Jansim Nip 'N Tuck TT,CGC,JC.
Nipper (a.k.a "The Whippet")
March 1992 - June 10, 2006
We picked Nipper up from the Montreal SPCA the week before Christmas, 1992. In my role as sight hound liaison, I received a call that they had an 8-month old, owner surrender Whippet who was not a good adoption prospect. When we arrived, she was huddled at the back of a decent sized pen, dull and disinterested in people. Almost within hours of bringing her home, she morphed into a playful, outgoing puppy that knew without the shadow of a doubt that "whippets sleep on the bed - pointe finale". I notified Whippet rescue and received a call from a prospective home almost immediately. I advised them that they should call me back after Christmas by which time we would have had chance to assess her. By the time they called back in January, Nipper already had a home.
That was the start of a fourteen-year adventure. She coursed, camped and canoed. She hunted with the terriers, locating active holes with unerring accuracy but never participating in the rough stuff. She counter cruised to the detriment of several dishes and raided cupboards to the occasional detriment of her digestive system until we found a foolproof system of bungees, and other whippet-proof devices. She weathered the ice storm of 1998 with barely a shiver - instinctively finding and claiming the warmest spot in our chilly house. She travelled everywhere with us, making friends - two-legged and four - wherever she went.
She was a young, playful and over indulgent Aunt to our 1993 litter - (much to their Dam's annoyance) and they always remembered her, no matter how long the absence, greeting her with butt wiggles and submissive mouth licks. 
She was more matronly towards the 1997 litter but became Gunter's best buddy when for 2-1/2 years we were down to a two-dog household. They were indeed the "odd couple" he would nuzzle her muzzle and she would chew his legs as they lay on the sofa together.
Always the extrovert, she happily accepted the arrival of Boomerang in January 2003. They became the wild ones, firing each other up in a barking frenzy and racing around the yard together at high speed. She also welcomed Zeke without question a few months later, adopting the Auntie Nipper role once more. Even the influx of Danny and Daisy as a result of Jenny's serious illness in December 2005 and the subsequent arrival of Daisy's pups was of no concern; she was totally reliable with all.
For the most part, Nipper was an exceedingly healthy dog. She had some disc issues - the result of coursing injuries - and suffered from some kind of inflammatory bowel disorder in 2002 that miraculously disappeared on our annual trip to New Jersey that year. As Dr. Floyd said - she got better in spite of us, not because of us.
She was diagnosed with a heart murmur during her routine annual exam in 2003 - we opted to take a holistic approach and she enjoyed life to the full - symptom free - for three years, despite the fact it progressed to a grade 6 murmur.
Then in April 2006, she went into Atrial Fibrillation - given my situation at the time, I followed a program of conventional treatment. Despite our best efforts and her tremendous will to live, her condition continued to deteriorate. If I had it to do over, I would have stayed with a holistic approach - we may have lost her sooner but I believe her last weeks would have been better lived.
I said goodbye on June 10th. She was not ready to go, and I certainly was not ready to let her go but the prospect of even "OK" days was gone and we were down to "OK" moments.
We shared a very special "OK" moment that morning and I knew then, whether either of us was ready or not, it was time.
I cannot thank Dr Floyd enough for easing her passing in every way he could. We sat together on floor in the kitchen at the vets (Nipper - unlike the Terriers - hated the examine rooms), with Nipper comfortably snuggled on a pile of blankets between us and helped her slip away from her earthly ties.
Nipper left us 17 years less a day after her predecessor (Fred Boot of Wellington) died in my arms on the way to the vets a few days before the 1989 BTCA National Specialty at the respectable age of 15 plus. Just as fate brought Fred into our lives, and fate brought Nipper to us, so fate will determine when, or if, another running dog will enter our home, our lives and our hearts
Run with the wind my friend
Your velvet muzzle, zest for life and regal sight hound expectations are sorely missed
Pam Dyer
The Ghosts of Christmas Past - gone from sight and sound but never from memory