Re: Clan Dogs

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

At 15:23 07/04/00 +0100, you wrote:
> When I was checking
> out opposition websites, I came across the Clan Grant site
> (www.clangrant.org). v.
> slick.
>  
> I noted with great interest that their 'clan
> dog' had sadly just died. It was a wolfhound owned by the clan chief,
> lord strathspey, and it was obviously held in great affection by the
> clan. Is there any room for a kennel at Claxton Grove,
> Malcolm?
>  
> Euan
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: anderson whittle
> > To: sinclair@mids.org 
> > Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 12:40 PM
> > Subject: Clan Dogs
> >
> > Dear Clan 
> >  
> > There has been reference to dogs over the last week and I wonder if there
> > is a typical or specific clan dog-type. Some people say that dogs
> > are similiar to their owners in looks and temperament. Would it
> > be true to say that Clan members have curmudgeonly or bloody-minded
> > breed(s), and if so, what types are best. I have two German Short Hair
> > Pointers, whose first litter of pups is now  6 weeks old and they are quite
> > adorable. The parents are hard headed, and active dogs in the field, indeed.
> >  
> > Mark Anderson
> > Cape Town

   When I was in Africa I had Rhodesian Ridgebacks because they were
   excellent hunting dogs.  My 'lead' dog killed a dog baboon and a hyena
   which will give you some idea of his power. A hyena has the strongest
   jaws in the animal kingdom and dog baboons have lethal dog-teeth
   (which inflicted severe injuries on my dog but he made a remarkable
    recovery).  I was plagued with leopards killing my animals (because
   we had killed most of the wild pigs on which they normally lived) and
   I hunted them with a pack of four Ridgebacks  working as a 'team'.  -
   seeing the dogs in action was poetry in motion.  They worked together
   in perfect harmony until the leopard was forced to seek refuge in a tree 
   from which I would shoot it down!!!  If you think that was being 'unsportsmanlike',
   I agree but, with a leopard, there can only be one winner.  You don't
   get a second chance.  The leopard is an animal of great beauty but he
   is a killer.  I lost 50 pigs in a single night.  The leopards (possibly only
   two of them) took two pigs to eat - the rest were left where they fell
   with hardly a mark on them because the claws of the leopard find the
   heart of the pig with unerring accuracy.  On the other hand, a lion will
   only kill what it needs to satisfy its hunger.  Therein, lies the difference.

  Later in Africa, I had an experience (a 'conversion', if you prefer) which
  forced me to put down my rifle and, since that time, (half a century ago)
  I haven't killed anything.  That 'conversion' was brought about by an animal
  which I had in the sights of my rifle and which was within seconds of being
  killed.......... it was one of the most profound experiences of my life but
  that is a story for my memoirs.


   Niven Sinclair 













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