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IMa Whippets became known by such a name only in 2002 when I whelped my first litter. I myself don't come from dog-show bloodlines; I'm no conformation aristocrat. My parents bred two Great Dane litters back in their day, but to be honest, they didn't know what they were doing, and they certainly never aspired to be breed-perfecting pillars of their local, much less National, canine community. My induction into dogs, then, came quite by chance.
On a hot and bored summer day in 1982, Mom had taken a friend and me to the Fort Worth Museum of Art and History, probably my 26th visit to the place. We were making our way to the cool-rush of the opening glass doors and already I was anticipating the soon reunion with my favorite two, full-scale skeletal dinosaurs inside when my mother exclaimed, "HOLD IT" and uncharacteristically began a foot-scooting sprint across the parking lot in her flip-flop sandals, purse bouncing and thrashing her along the way. Two twelve year old girls couldn't resist the intrigue of such strange behavior and followed suit, flip-flops scooting but sans the purse. To our delight, the emergency turned out to be the regular Fort Worth Kennel Club All-Breed dog show held next door at the Amon Carter convention center. As we had been crossing the pavement to the museum's doors, mom had spotted a couple likewise crossing the convention center's parking lot. The difference, however, between us and them was that we had nothing to do; they had a Saluki. These nice folks, I don't even know if I ever knew their names, referred us to some other nice folks who had Saluki puppies for sale. I learned in the next week or so after our meeting (where I said little more than "Hi" and "can I pet your dog") that my mother had always wanted a Saluki. She'd seen one in the Encyclopedia when she was 18 years old and now, here we were, driving an hour and a half home with one in my lap. His name was Akkad Al-Saadah, but we just called him Ace. He was three times Ch Jen Araby Mr. Jay and sold to us as show quality -- except for that yo-yo-ing testicle. As things turn out, the testicle descended, and I ascended into the world of dog-showing. I finished Ace when I was 14 years old. I finished my next Saluki, a smooth, Ch Akkad Barahane Wahid (Bare), at 15. I moved into Italian Greyhounds right around the time I moved into my first apartment. When Ace died, I named my first IG, Ch Justa Nother Pretty Face, after him. Then came Fudge, Ch. Justa Ficionado.
As much as that single trip to the museum changed my life, it was only one of Providence's many plans for me. For my 30th birthday, my husband gave me a Whippet puppy. She was a fawn and white little thing I had seen at an LGRA meet, bred by Carolynn Bates who I knew and respected from my Junior Handler days. Jennifer Bates, Carolynn's daughter, had beaten me too many times with her damn junior's Whippet (her Ace, and then her Halifax) for me to forget either Whippets or the Bates. This darling, three month old gift of gifts would change my life significantly again. Diva, BIF Ch. Cajen Seminole Wind, SC, CGC, has become my very best friend, my comic relief, my sorrow's ease and my future in dogs. She whelped her first litter on May 28, 2002 by MBIF DC Allerei's Roo's Adair Castle, CD, MC, CGC, FCh, AOV, CR. Along with 10 beautiful puppies, she gave birth to my foundation line and to IMa Whippets. Thank you, Mom, John, Sue, Linda, Stacy, Shari, Teri, Carolynn and my husband, Chris. And thank you, for your interest in me, my dogs and my history.
MY FIRST DOGS -- SALUKI ACE, IG ACE, WHIPPET DIVA
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