Burkie, King of the West End

Meet Burkie the lurcher. Burkie hails from the beautiful county Galway in Ireland.

For those that don’t know, lurchers are a working crossbreed of Greyhound mixed with herding or terrier breeds and used for coursing hares.

His is a tragic story but with a very happy ending. Burkie is a ‘rescue’ in every sense of the word. As happens so often, he was abandoned in favour of younger, quicker dogs. He was close to death when the GSPCA received a call to collect an emaciated, motionless lurcher laying in rocks by the side of the road.

He hadn’t moved in days and had given up the will to live. He was around 3 or 4 yrs old at the time and once the Society had nursed him back on the path to wellness, he was adopted by Marilyn.

That was nearly seven years ago and Burkie has never looked back with the love and care of his owner.

Local celebrity Burkie goes by a few nicknames – ‘Denzel’, because he’s so handsome, the ‘Zen Master’ because he’s so chill, and ‘King of the West End’ because he’s known by all the locals who call out “Hi Burkie!” as they drive or walk by.

At an estimated 11 years old now, Burkie is a timid and gentle giant who took a few years to come to terms with his traumatic past. Helped along with morning “sniffari’s”, regular walks on the beach with other lurchers and generous helpings of his favourite – chicken!

He is an easygoing and wonderful companion and a much-loved older gentleman. Congratulations Burkie, long may you reign over the West End.