Lady Irish Lace of Eaglewood

Her life

pedigree information/ conformation/ health details

Her life

I had decided that I tended to live in places that were a bit too cold for Great Danes and spent some time reading up on different breeds of dogs in an attempt to find a good breed to fit both my personality and my life style. I had a Great Pyrenees at the time who was somewhat less person oriented than I would prefer and had been giving idle thoughts about getting a second dog. From my reading it looked like an Irish Wolfhound would be the perfect breed for me. They seemed to have nice people oriented personalities and prefer the same temperature and climate ranges that I do.

One day I saw an add in our local paper about a Wolfhound for sale. Someone local was selling a wheaten female Irish Wolfhound that has just turned five. I called and went over to visit the owner and dog. Lacey's people were getting divorced and neither party wanted to keep the family dog. We went out on the back deck to look at Lacey and to discuss what a living with Wolfhound was like. During our talk, Lacy walked over and laid her head in my lap and stared up into my eyes. She kept this up for the duration of our talk. Well, she saw, she conquered, and I brought her home, saving her from a broken family situation.

She started out a little shy but calm and quickly became friends with Bear. Soon she was sleeping on my bed and keeping me company while Bear stayed out guarding the livestock. I quickly discovered that Lacey was an excellent people dog and was indeed everything I had hoped the breed would be. As she learned the house rules, became more comfortable with all the changes and learned to love me she blossomed as a companion dog. Since she was a good citizen when I got her and didn't have any neurotic habits, I assume she had a normal life with her previous family. I DO know that she got lots of love and companionship with me and seemed very happy with her life.

She did have to go to work once. We were having frequent coyote raids during the night where the coyotes would kill and run off with small livestock. Since Bear, my Great Pyrenees, was not allowed to run loose unsupervised, he was in a fenced in part of the yard. The coyotes also tended to double team him. One would draw him away and another would come in from behind for the kill. When I awoke from a ruckus and let him out of a fenced in area at night he could not catch the coyotes. This was an ongoing frustration that was costing livestock lives.

Lacey was much faster than Bear. I let them both out after a coyote attack and they headed off over the ridge in hot pursuit. They came home a bit later that night with blood on their coats that did not belong to either of them. That was the last night we lost livestock to coyotes. We no longer heard the coyotes sing from the next ridge after that incident. Sometimes a dog has gotta do what he or she was bred for. A massive livestock guardian dog and a fast Wolfhound can make a formidable livestock protection team.

Very soon after Lacey's 8th birthday she came down with bone cancer in her front leg. This cancer ravaged her quickly. It was my first experience with canine bone cancer and I did not know what to expect. I feel I held on to her too long trying to keep her with me and not wanting to face the loss of this wonderful loving heart hound.

Once again a dog taught me something about life and the virtue of unselfish love. To balance the quality of life against my need to hang on to one I love. Another lesson to carry on that can make parting with a future canine companion better for the dog. I just wish my lessons would not come with such pain.

Pedigree information/ Conformation/ Health details

LADY IRISH LACE OF EAGLEWOOD

Reg # HD412646

Born: 10, JULY 1983

Died: September 1991

Breeder: Lauri Porter

Sire: Major Acres Landon AAragon CD

Dam: Portauprince Kelly Ann

SS: Major Acres High Class

SSS: Major Acres Vanguard

SSD: Major Acres Elegance

SD: Major Acres Gloreegh

SDS: Major Acres Xcalibur

SDD: Major Acres Just Plain Cush

DS: Fun-e Finn of Swords

DSS: Bernard of Roscrea

DSD: Beatrix of Swords

DD: Celia of Murphree

DDS: Sunset Bragg

DDD: Gidget of Murphree

 

Conformation:

Lacey was a little narrow at the her chest, the hocks pointed out a little and her rear legs tracked a little to the side of her front legs. While she did not have any structurally debilitating problems she was definitely not show quality. She stood 32 inches at the shoulder. Basically she was a reasonably sound pet quality Irish Wolfhound.

Personality wise she was very loving and devoted and never showed any sign of aggression. Her personality matched the breed standard even if her body did not.

 

Health Details:

Lacey had a very good immune system and was never sick a day during the years I owned her until she came down with bone cancer. She did not seem to have any noticeable allergies.

She was diagnosed with bone cancer her front lower leg a month after her eighth birthday. Considering her age I believe she had an inherited genetic predisposition to bone cancer. This, unfortunately, is way too common in the Irish Wolfhound gene pool.

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