The Hounds of Abusir - whippets and pharaoh hound Omorose Bahira Sun over Abusir

I am very proud to introduce my new baby! Zante, or Birkhall Barazinbar at Abusir as he is more formally known is the newest addition to the Abusir family and BOY do we know he is here! Bred by Claire Hindley of Birkhall Hounds in Scotland, he combines the best of Swedish and American lines, his mother being Ir Ch Antefa's Renenet at Birkhall and his sire Ch AM CH Hallam's Burisis Ra Qena (USA). Thanks to Dominic Carota and Dr Stephen Sipperly for letting Sirus stay in the country long enough for this mating to take place. Thanks to all of you for letting me have this wonderful boy

You forget just how exuberant a pharaoh hound puppy can be until they are actually inside (what it left of) your house, but its all worth it. Zante is so happy, so upbeat and so good natured that you forgive him almost anything. His tail is like a metronome, constantly thumping whatever is next to him - usually me. It only really stops when he finally flakes out on the couch next to you (as he is now). He will be unleashed on the unsuspecting show circuit in June. You have been warned...the red peril is on his way!

Mena - Omorose Bahira Sun over Abusir

Our third dog, Mena, is our first pharaoh hound. She came to us thanks to Val Jones of Omorose Pharaohs in Lancashire and life has never been dull since. Blessed (and I used that word with my tongue stuck firmly in my cheek) with the boundless energy of her breed, Mena has taken the house by storm and despite the fact she still chews through just about anything she can find, we love her to bits. She has a really sunny personality and 'smiles' often. Mena was shown a number of times on the mainland as a puppy and won three Best Puppy in Breed awards at the Hound of Scotland Association show, S.K.C and Blackpool. She was also placed third best in show at the Isle of Man Royal Agricultural Open Show 2007.

In 2008 Mena won reserve CC at WELKS, Best Opposite Sex at Hound of Scotland, Reserve Best bitch at Blackpool, Best in Show at the Royal Manx Agricultural Show.

In 2009 at WELKS Mena won her first CC under judge Malcolm Gibson. Thank you for thinking so much of our special girl

Mena now has her own page, use this link to take a look to see her most recent results!

Gipsy - Acornlodge Gipsy Kiss of Abusir

She was bred by Helen Gough of Acornlodge whippets in Derbyshire and I have to admit, when we met Gipsy it was love at first sight! Things haven't changed and she is still our much beloved 'head girl'. I had no intention of showing Gipsy when we bought her, all our dogs are pets first and foremost, but I took her along to ringcraft for socialising. There was a local limit show planned and several people said "Why don't you enter? She's a nice little dog". I entered, we showed up and Gipsy walked off with reserve best in show on her first outing! That was me hooked and she has done a fair bit of winning since including BIM at the the Isle of Man Supermatch, 2 more reserve best in shows and Best in Show under Jean Lanning in May 2005. Next to join us was:-

Brackan -  Dumbriton in the Dark of Abusir   20/08/04 - 3/7/08

I have taken my time in updating this page as I just couldn't bring myself to type it out, but sadly we lost Brackan on 3/7/08 after a sudden illness. Test have since shown that she had Addisons disease and despite all our best efforts she could not be saved. Words can't describe how much we miss her. Sleep well, little angel...

Brackan, Dumbriton in the Dark, was our second whippet thanks to Patsy Gilmour of Dumbriton whippets. An absolute sweetie, her show career was brought to a halt by the fact I got pregnant twice in two years and found it a lot more difficult to travel to the mainland. She still managed to qualify for Crufts, won Reserve Best puppy in show, and Best Junior in match at the Isle of Man Supermatch.

 Our entry into the world of dog showing was purely accidental. After having dogs, usually border collies, purely as pets for years, in 2003 we decided to have a change. Our friends, Paul and Ann Shimmin of Cranstal Salukis turned our attention towards hounds; specifically whippets and after having a good look around we found the wonderful dogs we have today

In 2007 we took on the kennel name of 'Abusir'. The name means 'House or temple of Osiris' and refers to an ancient site several miles from Giza, location of the Great Pyramid. It dates to the 5th Dynasty in Egyptian history and has several pyramids of its own, albeit smaller and less well preserved than those on the Giza plateau. Many graves have been found at the site and are being excavated, most notably by Czech archaelogists. In the tomb of a judge called Inti there is a picture of his favourite dog, a hound called Idjem (below). Look familiar?