Hearthounds...   Whilst chatting on the phone with a friend the other day about our hounds, past & present, we got to talking about those hounds which have truly connected with us in a very special way – our Hearthounds. Of course we all love all of our hounds & try not to have favourites, I know I certainly do, but nevertheless there are still those hounds that touch our souls on a different level. This got me thinking about Hearthounds. Are there really hounds which touch us more deeply, or is it just wishful thinking? Is there a common denominator that makes these hounds truly special? Or is there just an indefinable affinity which forms for no apparent reason? With this in mind I started to canvass stories from other friends about their Hearthounds to see if I could pinpoint anything that was consistently mentioned, such as a beloved first hound, a hound that won well in the ring, a stud dog or brood bitch that produced well, a hound kept from a longed for first litter, a hound that was of comfort at a time of stress, etc, etc. And the results were pretty much as I expected – it seems there are no rules as to what makes certain hounds just that bit more special, they just are. Some Hearthounds I was told about had won well for their owners, so does that imply that the hound only became special because it won well? Or is it not more likely that the hound won well because it had that deeper emotional bond with its owner? Some were beloved first hounds that realised their owner’s dream of having an Irish Wolfhound, often a dream these owners had held dear from childhood. Some owners, like myself, can not talk about their lost Hearthounds without getting a bit teary eyed no matter how long ago they were lost, something which non-doggy folk would probably find incredibly hard to fathom. Some revel in their memories, while others will always find it hard to look at photos or videos of their beloved lost Hearthounds. The only consistency was the firmly held belief that Hearthounds really do exist. So what about me? Well, I had thought my first hound, Gemma, was special but it wasn’t until I first felt that intense, ethereal rapport with another hound, Rodrick, many years later that I realised that, yes, Gem had been special, but she hadn’t been my Hearthound. Strangely they had both entered my life as adult hounds, & I loved them both deeply, but that is where the similarities end. The complete devotion & intense enigmatic understanding I had with Rodrick was something I had never experienced before, with Gemma or the hounds I had had in between times. I have loved all of my Wolfhounds, & it is always hard when one is lost, but with a Hearthound it affects you much more profoundly. Rodrick has been gone just over 4 years now & I still miss him desperately. There is honestly not a day that has passed when I haven’t thought of him and, until recently, I had thought that that was it, I had had my Hearthound & there would never, could never, be another hound with whom I would connect so completely. But that was without reckoning on May…. May is my pick bitch from my long awaited first litter and she has done well in the ring so far, but those are not the reasons for my feelings for her. For the first 12 months she was incredibly hard to connect with on any level; she wouldn’t even look at me; it was almost as if she was autistic; and I even considered letting her go as I thought she was unhappy here. It was then, when I backed off & stopped trying so hard, that she sought contact with me. Small steps at first & now, 15 months on, I have come to realise that we have built up that indescribably complex connection, that deeper ethereal bond, she is my Hearthound. I have to say though that this revelation in no way diminishes the feeling of loss I still have when I think of Roddy each day, and no hound could ever replace him in my heart, but it does help to know that May is now here to possibly carry on where he left off & that could be room in my heart for more than just one Hearthound. This brings me neatly back to the question of what makes a Hearthound? Why is it I find myself more deeply connected to May than her mother, my beautiful, intelligent & obstinate Kat, or her aunt, my sunny, sweet, smiling Gloria, or for that matter her brother, my very special, handsome “Mummy’s Boy” Eddie? And why is it that although on a conscious level I feel I love them all equally, it is May who I find has gotten under my skin? I don’t have the answers except to say that that is just how it is! So what have I discovered about Hearthounds? I’ve found that there are no rules governing what makes a hound a Hearthound; and I think that until you have experienced that extra, inexplicable connection you will probably think that every hound you have is a Hearthound; and that possibly some single hound owners may never experience the deeper bond that those of us who keep more hounds do. Moreover I have found that there is no magic formula to create that uniquely enigmatic attachment and that you can not predict when, or if, it will develop. However, on a positive note I can say that I have also learnt that I am not alone in finding that lightening can strike twice; it is not impossible to have more than one Hearthound in your lifetime. A fact that will still be nonetheless hard to hold on to when you lose that special Hearthound…   © Nicky Warwick 2008