A deerhound called Archie
WE have lived on a narrowboat for eight years and throughout that time I’ve done a fair amount of towpath walking. During those walks, I’ve come across a diverse variety of different dog breeds.
There’s one breed, however, which goes against the norm when we think of dog breeds that live on narrowboats, and the breed in question is the leggy Scottish deerhound, certainly an old and relatively rare breed. And yet, here in Caen Hill Marina we have a delightful couple, Gavin and Frances, with their equally delightful Scottish deerhound, or just plain deerhound as they are more commonly known. I recently caught up for a quick chat with Gavin, Frances and Archie.
Archie, who is now two-and-a-half years old, isn’t exactly unknown to me because we’ve watched him going off for his daily walks with either Frances or Gavin ever since he was a young, gangly puppy. And whenever we saw him, all legs and wavy grey flecked coat, we marvelled at how on earth he fitted into narrowboat life. I mean, he’s a tall and relatively long hound. You sort of generate a mental image of the head at one end of the boat and tail at the other, with his back perhaps a mere inch or two from the interior cabin ceiling! Gavin and Frances soon put me right. Their lovely, friendly and affectionate Archie loves boat life and fits in perfectly on their 57ft narrowboat Merdeka. The boat name, incidentally, means ‘independent’ or ‘free’ in Indonesian and Malay. Indeed, a fitting boat name for a happy couple and their equally happy Archie.
While chatting, I asked why the choice of a deerhound as a breed for a liveaboard, and Frances told me that as a young girl she had owned an adorable deerhound cross. It was those memories which made her decide to look for a pedigree deerhound. Their search led them to a recognised and reputable breeder in the Midlands. Archie was considered the runt in a 12-puppy litter but looking at him now, you certainly wouldn’t think so. Granted, he is still leggy but that’s in the breed's DNA. They need to be leggy because they were originally bred for coursing red deer in Scotland, and not unlike the greyhound, deerhounds course by sight not scent.
Archie can be proud of his pedigree because he has a brother, Floyd, currently being trained for film work. Another interesting point regarding the breed, which Frances mentioned, is that despite the ruffled wiry coat, they don’t shed hair, a handy plus for a boat-dwelling dog breed. While we sat chatting, Archie’s keen inquisitiveness and intelligence came through clearly, and he isn’t shy to let his owners know when he thinks it’s time to go for a walk. He lets them know with a few communicative barks.
Gavin and Frances clearly ensure Archie always has one of them for company, and he in turn shows his contentedness through his loyalty and affection. I for one will always enjoy seeing Archie out on the towpath, even though he’s a bit like a thoroughbred racehorse champing at the bit.