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ADOPTION
in the late 1920s or early 1930s
Harcunda* & Victor Gates
Harcunda* & Emma Gates
Victor and Emma were my grandparents. They adopted Harcunda* from a friend who took
the dog to their home in Burlington Ontario asking if my grandparents would give
this retired racer & stud a home as a pet. They had to promise not to race
him, not to breed him, not to let him run free AND to keep him as an indoor pet.
My grandmother was not happy about having a dog in
the house! My grandfather was a wonderful man who didn't ask/demand
much, however, this was one time when my grandmother had virtually no say in
the matter. I remember my grandmother
hated dogs with the exception of one that she spoke of very fondly. His
name was ‘Harcunda’. Of course within
no time Harcunda was my grandmother’s heart dog.
Harcunda did get loose
one day running from my grandparents home down the road about 1/2 a mile to
the western shore of Lake Ontario where my grandfather's younger
sister finally caught him.
Many
years after my great aunt passed away I was going through a box of old photos
and found the two photos above. Written on the back of them in my grandfather's
handwriting was 'Harcunda and Victor' & 'Harcunda and
Emma'. There were no dates but I knew the house as it was later the
garage to the home they built that my dad and then I was born in.
When I began researching Harcunda's name I couldn't find any trace of him. I posted to globalgreyhounds supplying the little information I knew about him. A couple of folks searched old stud books and found his records for me! This information was then added to greyhound-data, which also shows Harcunda had a female littermate who’s race name was Wilwinit and pet name was Haroona! Here is Harcunda & Wilwinit's family tree!
http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=905468
Who
would have thought 70+/- years later I would get my first grey - a dark
brindle like my grandfather's, and like my grandmother, I too would fall head
over heals for this breed!!
July 22, 2009