The Azawakh Club

Vision

Our vision is a world where the Azawakh thrive, both now and forever; a world in which people of diverse cultures work together to achieve shared goals concerning the welfare of the Azawakh, and where all challenges to the preservation of the Azawakh are overcome.

Form

We are a benevolent organization where the beneficiaries are first and foremost the Azawakh, and secondarily the members ourselves.

Mission

Our mission is the preservation, welfare and advancement of the Azawakh.  One of our goals is to disseminate information about the Azawakh as they exist today in and outside Africa and to share this information with others with a spirit of cooperation in a non-competitive social climate.

The Azawakh

Azawakh are aboriginal to the southern Sahara and Sahel zone of the countries of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Algeria.

Forged over millennia into creatures possessed of unique physical, mental and aesthetic qualities, the Azawakh to this day serve three distinct and often inextricably interrelated functions in their African homeland: guardian, hunter and status symbol.

In appearance they are at once familiar and mysterious: lean and almond-eyed, they call to mind the north African, Middle Eastern and Asiatic sighthounds, yet their demeanor is predatory and untamed. Specimens vary in type from rustic to sublime, but the basic format–that of a short-backed, long-legged canine–is consistent.

Their temperament is at once complex and opaque and is a striking counterpoint to the austere simplicity of their external format. Thousands of years of domestication have only superficially masked the primitive underpinnings that support their motivations and reactions to stimuli.

Suspicious, hyper-vigilant, fiercely territorial and loyal, they typically form an exclusive attachment to one master. With their master and with those whom their master trusts, they are both independent and gentle. With strangers and in unfamiliar situations they can be avoidant to the point of unnaproachability.

In Africa, Azawakh are only rarely treated as pets or companions. The relationship between Azawakh and master is one of symbiosis and mutual respect; each needs the other. Outside Africa they are primarily appreciated for their companionship. Their inherent resilience and adaptability more than qualifies them to assume this role.

The Azawakh Club of America, Inc. (AZCA) was founded by Corine Lundqvist in 1998 to promote the Azawakh and unite enthusiasts committed to the Club’s core mission.

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