Meet DC Jedashi-Al-Sharq Dorah MC, LCX, CGC, also known as “Da'sharq” or “Dasher.”  Dasher is a Saluki, the breed known as the royal dog of Egypt and perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog. Some historians have identified it as being a distinct breed as long ago as 329 BC., and similar carvings appeared in Egyptian tombs of 2100 BC. as well as in excavations of the Sumerian empire estimated at 7000-6000 BC. Salukis were held in such great esteem that their bodies were often mummified like those of the Pharaohs.

Dasher wins!

Dasher had an illustrious career in the show ring and was the #1 AKC Coursing Saluki in 2002 and 2003. Coursing events are held to develop, measure, and demonstrate the coursing skills of sighthounds such as Salukis, Greyhounds, Whippets, and other hounds bred to hunt by sight.

After several years of competition, Dasher is a now an official therapy dog registered with both Therapy Dogs Inc. and Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs. He spends many hours providing therapy in his own special way, including twice a week at Baylor Our Children’s House in Los Colinas and Frisco, Texas. He has helped a spinal-bifida child hold steady walking in new braces, served as an autistic child’s reward for performing tasks, helped a frightened child to find comfort in his soft fur, and calmed young siblings in hospital waiting rooms by being a furry friend.

Ooh, looks like a great book.

Dasher regularly dons his R.E.A.D. tags and spends time in schools and libraries helping children with reading disabilities. At the library, Dasher helped one little boy overcome his inhibitions and gain enough confidence to read aloud back in his school classroom. Another boy was described by his mother as becoming more outdoing and confident and motivated to read, even volunteering to be interviewed for a feature story on the Paws 4 Reading pilot program. The child said, “You get to read to the dogs, they listen to you. You get to sit by them and they are very soft.”