This is why I first want to talk about why anyone would want to breed dogs or buy a dog from a breeder when there are already so many homeless dogs around.
I have been involved in hound rescue in the past (Sighthounds, Beagles, Coonhounds and sometimes other breeds) and still own dogs that were saved from euthanasia at shelters in my area.
One of the non-whippets I currently own is the best dog I have ever had. Her name is Kenya and she is a mix of several breeds including possibly Coonhound, Doberman, Pointer and Whippet. She is 14 years old and is extremely athletic, beautiful, smart and most affectionate with me and with anyone she meets while also being courageous and protective when necessary. She has acted as pack leader without the need for aggression for many years at our house and she acts as an aunt to our 4-week-old puppies and watches them and nurtures them when mom needs a break. She comes closer to being the perfect dog than any of the over 100 dogs I have rescued and placed over the years.
So some people would ask why I would not just try to find another shelter dog like her. But I know this is not possible. We can replace a dog but we can't replace a soul mate. Kenya has set the bar very high, though, for what I consider good temperament and great athletic ability and trainability/intelligence in a dog.
My love of whippets started the first time I saw one in a picture. It was in a common dog book and by my current standard today it was not a very good whippet as far as conformation. But at the time I was simply spell-bound and thought this was one of the most beautiful animals I had ever seen. I was about 20 at the time and not in a position to own a dog. My other experience with whippets was observing a race meet in the City of Cologne in Germany where I grew up. I decided that whippets in motion were even better than whippets in a show stand.
At the age of 35 we got our first whippet, Lyth Brio, a lovely black bitch who was an outstanding companion for my young daughter and who also excelled at agility and who loved lure coursing. Brio lived to be 16 years and we lost her early this year.
Sky (Lyth Drifter) is the sire of our litter and he joined our family 7 years ago. The most recent whippet addition is Dancer (Lyth Moon Dance) who will have been part of our family 4 1/2 years and is the mother of our litter. All three whippets are of a quality in temperament, athletic ability and health that has come closer to the high standard that Kenya has set in my mind than any of the other dogs I have owned. In some way they are very different from her but they all share their superb suitability as companion dogs and athletic partners.
As you can tell by now I'm not strictly a whippet person and I don't even necessarily like all whippets (all most are very nice). But I consider myself very lucky to own the dogs I have and believe that there are other people who would love to own this type of dog.
While there are some whippets in rescue the number is relatively small compared to most breeds. I believe this is due to the overall good temperament of the breed as well as the fact that whippet breeders as a group are doing a good job in finding suitable homes for their dogs. In all the years of doing rescue I never saw a purebred whippet in any of the shelters in our area.
I'm hoping that breeding this litter will give more people the opportunity to enjoy the amazing experience of owning a whippet, maybe for the first time or maybe for the 10th time.
For all those who decide to rescue a shelter dog, that's great, too. There are indeed many deserving animals and it is often a matter of calling where to find the right dog for us.