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Shahanshah Salukis ("Shahanshah" was the title of the Persian emperors of old; it means "King of Kings") is Jean Kadel and, since 2004, my husband Clay Skinner. We both teach history full time at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, Illinois. Jean's life in salukis began long before, however, in 1975 with the acquistion of the grizzle bitch who became Ch. Canem-Dei's Rodha from Mimi Carlyle, Canem-Dei Salukis, then in Leslie, Missouri. Mimi was riding high with her homebred Best in Show saluki "Cancer" (Ch. Canem-Dei's El Salta 'Aun) at the time, having just lost her irreplaceable mahogany parti BIS bitch, Ch. Canem-Dei's Kitan Tiy Taj, to breast cancer. I chose Canem-Dei as my foundation after two year's study of the breed, corresponding with breeders, and attending shows (including the 1974 Canadian National Specialty in Toronto, where I saw Hope Waters judge the likes of Jen Araby Jurwadi Bey, Brenlair's Joseph v Mara, and Heidi Choquette's "Sunshine," El Salih Zriha, in the classes. I fell in love on the spot!). My patience and study at the beginning have been well-rewarded
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I believe in quality over quantity when it comes to breeding salukis. As a career teacher, I hope this website attests to my emphasis on learning, teaching, and mentoring--and saluki HISTORY and FUNCTION. My life-long experience in salukis is one that I want to share with and pass on to others.
Since there is never a huge market for saluki puppies because they aren't the breed for everyone, my first concern is that the dogs I breed find homes with people who appreciate just how special and rare they are. In a dog world that increasingly cares only about the show ring, and "breeding" means band-wagon jumping to the most famous top ten dog, my salukis have been carefully and lovingly LINEBRED so that history, health, function and beauty come together to produce a saluki that closely resembles the early twentieth century desert-type salukis that were pillars of the breed in the West.
I have bred four litters and co-bred one in the years since 1978, when my first homebred litter arrived. I am fierce about linebreeding--my foundation was chosen with great care, and 35 years later there have only been two instances where I varied from it. My second litter was an outcross to the amazing Ch. Windswift Aziz, bred by Vera Watkins in England and imported and owned by Tatiana Partridge, Samarin Salukis. The second instance hasn't yet fully materialized, since it lies in the future in the form of two new puppies, Amrika Shahanshah Sinai and Amrika Shahanshah Sahara. These littermates are from the outcross Cheryl Myatt, Amrika Salukis, produced in November, 2009 with her lovely mahogany parti bitch, Ch. Amrika Shenandoah, "Sheyna," to her Ch. Midbar Shenhav B' Shemesh ("Shenhavi"). This outcross combines similar Andi and Rataki/El Baz dogs that lie behind my current star, Farar's Kalil (above and right), son of Ch. Shahanshah Brilliant Disguise, "Zarifa," who I co-owned with Sara Drake, Cimmarron Salukis. It also contains a line back to Canem-Dei--so isn't a total outcross. This incorporation of Gail Goodman's Midbar Salukis brings in an exciting direction based on Gail's Israeli desert bred dogs who seem to me to possess the same admirable traits of power, elegance, and coursing ability that drew me to Canem-Dei in the beginning.
I have also been inspired to create paintings in oils of salukis, horses, native scenes, and other dog and animal subjects and that can be found on the "Art" page of this site.
Therein lies our past, and our future! The next step is thus a new page in the Shahanshah story....
Shahanshah Salukis
Salukis exclusively since 1975
Ch. Farar's Kalil, "Ashley," summer 2009.
....and it all began with this little puppy.
Ch. Amrika Shahanshah Sahara
