Ziggy's Home

Borzoi, Greyhound, Je Ne Sais Quoi: Mr & Mrs Abq Jew are happy to announce the latest addition to our sight-hound family.

You've already met Belle and May-May (see October 2016's Temporary Dwellings) and learned their stories.

Ziggy (formerly, albeit briefly, known as Edwin) has his own story to tell.

If only he could!

Edwin (Ziggy) is an estimated 3 year old white and red borzoi / greyhound / mixed breed male. Edwin was found in Royse City [Texas] with Lottie and Ervin; a nice couple in the countryside fed them and called GALT to pick them up. 

Ziggy's age can only be estimated, because he did not have his driver's license with him when he was found. Or a tag. Or a microchip.

But his breed? That we can be more sure about, thanks to the genetic health analysis done by

Discover the secrets of your dog's DNA

Using the latest science, this test scans your dog’s DNA,
both for ancestry information and specific genetic markers.
Your veterinarian can use this information to create
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Here is the chart that Royal Canin produced for Ziggy.

Which shows that Ziggy is

4 parts Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound)

3 parts Greyhound

1 part Je Ne Sais Quoi ("Mixed Breed")

Now, Mr & Mrs Abq Jew knew that Ziggy was BIG before they adopted him. Ziggy's foster mom had written us

Not only is he stunningly gorgeous, he is also a sweet, sweet boy. He absolutely loves people, and is a big tailwagger.   

Y’all know how big he is, right? My older dog is 82 lbs, and Ed stands a good 5-6” above him. He does crate well, but he needs a giant crate—a 48”, and he still can’t stand all the way up.

When we first met Ziggy, we confirmed his foster mom's description. Still, at some early point, Abq Jew's reaction to Ziggy's SIZE was

But Ziggy's foster mom and GALT prepared Ziggy for home life very, very well. Abq Jew's response quickly changed to

And as for Ziggy's name -

You psychology / psychiatry fans might think that Ziggy is named for Sigmund Freud. What do you think that means?

Sigmund Freud (born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst.

And you history buffs will automatically turn to the well-known and very popular (in certain circles) Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.

Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 in Nuremberg – 9 December 1437 in Znaim, Moravia) was Prince-elector of Brandenburg from 1378 until 1388 and from 1411 until 1415, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1387, King of Germany from 1411, King of Bohemia from 1419, King of Italy from 1431, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until 1437, and the last male member of the House of Luxembourg. 

In 1396 he led the Crusade of Nicopolis, which attempted to liberate Bulgaria and save the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople from Ottoman rule. Afterwards, he founded the Order of the Dragon to fight the Turks.

Which is to barely mention some of the other possibilities:

Zig Ziglar; Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Siegfried (opera); Ziggy Marley; Ziggy Stardust (song); or Ziggy Switkowski.

And - of course! - Sigismondi Bros Farm. In beautiful Manalapan, New Jersey. They used to have the best nursery in Livingston, NJ.

Ah, but up till now there's been only one Ziggy for whom the angels sang!

Harry Aaron Finkelman (May 26, 1914 – June 26, 1968), known professionally as Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his group Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra. 

Elman was born in Philadelphia, but his family settled in Atlantic City, New Jersey when he was four. His father was a violinist who had hoped Elman would play violin. Although he did learn to play violin, he preferred brass instruments. He began playing for Jewish weddings and nightclubs at age 15. 

His 1939 composition "And the Angels Sing" with lyrics by Johnny Mercer (recorded in December 1938 by his own band as an instrumental, "Frailach in Swing" based on the 1918 recording of "Der Shtiller Bulgar" (The quiet Bulgar) by Abe Schwartz) became the number one song in the nation.

But whence did Ziggy Elman get his name? Christopher Popa's interview of Ziggy's son Martin Elman appeared in the November 2005 Big Band Library.

Where did the name "Ziggy" come from? 

 "I think he took it from Ziegfeld," Martin responded. 

Florenz Ziegfeld (1869–1932) was a Jewish-American [not really] impresario who created a series of theatrical spectaculars, called "the Ziegfeld Follies." 

Elman evidently enjoyed spending his breaks at work surrounded by chorus girls, so the moniker seemed to fit. 

As for the last name "Elman," it was a shortened version of Finkelman.

What was it like to grow up as Ziggy Elman's son?

The public voted him their favorite trumpeter in quite a number of Down Beat and Metronome polls. But it wasn't until several years afterwards that his own son, Martin, understood how special Ziggy Elman was. 

"It started when I was about 11 or 12, I really started noticing it, you know, who he really was," Martin told me. "We'd go to Vegas for 10 or 12-week shows with Mickey Katz.  We'd stay up there all summer." 

Had his friends at school realized who his father was? 

"A lot of the teachers did," Martin said. "Not many schoolmates... The people on my street did." 

And then, there was Ziggy Elman's trumpet-playing style.

Elman's trumpet was joyous, unrestrained, and... loud. 

"Very loud, yeah," Martin agreed. 

His tone was clear and enunciated. 

"It was very sharp.  When I listen to the radio, I can pick it out," Martin said.  

And it caught Benny Goodman's attention.  Goodman offered Elman a job in September 1936. 

Harry James joined Goodman in January 1937 and, with Elman and the third trumpeter, Chris Griffin, they became known for their collective ferocity and were nicknamed "The Biting Brass." 

 

Here is And The Angels Sing. For our Ziggy, and for all the rescue-able greyhounds, sight-hounds, hounds, and other dogs out there looking for a furever home. Oh, alright. For the cats, too.