However, it soon appeared he had a very strong and self-willed independant nature. Unfortunately this brave little dog had a very short life. Because of severe inbreeding his kidneys were hardly functioning and so he died barely two years old.
A few years ago my present wife told me about her stray dog she once brought along from her holidays in Portugal, and more & more the idea grew to have a dog. Looking back, her dog might have been a shorthaired Podengo Medio and after searching quite some time without any result we found ourselves at the Kelb-tal-Fenek, or Pharaoh-Hound, who look very simular. So, at last, we went in August 2000 to Ely (UK) to get "Nile Beauty", our Nicky. At times I wonder if it's really a coincidence that Nicky came into my life. When I was a student an aunt of me was digging up the familyroots and discovered the family-arms, which dates from the Middle Ages, flanked on both sides by two hounds...

At the theme-squares to the left you'll find more about Pharaohhounds, about "Nile Beauty", about kennels and organizations, and links to related topics.