Torteval Irish Wolfhounds

A magnificently handsome red brindle, Chewie came to us from the neighbouring island of Jersey at the age of four-and-a-half, soon after Clancy died. His first family, who loved him dearly, were returning to the mainland and reluctantly had to re-home him. (For those of you who haven't seen the early Star Wars films, he was named after the spaceship flying, 7' tall, hairy wookie!)

Something of a worrier, he wasn't happy walking on shiny floors (which didn't help his show career), and tended to panic at apparently trivial events such as billowing curtains or a door slamming, although he would happily go head-to-head with any car he met in our lane.

Chewie lived for his walks, food being of secondary importance, and in fact adored any outing, even if it was only a ride in the car. You could see the excitement at the prospect of a walk building in his eyes, eventually spilling over into a little dance, without which he came to believe his walk might not happen.
His other great love was soft toys, but unfortunately his main aim was disembowelment so his play with these had to be strictly supervised. An acceptable alternative to him was any long-dead rabbit carcase he came across on his walks, when he would go to great lengths (literally!) not to be parted from his 'picnic'!

He was a talented 'singer', with a glorious howl which he delighted in showing off, especially when accompanied on the mouth organ, although we were a less than appreciative audience when he sang at 3am! The ringing of the phone was guaranteed to set him off, and it became a battle between us and him to answer the phone before he could start his howl - initially, we could get away with picking up by the third or fourth ring, but eventually we had to run as soon it rang or there was no hope at all of hearing the caller.

He enjoyed excellent health into old age, and had as much vitality and enthusiasm for life at eight years old as he did at four. He was galloping across fields at full speed just hours before he died, six weeks short of his ninth birthday.

Chewie had a famous litter-brother, GB and IR Champion Juxtalia MacMathuna of Knocknarea, and also an illustrious sister, International, Slovenian and Hungarian Champion, Juxtalia Maeve Cudama.

His temperament was superb - a quiet, polite gentleman through-and-through, a wonderful example of the wolfhound's classic 'gentle giant' nature. If ever a dog could be trusted with a newborn baby or kitten, it was Chewbacca and his affectionate and easy-going nature made him a joy to live with.

After McGinty's death and his subsequent 'promotion' to pack leader, he set a superb example to Darcy and Branigan of how to behave in public and at home.