About - What's a Lurcher?
The
purists will be fairly specific in their description of a lurcher and there are
a number of books on the subject by experts such as Brian Plummer.
For the purpose of
'rescue', a lurcher is a cross breed that has some greyhound in its parentage.
This makes him small if there is whippet or Bedlington terrier, or any
size up to very large if there is some wolfhound in him. He, also, can
be any colour and can be smooth, rough or broken-coated.
He
has most of the characteristics of a greyhound; in addition he usually knows that
he can jump, whereas most greyhounds, although they have the potential, don't
think they can!
These
dogs usually have the same wonderful nature as greyhounds; sadly, through ignorance,
many people get one as a pup, do not train it properly, then 'dump' it because
it doesn't know how to behave and becomes a liability. The strange anomaly is
that lurchers are frequently stolen from gardens, cars and even locked kennels
- many of these end up as strays in another part of the country. Every animal
sanctuary in the country has lurchers needing homes.
From
the Book of Kells (c 800 AD), fol 48r (detail) Hare and Hound
