Irish Wolfhound Gets A Parade Gig—

A Welcome Call Arrives At A Tough Time For Local Couple

By Kendra Bobowick

A message waiting on the answering machine could not have come at a better time for Brenda and Joe Schlesinger.

“We just came home from the hospital and there was a message,” Mr Schlesinger said. “It sure lifted our spirits.” The caller invited their Irish wolfhound Ronan (Olugh Ronan of Still Pond) to walk in the Greenwich St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 12.

The good news is even more significant when compared to health difficulties Ms Schlesinger faces. Recovering from a mastectomy performed two weeks ago, she now is receiving chemotherapy.

In the midst of those difficulties and stresses, this little bit of happy news was welcome.

“After all that’s been said and done, we laughed,” once the message had played Mr Schlesinger said.

Although he was eager to talk about Ronan, he addressed his wife’s medical complications.

“We’ve been through so much,” he said. “It never hurts to talk about it. The more you talk about it the less real it is.” She was diagnosed with cancer five years ago.

“It could be worse,” he said.

Ms Schlesinger’s outlook is also determined and upbeat.

“I still have to have chemo, but my spirits are good,” she said. “It’s beatable.”

She assesses her health saying, “I just do what I have to and get it over with, there’s not much else to it than that.”

As quickly as she discussed her mastectomy, she changed the subject to her wolfhound. Ronan, she explained, translates into seal, like “the animal.”

A large pond sits on the Schlesinger property. Ronan spent much of his time as a puppy splashing through the water, surprising his owners. “Usually Irish wolfhounds don’t like swimming,” she said.

The Schlesingers were surprised about the phone call from Greenwich, but had suspicions about how the town’s parade chairman found them.

Ronan attends obedience training classes at Cassio Kennels in Newtown. Owner Joy Brewster knows Ronan, Joe, and Brenda well. Ms Brewster is also show chair of the Greenwich Kennel Club. She received a call to let her know that the Greenwich parade planner “needed an Irish dog, and his ears perked up when I said I knew an Irish wolfhound.”

Laughing, she explained, “People could see [Ronan] a little better than a Chihuahua.”

Ronan is roughly 185 pounds, according to Mr Schlesinger’s estimate.

Ronan, almost 3, has been with the Schlesingers since he was a puppy. Mr Schlesinger repeats a familiar phrase in describing his dog: “Meek when stroked and fearsome if provoked.”

Ronan is a gentle dog, but large. Mr Schlesinger is not worried Ronan will attack, but holds reasonable concerns that the big canine will accidentally bump into someone. He said the dog walks well both on and off his leash. Brenda Schlesinger will walk with Ronan in the Greenwich St Patrick’s day parade.

Information from Irishwolfhound.org offers some insight into the breed’s size and background, as follows: The Irish wolfhound was originally a war dog, used to drag men out of chariots or off horseback, but was also used as a hunting hound and as a guard. There are numerous references in Irish mythology to its prowess in all these fields. It was used to hunt the Irish elk and the wolf and was used singly or in pairs rather than in a pack, hence the need for great size. When the last of the wolves in Ireland was killed (the elk had become extinct long before), the breed dwindled and almost died out. The process was not helped by the demand for this magnificent hound around the world. It was given as a gift to kings and princes, but this was eventually stopped.