“Jett”

Jett was a slow developer for us and he had numerous nick-names as he slowly grew into a complete delight. We called him The Alien, Spock, Bill Murray, Rain Man, etc. But in the end, for people who spend time with our dogs, Jett was most often the favorite.

As a puppy, for more than the first year of his life with us, Jett always wore the same expression, one that can be best described as bewildered astonishment. His big, round, dark eyes would always be taking everything in, you could see him trying to figure it all out. With people, he was always slow moving and shy, approaching with his head down.

With animals it was a different matter. Jett was a dog with a perfect demeanor around other animals. His approach was disarming. He loved them all. He played hard with Penelope but gently with our other dogs and over time he became our nicely benign alpha male. He watched over his pack, looked to us for guidance and when things were getting silly, he gently intervened. He was also protective of our cats if they stepped outside. He always brought up the rear to keep track.

Jett continued to mature into his second year and he finally “got it” and developed a wonderful personality to be around. He developed varying expressions to replace the bewildered astonishment. He began to approache us with his head up and would seek attention and even developed a little bit of a sense of humor. When Jett came for attention, he didn't come straight at us. Rather, he liked to make an orbit or brush your leg like a cat and if we addressed or touched him he would stop and take all the love we could offer. If any dog got scolded, Jett came to apologize for them. If we were angry for any reason, it was Jett who came forward to try to make it right. If he was unsure of himself he was serious and deliberate. Jett took it seriously to figure out the right way to do things and to do it that way when we were around. That made him very easy to be with. He had a lot of pride. If we were not around, he was happy to counter surf or check out the garbage.

Of all our whippets, Jett was the mellow and faithful hound who liked to sleep quietly at your feet. Yet Jett was the worst nest builder in the history of dogdom. He could take a perfectly smooth, blanketed bed and with methodical circling and digging turn it into the most uncomfortable looking lumpy wad that you have ever seen. When he did lie down on it, he would look up at us with a slightly embarrassed look.

Jett was a long dog and could run really fast. He had very long strides. But we had to work a lot with him to get him on the lure as opposed to the other dogs. Not a particularly competitive sort, he often would end a race close to first place, only to turn and try to engage in play as the other dogs caught up to him...resulting in a foul, instead of a ribbon or trophy.

Overall, Jett was a serious and deliberate dog. Still, he loved toys. Jett knew what to do with any kind of toy, whether it is a squeaker, chew bone or ball. He loved them all and was more than satisfied to throw them around to himself and prance around proudly with one. Given his proud demeanor, that was very funny to see. He did need love and assurance that he was doing things right, he took his responsibility to his pack to heart. He loved the pack together and his absolute favorite thing in all the world was when we all got together again after a work day. Jett reveled in reunion and it was those times we saw him at his most joyous, tail wagging, jumping up and carefree playing.