Castle Greyhound Rescue and Adoption

The Legend of Guinefort

In the eleventh century, there was a duke of France who returned home to find his baby’s nursery overturned and bloodied. With the infant missing, the duke assumed that his faithful courser, Guinefort, had killed the child.

The duke promptly ran the dog through with his sword, but as the dog lay crying with it's last breathe, the duke heard his own child begin to cry beneath the cradle. As he turned over the cradle, he also discovered the dead body of a snake. Guinefort had killed the serpent and protected the child. The duke, distraught over this tragedy, buried his dog in a well as a memorial.

The good dog, Guinefort, was over time, made a martyr and saint in France. The well in which he is believed to be buried was thought to hold sacred water that could cure children of sickness and disease. August 22 became a festival to honor the hero Guinefort. This "cult of the greyhound" was ended over time through inquisitions. If you don't know the birthdate of your needlenose, consider this established day of the greyhound as your day of celebration.