The only dog mentioned in the Bible, the greyhound has been the pride and respect of several prominent civilizations.
Greyhounds are considered to be the earliest purebred dogs, recording back to the time of Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. Greyhounds found in the paintings inside the tombs of the Great Pyramids.
Greyhounds were well loved and adored for their stamina, grace, speed, and loyalty by the Egyptian Pharaohs. They rode on their master's camel, lived with them in their tents and adorned the same amulets to ward off evil spirits. Only the birth of a son was an event above the birth of a greyhound.
The greyhound migrated with the large camel trains and traders from Egypt to Greece, Russia, and Rome reaching the far boundaries of the vast Roman Empire, including Britain.
In Britain owning a greyhound was regarded as the domain of the noble. The Forest Law passed by King Canute in the 11th century, forbade peasants and freeman from owning a greyhound. The law also stated that the killing of a greyhound should carry the same capital punishment as the killing of a man.
Elizabeth 1 was a keen enthusiast of the chase and commanded the Duke of Norfolk to formulate the laws of the leash and so for the first time, the rules were set for the sport.
The present-day greyhound still preserves all the characteristics that made it so valued throughout the centuries. It has traversed a long distance but the greyhound is still a loyal and noble companion with an ability to chase as strong as it was in the days of the Pharaohs.
The sport of chasing on a race track is pretty recent. It began with O.P. Smith inventing the mechanical lure in 1912. Eight years later racing was introduced at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Currently, greyhounds race in many various countries around the globe.
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