“Lizzie”

When Lizzie arrived to us as an eight week old puppy, we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. As a puppy, Lizzie played rough. She was relentless in grabbing hold of the other dogs’ skin and not letting go. We would cringe to see skin seemingly being pulled away from flesh. Still, it never did, to our amazement, get to the point of breaking that seemingly thin whippet skin.

For all the rough beginnings, Lizzie turned out to be our sweetest adult. She was omega in the pack and a snuggly joy with us. Lizzie was a quiet, unassuming girl. She approached new situations cautiously, did not particularly like new or rude dogs (unless they were whippets) and would let them know about it if they come close to her. When there was excitement or confusion, Lizzie would stand apart to assess the situation as fun or serious and gaze at you with her eyes rapidly shifting from side to side like the actor Pruitt Taylor Vince. It was very funny to see.

Lizzie was not demanding - except for food. She loved to eat and we had to watch her weight. She could make herself amazingly adorable and pathetic, like Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol, when a begging opportunity presented itself.

When out in the open for running, she would rather run around hunting for game. While not a fast whippet, she did have athletic gifts. Lizzie loved jumping, climbing and heights. The first day Lizzie was home with us at eight weeks old, the very first time seeing a baby gate, she climbed right over it in less than 3 seconds. That was a preview of coming attractions. We would find Lizzie up on a narrow window sill, on top of her crate, on the arm of a couch. For her, our fence was merely a symbolic boundary.

Lizzie was small enough to easily pick up, which she loved. Lizzie also loved to give kisses, so we had to watch our faces around her or we would get a good dose of dog tongue. If given an opportunity, she would jump on our bed and bury herself under the covers in only a few seconds, and then proceed to roll around under there.

Lizzie also liked the outdoors. If the weather was nice, she would forego the couch and lie in the sun. In the winter, she was our lone whippet that didn't particularly like to wear her jacket. But Lizzie did like to bury herself under covers. She knew that it drove our other dogs crazy when she became a mysterious moving lump under some blanket. Lizzie loved that.

Lizzie also really loved cats! She liked to follow them and give them kisses. Our cats loved her back. Overall, Lizzie was a great example of why whippets are so easy to own. She was laid back and undemanding. She would take any and all love that she got, but didn't demand it. She went along with the pack, didn't get jealous and waited her turn. For that reason we were careful to make sure she got special treatment frequently and she really appreciated that.