Sir Tom was the beloved pet greyhound of Catherine the Great. He and his "wife" were presented to her by Dr. Baron Thomas Dimsdale, who first met the Empress in 1768 when he and his son Nathaniel, a medical student at the time, travelled to St. Petersburg to immunize Catherine and her son Grand Duke Paul against smallpox, as well as introducing immunization into the population at large. Sir Tom quickly became the patriarch of a very large family. The first litter he had with his "wife" contained five puppies, all of whom were said to be the spitting image of him. He passed away at the ripe old age of sixteen, in late 1783 or early 1784. The Empress had loved Sir Tom so much she hadn't had the heart to announce his death until May of 1784.
Sir Tom was the beloved pet greyhound of Catherine the Great. He and his "wife" were presented to her by Dr. Baron Thomas Dimsdale, who first met the Empress in 1768 when he and his son Nathaniel, a medical student at the time, travelled to St. Petersburg to immunize Catherine and her son Grand Duke Paul against smallpox, as well as introducing immunization into the population at large. Sir Tom quickly became the patriarch of a very large family. The first litter he had with his "wife" contained five puppies, all of whom were said to be the spitting image of him. He passed away at the ripe old age of sixteen, in late 1783 or early 1784. The Empress had loved Sir Tom so much she hadn't had the heart to announce his death until May of 1784.
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