It is so easy with only one borzoi to “forget” exactly what it is you are living with. For then you see clearly that it is not really a true dog breed. Instead, a borzoi is a sighthound and a hound which when combined cancels out or adds much of the canine, depending on your perspective. They are demanding in a quiet way; if you don’t take care and be ever vigilant, you can find yourself with an invalid on your hands with very expensive vet bills.
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Borzoi were created by the most enduring and extreme of the old world aristocrats. They were the longest to own human flesh and did so into the twentieth century. They were the last to be overthrown in perhaps the most bloody revolution of them all, the ripple effect of which was felt at all corners of the world until it’s remnants fell apart in the 1980. Few borzoi survived the carnage or were rescued from it, shepherded out of the country by the brave aristocrats who risked their own flight by taking their borzoi along. In return, these unique dogs have taken on the aristocratic mantle of their creators even though they are long lost to destiny. Moreover, these precious survivors took with them perhaps their lost creators’ best attributes: romanticism, loyalty, and a unique, strange beauty that is theirs alone as if they were living art. Through the borzoi, all that was good, right and beautiful of the Russian empire endures.
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A few days ago, a friend who was helping me at the time, Loren Tino, and I had to leave the house for several hours with our cat. We were taking her to a vet some distance away. The cat was crying in her carrier as she was being taken to the car. I recall Paris was pacing but I had no doubt he would settle down & fall asleep. I was wrong. He thought he was being left alone in the house, perhaps forever.
I remember nothing about arriving home because I headed straight for bed and took a long nap. When I awoke Loren Tino was very upset because Paris had been in a state of extreme agitation and distress since we got home. He was pacing and hyperventilating. Being left all alone in the house had completely unsettled him in a way neither of us expected. We think he thought he had been abandoned. He appeared to be in a state of heightened emotional suffering that was painful to watch. Finally, Loren Tino observed that having a field leash on him seemed to help him relax. Around 11:00 pm he began to breathe quietly and begin the process of nodding off to sleep. Shortly after that we removed the field leash.
We can only imagine the fear and misery Paris must have experienced while we were gone. Yet it reflects the profound depth of his feelings for us – feelings that possibly included the cat. That is not to say a dog of another breed would not experience a similar reaction, like a “separation anxiety”, but a borzoi has an aloof, reserved demeanor and does not usually act this way. Certainly Paris never had. He surprised me.
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So one can never know all there is to know about borzoi, or any borzoi, or even your own ten year old borzoi that you thought you knew so well. Like the lost world of the Russian aristocracy and their tragic destiny, the borzoi, too, are a study in mystery and profound contradictions. For those of us who harbor and shepherd this breed today, we know well it impacts our lives. Whether we have one or many is irrelevant. The requisite love, support and commitment are the same.
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And yes, they are living art. That about sums it up.