For many years, expeditions took place in the Sahel area by Azawakh enthusiasts from several countries who visited different tribes that bred these dogs. They returned home to Europe and North American with puppies they hoped would not only broaden the gene pool, but save a breed they believe was at risk through preservation breeding. They exchanged items of value towards survival for the Taureg in exchange for pups, and we’ve learned that this is still the way Azawakhs are bred today, with the ‘old’ bloodlines bred with pure or with recent imports from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Most Azawakh owners take this history very seriously.  To our knowledge, Daoud Abdullah Abdullah was the last person to export Azawakhs from the Sahel and bring them back to the United States several years ago.

Photograph courtesy of Corine de Garde-Épée of a nine month old female whose grandparents were imported to France and USA from Niger in 2007 with one of the expeditions to the nomad tribes in Sahel.