. CHAPTER LVII Italian Greyhound ffROM the small running or coursing dog of the period illus- trated by Roman and Greek statuary to the small Italian greyhound was a much shorter journey for breeders to follow than the raising of the breed to the size and fame of the greyhound of England. We have not succeeded in finding any representation in old statuary of this pet hound, the ladies' dogs which we have so far come across being Pomeranians, as we now call them, or to dogs that bore a resemblance to the Maltese dogs or French poodles. They seemed to be all long haired dogs and so distinct from
. CHAPTER LVII Italian Greyhound ffROM the small running or coursing dog of the period illus- trated by Roman and Greek statuary to the small Italian greyhound was a much shorter journey for breeders to follow than the raising of the breed to the size and fame of the greyhound of England. We have not succeeded in finding any representation in old statuary of this pet hound, the ladies' dogs which we have so far come across being Pomeranians, as we now call them, or to dogs that bore a resemblance to the Maltese dogs or French poodles. They seemed to be all long haired dogs and so distinct from the graceful outline of the Italian greyhound that if the latter was in existence at the time of the Roman Empire they were not the popular or fashionable dog. Between that period and the development of painting on canvas the Italian greyhound advanced to a leading position as a lady's pet and appears also as the favourite of many prominent men, even associated with high church dignitaries and given prominence in paintings of important his- torical events. The weight of testimony is very decidedly in support of the correctness of the name, for these small dogs are far more often seen in Italian scenes or paintings with Italian affiliations than any other dog and are not by any means so frequently met with in paintings of other countries. A well known instance of this kind is the painting of the Italian consort of James II, by Paul Veronese. The dog is not a beauty, from our standard of quality, but he doubtless pleased Her Majesty just as well. Previous to that another royal portrait, that of Anne, the consort of James I of Eng- land has on the canvas a pet greyhound. While it is desirable to get a small Italian greyhound diminutive size is secondary to certain characteristics pertaining to the breed, which are unfortunately too frequently lost sight of by the ubiquitous all-round Judge to whom the duty of deciding upon the merits of the Italian greyhound is invariably given.
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectdogs, bookyear1906
