An interview with: LILIAN BARBER
You acquired Your first italian GreYhound in 1966. What made You choose this breed? I really wanted a Dalmatian, but we were living in San Francisco at the time in a house with a yard about the size of most people’s bathrooms. My husband said we should get a small breed, considering the lack of space. I had always liked the larger breeds better but started going to some dog shows to see what I could find. Almost immediately I spotted an Italian Greyhound and its streamlined beauty really caught my attention. The handler, Jacqueline Quiros Kubat, was extremely friendly and generous with her explanation of the breed. I was hooked. In my usual fashion, I started to research the IG everywhere I possibly could. There was not much to be found at that time, which probably was what inspired me to start writing about the breed as soon as I had a little hands-on experience with it. after GettinG Your first iG pet, What made You decide to breed and shoW them? I hadn’t given any thought to showing or breeding but I got my first one from Ruth Bloore, whose Wavecrest line was one of the best known lines in the breed. The bitch I got from her was not from her stock. Ruth was trying to place two young adults for someone to make sure they went into good homes. I had been looking for a blue male puppy and wound up with a fawn adult female. Ruth explained that the girl was well bred and that I could get exactly what I wanted by breeding to her top producing blue stud dog, Ch. Lyonhil’s Mack The Knife. She also convinced me to try showing, that I might like it. The second time we showed Tina (my husband took her into the ring since I hadn’t yet overcome my innate shyness) she got a point—the only one she ever got. There were no nearby shows coming up and Tina came in season. We took Ruth up on her suggestion and wound up with a specialty winner in our very first litter. The rest is history.
What one person has influenced You the most either in or out of the doG World?
That’s a little difficult to answer. There have been several, along with Ruth Bloore. However, I think June Hunt probably did more to teach me the good and the bad about the dog fancy than anyone else I’ve ever met. June could have been one of the dog world’s greatest judges. She probably knew more about dogs than anyone else I’ve ever encountered. Unfortu- nately she had some issues that held her back. I could write a book about her. She taught me a great deal, not only about dogs. Which of Your doGs that You bred Was the most special to You, and WhY? Again, there are several and it’s difficult to come up with just one. I think maybe that would be a very petite, pretty boy from our third litter, Il Trovatore Di La Scala. He was truly my heart dog and went everywhere with me. He was the first one I actually showed myself and he had 13 points and both of his majors when one morning I came out of the bathroom on my way to work and found him ensconced on top of the TV set. He instantly knew he shouldn’t be there, took a flying leap down and broke his leg. In those days leg surgeries were iffy and “Rico” never recovered from the fracture. When the leg gave out a third time the vet said it was no longer possible to insert a pin (plating was as yet unknown). The only thing he could do was to amputate. I could not picture my beloved, beautiful Rico on three legs, not to mention that there was a strong possibility of his breaking his other front limb. The thought of that and another bout of agony for Rico brought about the decision to euthanize. It took me a long time to recover from losing him. What Was the best decision You made that contributed to the success of Your doGs? After the Rico incident I realized that I needed to re-think some of my breeding program and acquired a new foundation bitch from Paula Hutchinson of Sylhue Italian Greyhounds, Ch. Sylhue Maid of Virtue. “Speedy” and I did some nice win- ning, which bolstered my confidence and headed La Scala IGs in the right direction.
“Almost immediAtely i sPotted An itAliAn Greyhound And its streAmlined beAuty reAlly cAuGht my Attention.”
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