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Hilton was the wildest one in the litter. He was a coarse
and not so elegant puppy. I wanted a red, elegant male,
but couldn't resist him. He was nailed to my retina all
the time. I have never regret my choice. He is still wild
and can be really mischievous.
Hilton loves to run, which have resulted in some serious
accidents. Once he cut a tendon in his foreleg. When he
ran into a three in 2007 he fractured the pelvis, injured
his knee. The muscle in the thigh was almost ripped off
and he damaged the nerves in his hind leg. The vets didn't
believe that the nerve damage would heel, as the hind leg
didn't move properly. They were certain that Hilton never
could be a show dog and they doubted that he would be able
to run again.
I
was so happy that Hilton survived, but a life without
running free, is not a life for a young saluki, so I
thought it was the end. Fortunately, I never gave up.
There was a long period of rehabilitation, many long
drives and ups and downs. After we started with
acupuncture treatment he finally started to get better and
after a year he was back in business.
In 2008 Hilton finished his Norwegian and Swedish champion
title. He was No 2 saluki male of the year in Norway, in
only five shows. He also gained his lure coursing license.
In his first competition he got 83 points and was only
0,25 points behind the one who got the CAC.
In 2009 Hilton was involved in another serious accident,
when he injured his neck after a fall in high speed. He
rarely show signs of pain, but this time he screamed and
afterwards he was not able to lift his head. I was sure
that the neck was fractured and drove like mad to the vet.
We had to wait a couple of hours and when it finally was
our turn, Hilton walked as nothing had happened. His neck
was stiff for quite some time, though and he didn't want
to be a part of things he normally was afraid to miss out
on. He wasn't himself at the shows and after a while he
started limping on a fore leg. The whole dog was x-rayed,
but no injury found. On the contrary: His hips and elbows
were excellent. In the end we found that the biceps had
been beaten and we faced a new period of rehabilitation.
2010 started fantastic as Hilton won the CAC and CACIB in
Denmark and was Best of Breed. This made him a new Danish
and Nordic champion. Hopefully he has had his share of
injuries and bad luck and will stay healthy in the future.
Hilton is a bit self-righteous, but he loves his sister
more than anything and they have a lot of fun together.
Hilton is very alert on our walks and he notices every
small movement in the nature. He sees a cat in a several
miles distance. Indoors he sleeps a lot, but in the garden
he runs like mad and plays with his half-brother, Izaac.
If the sun is out, they will both sunbathe. |
