Old Croatian Sighthound

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The Old Croatian Sighthound ( Croatian : hrt , 'greyhound'), also known as the Old Bosnian Sighthound , is an extinct breed of sighthound from the countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It is claimed the Old Croatian Sighthound was descended from sighthounds kept by the Celts ; it closely resembled images of dogs on Celtic coins from the 5th century BC, as such it is believed to be closely related to the greyhound , which was introduced to Britain by the Celts. [ 1 ] Descriptions of the breed in the region have been found in the writings of friars from the 13th and 14th centuries AD. [ 2 ] The Old Croatian Sighthound was almost identical to the Greyhound although slightly smaller, with dogs standing between 60 and 70 centimetres (24 and 28 in) bitches being 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in) shorter. [ 1 ] The breed had a short coat and was predominantly white with black, brown, red or yellow patches. [ 1 ] Traditionally the breed was kept for coursing , predominantly hunting hare ; it would catch the game and return it to the hunter. [ 1 ] The breed never received recognition by any kennel club and suffered greatly under the former Yugoslavia . The government of Yugoslavia banned coursing with sighthounds and further prohibited hunters from owning dogs without kennel club registration. [ 1 ] In the early 1980s, some remaining specimens were found in Orašje and the surrounding villages; a pair were brought to the Zagreb School of Veterinary Medicine with the hope of starting a breeding program, but ultimately the program failed; it is believed the breed was extinct by 1995. [ 1 ]