I am Päivi Susanna Nurmi, a secretary in my thirties. I live in Southern Finland,in Hikiä, about hundred kilometers away from Finland's capital city Helsinki. I have three dogs; a Sloughi male "Junnu"(Tillieville Xiam Ehz) and two male Galgo Espanols called "Calle" (Boliche-Cordobés de la Fuentona) and "Ville" (Rayma Jaumet).
We go to dog shows and sometimes to lure coursing competitions. I am a member of the committee of a sighthound club called Luhtilaukkaajat which has a race track in Hyvinkää city, near Riihimäki.
Luhtilaukkaajat organizes races during the year. I am also the editor-in-chief of its magazine. I also edit the Galgo Espanol- pages to the Finnish Sighthound Association's magazine.
I remember having said when I was about 7 years old, that I'll never live without a dog! At that time, we had a bitch called Ruusa, which was a cross between an English Springer Spaniel and a Finnish Hound. It was a lovely dog which left unforgettable paw-print in my heart. After Ruusa, my brother had a blue Great Dane male called Sarastro (Interline Arctus/Pir-Pauken Sheriffa), "Sasu", when I was 9 years old. At that time, I wanted an afghan hound, but luckily I didn't get it, I guess I would not have been able to take care of its coat as I was so young! That Great Dane taught me a lot about the behavior of dogs. It was very dominating and suspicious towards strangers. Sasu lived up to 9 years of age and after him we were a couple of years without a dog. Well, it is no life without dogs and with my father's decision the 4 months old Caucasian Ovcharka male Mörkömaan Ujo came to us in 1995.
There are also my two cats in my parents care called "Mona" (born 1993) and "Iines" (born 1990).
I became a member of the Whippet-Harrastajat (Finnish Whippet Association) in 1987, because I was determined to have a Whippet. When I moved to a rented flat I started looking for a dog of my own, a sighthound of course. I was thinking between Galgo Espanol, Saluki and Whippet. I had always admired Sloughis in dog books, and to my surprise, there was an advertisement about Sloughi puppies in the Finnish Sighthound magazine in Spring of 1999. As a result, Jesse came into my life that same year , the Galgo espanol male Calle a couple of years later in 2001 and Ville in 2003. Sadly, Jesse passed away 2005, and now I have a new Sloughi male called Junnu. I like also very much life-stock guardian breeds, for e.g. Spanish Mastiff and Owczarek Podhalanski, so when I have that red cottage in countryside, maybe I'll have one…Other interesting sighthound breeds are Azawakh and Whippet.
Although dogs are a part of my lifestyle and they have brought many wonderful friendships among them, life is not just about dogs. I also like to read and listen to music.