Qashani Najiya Bint Lub - 'Norppa'
Born 17.6. 2005
Owned by Heidi & Mirja Lappalainen

Norppa's official name is Najiya Bint Lub, "intimate friend, daughter of Lub". My webmaster Hyde had reserved a bitch pup years earlier and so we frantically hoped for another bitch during the birth - Norppa came out last, thus keeping us in suspense! Norppa is Miss Cutie-Pie, who takes being adorable very seriously ;)

As Hyde was not in a position to take another pup where she was living at the moment, Norppa went to live with Hyde's parents and sister in Kiuruvesi. Hyde co-owns her with her mother Mirja, and time will tell if Norppa will have offspring.

Norppa is the apple of her family's eye, a little angel but with plenty of temperament and a rather odd sense of humor. Her strong opinions sometimes perplex the other dogs. Since the age of 3,5 months she has travelled across Finland and is a wonderfully calm traveller, who is at home everywhere. Norppa's favourite hobby is entertaining her family with all manner of tricks and games, and she appears to be quite smart as well.

Norppa is a people-loving contact-making Saluki. With age she has become more particular about her company but is pretty easily cajoled with treats. She attended the Finnish Saluki Specialty on June of 2006 and despite lack of ringtraining performed like a pro and was awarded the grade "excellent", judged by Linda Scanlon (Aarakis Salukis), USA . She also has a red ribbon from a match show.

Norppa made us proud when she won the a lure-coursing competition on July 14th, and got her first CC. She also has a CQ from lure-coursing and unfortnately one disq. as well. She has also been training for racing. The proximity of the lure excites her a great deal and that makes her a handful. She has natural speed and endurance, but likes to stay close to her people when running free and is easy on the recall.

Norppa now has a live-in Saluki friend since Aida aka Qashani Khowla al-Sham joined the family :)

Norppa in the words of owners Lumikirsikka (& Mirja) Lappalainen:

Norppa

alias Norpe, Söpsöp, Juustonaksu, Hassunaama, Silakka, Pierevä Lauantaimakkara, Nopanka, Wintoosa, Simpura, Zaznoba, Snören, Kuuppailija, Nope, Kiemura

We fetched Norppa from Micaela in Eteläinen in 2005. I had dreamt of a dog of my own for a long time and my sister Heidi told us that Lubbe was expecting - we might finally get our own dog. There she was, our little Norpukka, born in a small forest cottage, and behind the fence we could see Salukis, big and small, waiting to greet us. As we said hello to them in the yard I crouched down to pet one of the puppies, who bowled me over and climbed into my lap - she had chosen her mistress and I was told that it was in fact Norppa, our dog to be.

As we were leaving Norppa sat by the gate, making sure she wouldn't be left behind. Early in the journey home she began missing her dam a bit, but thankfully that soon passed, she did after all have her new mistress there to cuddle her, and a furry toy to lie on and hold on too. She even peed a little in its ear. Due to this the plush mouse was promptly named Piss Ear.

Norppa has grown into a good-tempered, fine dog, a full-fledged member of our family, who gets lots of kisses and cuddling. Norppa is a good guard, she lets us know when someone enters the yard, but calms down as soon as she gets to check out the guest and say hello. Nopo is also very playful and funny. She likes to steal your glove when you come home and run off with it, waiting behind a corner in case she could entice you to a chase through the house. Sometimes she'll ram her head into a slipper and walk around the room with the thing on her head entertaining us. The bean bag chair is one of Norppa's favourite spots, where she likes to sleep and tumble with her ass in the air, making strange noises.

Norppendaal expresses her displeasure with with equally unique flair. She'll lean on her front paws with her rump in the air and stays that way until someone notices her and finds out what's bugging her. One of her favourite places is her master Hannu's tv-chair - if the quilt on it is wadded up or otherwise not to her liking, Norppa will go and slap one of us with her paw, or stand in front of the chair and wait, looking at us, until someone fixes the quilt so she can rest comfortably. Paw slapping is one of Norppa's preferred modes of communication when she wants something.

Our Norppa travels well and does not growl in the car like some dogs whose names I won't mention. Norppa gets along well with other dogs and is always thrilled to see her friends ; Ameena, Lessi, Igor, Luumu and sometimes Radda and Pitko as well. Ameena's ear feathering is in particular peril on these occasions. Occasionally Norppa goes to Iltasmäki to meet her friends and build muscle. Sometimes Lessi comes to us in Kiuruvesi to visit Nopo, or we trade and take Lessi while Norppa stays with them.

Norppa is a fine and intelligent hound, our princess.