Whippet, Whippet Deux
It should surprise no one that when it comes to dogs, like most other things in my life, I’m a huge fan of finding them secondhand: adopting them and giving them a good home after others have discarded them (usually through no fault of their own). When the time is right to find a new furry friend, we always look first to shelters and breed rescues, supporting only ethical measures for creating new life, and loving them dearly, treasuring everything they bring with them into our family.
TL;DR — we adopted a second dog, his name is Jack, and he’s the best! Follow Jack & Pixie on Instagram.
One of the things for which I will always have little Dante to thank is how, just by knowing him and loving him and being his best buddy for 14 years, he introduced me (and by extension, Ginger) to the entire world of sighthounds and greyhound rescue. He was so visible, and always attracted so much attention on our adventures through Boston, Somerville, and beyond, introducing us to GREY2K and allowing us to learn not only how important greyhound rescue is, but animal rescue and adoption in general. Ginger and I are now extremely vocal advocates for animal rescue, and volunteer with two different greyhound rescues here in Austin (the rescue animal capital of the world!): Greyhound Rescue Austin and Greyhound Pets of America Central Texas.
There’s something very special about greyhounds and whippets and sighthounds of all kinds, a certain old-soul affectionate sensitivity combined with goofy, silly energy and athleticism that we find makes them a natural fit for our family. We’ve been so lucky to have fallen into the greyhound rescue community, back in New England but especially here in Austin, to have been enveloped in their kindness and friendliness and support from the moment we reached out to find our next dog, and to have them love and adore Pixie as much as we do. In fact, two of our closest new friends since moving to Austin are a couple who have two retired racing greyhounds of their own — Catelyn even wrote a post about 8 Reasons to Adopt a Senior Greyhound recently — and though we know we can come off as crazy dog people most of the time, we’re totally OK with that. Because being a crazy dog person or a crazy sighthound person means that all of your friends and family and social media followers are hearing what you have to say, and I want the entire world to hear just how important it is to take dog rescue, really dog ownership in general, very seriously. Because it’s a serious issue, not just in this country, but around the world.
We donate a good chunk of our free time to volunteering with the rescues, running the GPA Central Texas Instagram & Twitter accounts, hosting meet & greets once a month at our local pet store, organizing fundraisers, and more recently, by becoming a foster family. For breed-specific rescues all over the country, they can only take in as many needy dogs as they have foster homes to place them in, since very few have physical facilities like a shelter does, so we always knew that when the time was right, when we had the room and the flexibility, that fostering was something we really wanted to do, as well. I can’t say enough about what a rewarding experience it is — generally lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the status and health of the dog when they’re rescued from whatever situation they were in before. Most of the time, it’s as simple as getting them neutered/spayed, up to date on their shots, giving them healthier food and helping to teach them the basic obedience & behavior expected of family pets. It can be trying and frustrating at times, and certainly can be a bit more work than just taking care of your own dog, but it’s always SO worth it. (Including, as a nice little fringe benefit, the fact that fostering dogs is tax deductible!)
Over the holidays, we were a short-term relief foster family for a greyhound puppy named Zoolander and a doberman-whippet mix puppy named Spencer, and in January we fostered a heartworm-positive Italian Greyhound named Gumby for just under two months. We always said that if there was ever a foster dog that seemed to be a natural fit as a furever buddy for Pixie, we would adopt them and “foster fail” right away, because we’ve always wanted two dogs (and, as many of you know, Dante was more of an “only child”).
That day came in late March, when a 6-year-old whippet named Jack came to stay with us, as I helped his previous owner surrender him and two of his “sisters” into rescue after a family tragedy. Jack is a former champion show dog (Annadar’s Look Into Your Heart V SDW) and lure courser, and is one of the smartest, most easygoing dogs I’ve ever met — it’s like having a really well behaved four-year-old human in a whippet body who lives with us now. Jack has been the best influence on Pixie, giving her more confidence and keeping her in check when she starts to play too rough, and since he’s a slightly more mature dog he’s a nice foil to her (still very puppyish) crazy silly energy. They’re not BFFs quite yet, but the groundwork is there and I will definitely cry tears of joy the day I see them curled up together in the same dog bed. They’re already natural playmates and will run, chase, and tug-of-war together in the yard for hours, and have found a rhythm to sharing space under the covers in our bed with us at night with no fights! We pinch ourselves everyday that our life with these dogs is just a little too perfect now.
Follow Keep Austin Whippet, our new Austin whippet rescue feed, for more photos & videos of Pixie & Jack, their buddies from the greyhound rescue who are still looking for adoption, and yes, soon enough, our next foster dog. Starting next week, we’ll also be sharing a new adoptable “pet of the week” here each Wednesday!
Photos by Chelsea Laine Francis. “Howdy, Y’all” dog treat from Woof Gang Bakery Austin.