Hey guys, sorry! I appreciate you wanting an update 
For efficiencyâs sake, I am going to paste the post I put on Facebook tonight, I canât figure out how to post pictures on COTH 
, so will tackle that tomorrow.
The newest member of our family, Whippet puppy TĂ©a, 9 weeks old; we picked her up on Friday 
We started looking for a puppy last summer (always wanted a Whippet companion for our super sensitive Callie girl but didnât start seriously searching until last year), and I sent out several applications/questionnaires â but Whippets are a pretty rare breed, and available puppies are even scarcer than usual due to Covid!
Thanks to an eventer FB friend and fellow Whippet owner, Gary Angie Francart, I was directed to a Whippet group that I was not yet a member of: Whippets in the US - where I found Eleanor McCoy after posting that I was looking. She had a litter that was born on my birthday (Kismet! 
), and after PMing for a couple of hours, I was literally dancing and jumping up and down in the kitchen like a little kid at Christmas. A PUPPY!!! Oh, boy. 
I am well aware of all the work required, so started to prepare, and over-prepare in anticipation; after 11 years of talking the talk, I would have to walk the walk again.
This darling precious angel is everything I couldâve hoped for: she is smart as a whip, engaged, learns lightning fast, is sweet, adorable, sensitive, playful, hilarious, and has easily picked up on house training and sleeping in the crate - she is precocious in every way. She watches TV! Bonus! she is related to âWhippet royaltyâ: Her sire is by the same sire as Whiskey and Bourbon - the winningest Whippets in the country.
After all these years of competing in horses, I am now interested in dabbling in the dog show world - wish me luck! 
(Obviously Iâm getting a bit ahead of myself here, but plan to take handling classes.)Tony and Diana have been incredibly helpful (Diana accompanied me on the very long drive to Va Beach where we ran into a lot of Friday traffic - she spelled me with the driving, and of course my poor leg was aching and burning in spite of kinesiotape tape and a hot pack); and Tony has taken on the duty of getting up in the middle of the night for potty breaks until TĂ©a is house trained.
I (naturally) have already started doing some wee bits of training, and she is eagerly and happily picking up every little thing with great attention and enthusiasm.
In spite of how exhausting and labor-intensive having a new puppy is, there is one big upside. I spend every day with a big goofy grin on my face - and I canât wait to wake up in the morning. A BIG thank you to Eleanor for producing such a wonderful puppy, and for being a passionate, communicative, involved, conscientious, and incredibly supportive breeder - everything I couldâve wanted and more.
