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Beginnings
Originally,
we had no plans to show, course or breed when we acquired our first Saluki,
Iroki Sarastro (aka Wizard).
We were in love with the breed and wanted a companion. Our breeder convinced
us to give showing a try since Wizard was a very handsome fellow. Showing
is not my favourite canine pursuit and I view it more as a beauty contest
and a social occasion rather than a means to determine a good dog, but Wizard
did achieve 7 points in the ring. We never finished him. Today he is the head
couch potato in our home! We did become involved with Lure Coursing and helped
found the Saskatchewan Sighthound Association when we still lived on the prairies
of Saskatchewan. 
We
haven't had much opportunity to pursue Lure Coursing since moving to northern
BC because there are relatively few nearby shows or trials to participate
in.
We acquired Iroki's Anitra (aka Nina), our second Saluki, 3 months after the first. Nina is a litter mate to Wizard. We never intended to show her either but boy can that girl run down a lure! Nina eventually went to live with our friend Cathie Hays in Airdrie Alberta, Canada and started her coursing career at the age of 10! People often mistook her for a youngster because of her small stature and spritely attitude! Nina passed away in 2003 at age 13.
Although neither Wizard or Nina were influential in my breeding program and they don't really qualify as our foundation, I feel they deserve mention here as they were our first Salukis - the Salukis who taught us all about Salukis - and without them, we never would have had our start in the breed.
Foundation
As I became increasingly enamored
with the Saluki, the more driven I was to learn and become a part of the "Saluki
Community" and I began to entertain thoughts of having my own kennel
and breeding one day. When the opportunity arose for me to have Iroki Pelageya (aka jenny)
I jumped for joy. Her mother had always been one of my favourites. I still
had much to learn about the breed and breeding - and I still do - but I knew
that Jenny was beautiful and that I wanted her to be the foundation of my
breeding program. With that decision I began studying some pedigrees of dogs
that appealed to me and I kept coming back to the same lines of breeding -
the one I already had and those of old English lineage! Recently I have become
interested in desert bred dogs and will likely incorporate this in the future.
From the next Iroki litter I took a male, Iroki Oberon (aka Darby), who is just the epitome of a tough guy yet very loving and personable. No dog is perfect and what Jenny lacked Darby compensated for, and vice versa, and I thought "someday they will make beautiful puppies together."
Of course it would be quite some time before
I anticipated breeding Darby & Jenny and I took my time learning what
I could about the whole process. I wasn't in a hurry and wanted to establish
myself in the breed by titling my Salukis in the ring and on the field before
diving in head first. As circumstance would have it, family obligations, distance
and finances limited my participation but these goals are ongoing.
In 1997-1998 my breeder encountered several mishaps involving her dogs and lost both Morag (Jenny's sister) and Lucy (Darby's sister) which were important for carrying her line in the years to come. Not only were they to be bred from in the future but they were the only ones left in that line that were to be used . . . except for Jenny & Darby. To my surprise my breeder asked if we could co-breed a litter. I was at once elated and terrified. And so it began . . . .
Darby & Jenny produced our first litter
in 1998 and our April Fool's litter in 2000
for us. Out of these 10 puppies Faridaat kept a cream male, Iroki Faridaat
Simon Says (Simon) and a beautiful red sable female, Iroki
Faridaat Kinyago (Kenya). Kenya will continue our line from Iroki.
In 2001, we welcomed yet another gorgeous girl into the Faridaat household. Bred by Hope Waters (Burydown) & Carole Adley (Hilerica) Burydown Violane Gem (aka Layla) shares both the Dutch(Samoems) and Old English components with my Iroki Line and is already proving to be an excellent addition to our family and to the future of Faridaat Salukis. In a totally different direction, 2003 saw the addition of the lovely Melik Gulshen (aka Eden), of /2 Turkish/Kurdish desert descent, from Melik Salukis to incorporate into our breeding program.
We are very excited about our future with our three lovely girls. In several years time we also hope to import another desert bred to incorporate into our breeding program. Watch for them and their progeny in the ring and on the field in the years ahead!