A Winning Spirit
I saw a dog which looked to me like an American Foxhound near the Duane Reade on 106th and Broadway, when I was in New York last week. The second time I saw this happy and active dog, I asked the owner what kind of a dog he was. The young man told me that he didn't know, and that the dog was a "rescue dog" which he'd only had for a couple of months. The young man looked like he could do with a rescue more than the dog. As I was talking to his owner, the dog became friendly, but possessive, as though to ward me off his master. I took this as a greeting, and stroked him gently, while asking the man what he called the dog. "Grant," he said. "What a name you have," I told the dog, who by now looked like he just wanted to play.
"He looks like an American Foxhound," I said. "You should have him tested. George Washington's dog was an American Foxhound." I left Grant with his owner, still playful and rambunctious. I wonder where his owner got "Grant" from, the movie star (Cary), or from President Ulysses Grant? Either way, this Grant is a member of a prestigious group.
John Ward Dunsmore (1856-1945)
The First Gentleman of Virginia: George Washington at the Hunt (c. 1777)
Frances Tavern Museum, New York City
Information on the painting is on page 20 of:
Images of America: Woodbrook Hunt Club
Joy Keniston-Longrie
Arcadia Publishing, 2009
I've written about Jewel, an American Foxhound, who won several dog shows. And my post George Washington and his Dogs discusses how Washington bred the American Foxhound from English and French hounds, and the names he gave his large menagerie of hounds.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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