Divels Lewenna




Lewenna's pups by Sins Huntsman

You'll believe a Piggy can fly!
Piggy in full flight

Reg and Piggy's story

In 1975 I was working as a young vet at the RSPCA Putney Hospital and part of the job was to inspect the dogs at Southall RSPCA Re-homing centre.

One day I did the rounds and there was this funny looking creature in a cage looking at me forlornly. I was sure it must have been some kind of Greyhound cross. “Oh no,” said the manager “it’s a pedigree Ibizan Hound, just 15 wks old”. The first owner had bought the dog on a whim and then decided to emigrate a few weeks later!

I was entranced by this wonderful exotic creature, so elegant and unusual and I adopted her. She became a major part of my life for the next 15 years and we have some priceless memories of her.

When she was 2 yrs old we took her to be mated with Sin’s Huntsman at Diana Berry’s and Piggy subsequently had seven offspring. We used the kennel name “Tovies” for some reason which has disappeared into obscurity followed by the name of birds of prey. Most of the pups went to the London area but one, Tovies Eagle (of Divels) went back to Mrs. Watts, Piggy’s original breeder.

For a hound, Piggy was an incredibly fussy eater and she had us on a bit of a game scouring the supermarkets for bulk supplies of chicken giblets, her favourite repast. She hobnobbed with Jilly Cooper and her dog “Fortnum” on Putney Common and met Peter Bowles from Barnes.

She went with us to my next practice in Hastings and had a wonderful time racing along the cliffs at Fairlight and flying through fields of yellow flowering oilseed rape after rabbits. Her favourite trick was clearing 5-bar gates in a single bound.

She finished her days in North Devon where at last she had her own space to roam in our large garden. In 1990 at the age of 15 she developed chronic spinal problems and incontinence and I eventually had to make the decision to put her to sleep before she lost all dignity. It was the saddest day of my life as I buried her under a beech tree in the garden. She was a wonderful dog whom I will never forget.

One day when I retire, I have promised myself another Ibby – maybe a distant relative of my dear old Piggy.