Never Forgotten

After keeping lurchers for nearly 20 years we decided to get a whippet, We got Jess when she was just under 3 years old. We were told about Jess from a friend her owner was going to get her put to sleep as he no longer wanted her. I contacted her owner and assured him she would get a home for life and she came to us free of charge. She had been used for work as was a very good working dog, until she sustained an horrific injury breaking her front right leg in noless than 5 places. The vet did a wonderful job of pinning and plating her leg, however it was obvious her working days were over.

Jess was a wonderful dog with a faultless temprement, she was very affectionate and like to cuddle up next to you on the settee. When she had fully recovered form her leg injury i decided to try and find a suitable stud dog and breed a litter of pups with the intention on keeping a bitch puppy. A suitable stud dog was found and she gave birth to 10 healthy pups. We decided to keep a blue bitch pup calling her Tilly. Unfortunately Tilly was taken away from us at 15 months of age. Please see below for more details. After which and on checking with our vet we decided to breed one last litter from Jess again with the intention of keeping a bitch puppy. Thats how we ended up with one of the best working whippets we have witnessed working Vixen. We owe alot to Jess, even though she never wanted for anything after she had retired, she had all the home comforts a dog could ever wish for. However i always felt guilty taking the other dogs out for a days ferreting and leaving her at home. She was exercised every day with the other dogs right up to a week before we lost her. She suffered a number of strokes and was initially responding to treatment before she suffered a more severe one and we had to make the hardest decission we have ever had to make in our life and get Jess put to sleep. She died peacefully in my arms at 2pm on the 15th of may 2009, she is burried alongside her daughter Tilly.

She may be gone but she will never be forgotton