Common name : Russian wolfhound
Scientific name : Canis lupus familiaris
Family : Canidae
Native to : Europe
Interesting fact : Its association with the czars caused it to become a symbol of ill-gotten comfort; many were put to death in the course of the Russian Revolution. The wolfhound of Russian nobility, the borzoi shares its ancestry with the Russian bearhound of the Tartars and the owtchar, a tall sheepdog. It is known for its speed, and amicable behaviour. They were used to hunt wolves in groups of twos and threes alongside foxhounds. It was saved a sad extinction by a clever trick of gifting the borzoi to other country heads and aristocracy. The breed was successfully introduced in America as well.
