Mostafa Kamal Khan Sohail, Bijoynagar (Brahmanbaria)
Sarail's Hound, a rare predatory species of dog, is locally known as Sarail's dog. This dog is different from other dogs in appearance, shape and its behaviour.
The historic Sarail Hound is on the brink of extinction. Pure Sarail dogs are almost extinct all over the country. Once, there were several local families to keep Sarail's dogs. But many have stopped rearing Hounds now.
The face of Sarail’s Hound looks like fox’s face. Its sleek and powerful body, thin and elongatedhips, tiger-striped brindle, large chest, and radiate energy make it extraordinary than other types of dog. The ears and tailsof this dogare long.They are very violent and sharp.
The main power of Sarail's dog is not in its sense of smell but in itseyesight. They can run very fast. A dog can run at a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour. In some European countries, such dogs are used for racing.
The height of male dogs of this breed is around 25-26 inches. The weight is around 23-33 kgs. On the other hand,the height of female dogs is 23-26 inches and weightis around 16-28 kg.
The colours of Sarail Hounds are brown-white and black-white. These dogs live longer than normal dogs. The average life expectancy of these dogs is around 8-14 years.
The peculiarities of Sarail Hounds are- they are more agile than ordinary dogs, hard-working, and have a lighter body. Due to their extreme quickness, they are very good at hunting rabbits, foxes, wild cats and tigers. Moreover, thieves and robbers stay away from this dog.
These dogs are native to Europe. About Two hundred years ago, Dewan Majtuba Ali, the then Zamindar of Sarail Pargana, collected this special breed of dog from an English gentleman in exchange of an elephant. Dewans used to keep these dogs.
At that time, keeping Hounds was the matter of pride at the Dewan's house. The dogs worked as their guards.
There are some myths about Sarail's dog. One myth is that the species that is created by combining fox with dog is Sarail's dog. That's why a dog's face is like a fox's. The other myth is because of Sarail's skin color. It is said that this dog of Zamindar Dewan got lost in the forest. Several days later the dog came back pregnant. After giving birth, the tiger was found to be very similar to it. This species is thought to have originated in association with tigers.
Earlier, Sarail Hound was available in almost every house in Sarail. And in the house where these dogs lived, strangers could not enter the house. Every dog faithfully guarded its owner's house.
The Hounds were available at Sarail until the eighties. The Sarail Hounds became very popular in the area as well as the other parts of the country. Sarail's name spread all over the country and abroad due to the dog.
Once, there were exhibitions of these Hounds in Sarail. At that time there was a dog storage center. In 1973, an initiative was taken to protect Hounds. At that time, Sarail 4-room dog sanctuary was constructed at a cost of Tk 32,000. But due to various irregularities and corruption, it was stopped within two or three years.
At present, this dog is kept by the rich. An adult dog needs two and a half kg of food every day. Dr Shahjahan Tagore, a researcher, has proved in his research that Sarail Hounds are an important part of Sarail’s tradition. The trained Hounds have recently got place at the Dog Squad of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
It was learnt that there were several families involved in keeping this dog at one time but due to lack of necessary patronage, only two families of Noagaon village of the upazilla have retained this tradition of rearing the dogs. Each puppy is sold at Tk 15,000 to Tk 20,000 and older dogs are sold at Tk50,000 to Tk 60,000 depending on the size, color and gender.
According to locals, it is possible to sustain the existence of this rare breed of dog in the areawith the patronage of the government. At present, a 3 to 5-month old puppy is sold at Tk 20,000-25,000 and an adult dog is sold at Tk 60,000-65,000.
According to district livestock sources, a Hound farm was started next to the Upazila Parishad in 1983 under the joint supervision of the Social Welfare Department and the Animal Resources Department with the financial support of Sarail Upazila Parishad. Later, the farm was closed in 1986 due to various reasons including financial crisis, which was not reopened. An Ansar-VDP office has now been set up at that place.
The common people of Sarail are hoping that necessary steps will be taken to save the rare breed of the dog which is associated with the history and tradition of Sarail. Many people from home and abroad know Sarailespecially for this dog.
In this regard, Sarail's Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO)ArifulHaqueMridulsaid, “When it comes to Sarail's tradition, there is no chance to exclude the famous Hound dog. This dog carries the identity of Sarail in the country and abroad.”
He said,“Sarail'sHound dog is not available now. As far as I know, Sarail has only three Hounds. We are hopeful about more breeding of these dogs.’’