The vagaries of conflict or occupation have been known to impact the “official” claim to a breed, and so it was that when France established a protectorate over Morocco as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912 (it was already occupying Algeria and Tunisia), the Sloughi became a French sighthound by “right of conquest,” as Dr. Dominique de Caprona so eloquently phrased it in her owner’s guide. Of course the Sloughi is a North African breed, but that there was a “French relationship” with the breed is apparent.
The fine canine writer, Amy Fernandez, wrote that the French occupation of Algeria became the gateway to the Sloughi’s “remake as a modern purebred,” and by that perhaps she meant that it increased the public’s awareness of a heretofore little known breed when French officers imported North African Sloughis. Europeans became intrigued by the Sloughi, an interest that spiked as dog shows became popular across Europe in the mid 19th century, and fanciers enjoyed exhibiting new breeds in the show ring.
Certainly French artists were quick to appreciate the beauty of the breed’s clean lines and elegant carriage. Among them:
French sculptor, Antoine-Louis Barye’s rendering of “Tom,” an Algerian Greyhound (as the breed was sometimes known):
The work of Eugène Fromentin:
Jules Edmond Mason’s sculpture:
The first detailed description of the breed was written by the French General, E. Daumas, and in 1925, the first breed standard was published by the French Sighthound Club with a more in-depth version coming in 1938. That club integrated as the Club du Sloughi which sponsored the breed as a Race frangaise or French breed. When the north of Africa became free of French rule, however, and Morocco established its own kennel organization, the Sloughi rightfully became its responsibility.
The “French Connection” continued into America when Jacques and Ermine Moreau—Sipiere (who had established their Sloughi breeding program in France in 1976 under the name, Sipiere International Sloughis) moved to the US in 1979 and bred the first American litter in 1981.
Image: Pastel Sloughi by Kinga Wnuk from 2015. The artist accepts commissions and has other work that may be purchased here.