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Hassan came to Queen Bat from Hundstallet, a home for abandoned dogs in Stockholm, when he was three years old. He was clipped, which gave his mom time to learn about coat care for Afghan hounds, which is a science unto itself, before the coat grew long.

Hassan loved Lure Coursing above all things, and would have become a champion if he had lived. Unfortunately, he was only five years old when succumbing to liver failure. He was greatly missed by all that knew him.

Here he is at Alfta LC trial in 2003.
The whole story:

I grew up with dogs, there was always at least one in the house, and sometimes we had puppies too! So, it was always something that I missed, although I couldn't have a dog myself, since I was almost never home, and didn't want the responsibility.

That changed a few years ago, I felt that I was willing to make the sacrifices needed for the benefit of unconditional love. I still worked more than full time, but was in a position where I could bring a dog with me to work, but I couldn't take the time to raise a puppy - so I decided to give an abandoned dog a new home.

I had heard about Hundstallet, a rescue center for abandoned dogs, from friends, so I called, and visited, and left my requests. They don't have the dogs on parade, they decide which dogs to show you, and it usually take a couple of months at least, depending on your preferences. I asked for a medium-sized, preferably male dog, no preferred breed.

And then I waited, and waited, and waited. And finally, after almost three months, they called and told me that they had a dog that they thought would suit me, but he was a little on the large side. He was an afghan hound - and I tried to remember what little I knew about them. I had admired their looks as a teenager, and was intrigued. I went to see him, and took him for a walk.

He refused to look anyone in the eye, and didn't want to be petted. The typical afghan features were distorted since he had been clipped, and his coat was about an inch long all over. He seemed very strong-willed, and a little arrogant. We went out and walked for about 20 minutes in the woods nearby. He pulled quite a lot, and didn't acknowledge me at all - but when we got back, he gave me a split-second look that said "thanks". I decided to give it a try.

The dog with no name, as nobody knew what he had been called, they called him "Affe". I took him in a taxi to work, and brought him in to meet everyone. Then we took a long walk, and arrived home late afternoon. I wasn't very well prepared, and had forgotten the food I had been given at work, so I decided to go out to the store for some more...but NO. The arrogant, self-sufficient dog I had brought home, who turned his back to me all the time, panicked when I closed the door on him. He screamed and threw himself at the door, and I had to abandon all thoughts of leaving him alone for a second. Finally, a friend bought the necessary things for me and brought them over.

I had been researching afghan hounds for a few days already, and soon located the web pages of Sveriges Afghaner, the breed association in Sweden. There I found some useful information, and also links to some breeders, who possibly could help me with the information I needed. I visited the pet shop for the first of many, many visits, buying his first brush and a new collar and leash. He slipped out of his first collar easily when he wanted to, so that was a necessity. That first brush, I found out later, was harmful to the coat and shouldn't be used except perhaps on the paws.

During those first days, my whole workplace was busy finding the most suitable name for our newest workmate. After a couple of days, and several tests and rejects, we decided on Hassan Suleiman bin Ulla, Hassan for short.

I was lucky enough to find a very knowledgeable source of information fairly easily, that was Christina Lundström, a renowned breeder under the prefix Khaos Afghans, and owner of a pet shop in Stocholm. She was invaluable in sorting through the information I had. Hassan's original breeder was unavailable. It was also through Christina that I came in contact with Sofia Lindh, who is a dog trainer, and she helped me with Hassan's problems, and suggested the appropriate training. Slowly, I started to work through the wall of distrust that Hassan had put up around himself, and started to make contact. It was a slow process, but after about six months, I could leave Hassan alone long enough to take the garbage out, without him screaming! A breakthrough!

That first summer, I learned about Lure Coursing, and the practice sessions the Sighthound Club arranged. Since Hassan liked hunting everything that moved, and looooved running more than anything, I decided to give it a try. We took the underground train to a suburb south of Stockholm, and followed the directions that led us to a field where there already was a couple of people, and dogs, waiting. There was, among others, Carina Ekwall with her afghan hound Cornelia, also there for the first time.

The organizers arrived, and set up the field, and soon the first trial run was off. Hassan decided immediately that THIS is what he was born for! He jumped up and down, warbling in that typical Afghan voice, every time that lure went off! After each run, he turned to me and said "I want to try that!!" and finally, he had his first run. A happier dog I have never seen, and we returned every other Wednesday all that summer to have our practice runs, and encouraged by the staff, Hassan took his license late fall, which would allow him to compete the following year.

It was still difficult for Hassan to be alone for more than a few minutes, and my friends were worn out from helping (thanks, King Rat, and everyone!) so I decided to try getting one more dog, since this was what everyone recommended. First, I started looking att puppies, but soon decided that another grown dog would be preferable. After a few months of looking, Christina called and asked if I would be interested in taking Emma, since her human family was separating and they couldn't take care of their two Afghan girls. I was, Emma and Hassan got along very well, and Emma was soon part of our family.

Next summer, Hassan was ready to start competing! We went to Bråviken south of Stockholm for his first trial, and he came in second and won a cc. Next it was Alfta, and he again came in second. But I started noticing that he was unwilling to walk very much after running extensively, and it got worse, so we went to the vet, who x-rayed his shoulders. The news was not good. He had damage to his shoulder joints, and it would get worse. The vet gave him about a year, until it would become too painful.

He recommended painkillers, and since I wanted him to be able to move, and run, for as long as possible, I started giving him the medicine. He was overjoyed to be able to walk and run freely again, and was his old self again - at the very last Lure Coursing training, he was so happy! Unfortunately, he had other medical problems that nobody knew about. Just a few days later, he got sick and when I went in to the vet, they took him in. His liver had totally given up, probably due to some earlier damage that the painkillers now had made worse. After two days of fighting, we had to let him go. I was devastated.

Even now, several years later, I can't write about it without the tears starting to run again. Then, I just walked with Emma, for hours and hours, thinking about Hassan, and if I could have done anything to prevent this. But I really did everything I could to make him happy...Christina had kept two puppies from her latest litter, to see how they developed. She had just decided to sell Emser, and I decided to buy him, not to replace Hassan, but really to have something new to occupy my thoughts...but that is Emser's story!