HOW IT ALL BEGAN…MY PASSION FOR THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND BREED
I was looking at the classified section of the Sighthound Review one evening and someone had listed quite a few issues of the The Sighthound Review that they were looking to sell and rehome. I had a few blank spaces in my collection, and it seemed they were listed in the ad. I call to find that this was a person by the name of Kathleen (Kat) Wagner that listed the magazines. I made the purchase from her and she in turn asked what breed I had and I told her whippets. She then asked had I ever considered and Italian Greyhound. I said, No. She proceeded to tell me a wee bit about the breed and in the end, she wanted to send a young female she had named “Paris” to me, and if I would agree to breed her to a specific dog in Texas, upon dividing two litters between us, Paris would be mine. I agreed to this and next thing you know I was at DFW airport picking up Paris. When I got her to my van, I let her out of her kennel and she proceeded to do a summersault in the passenger seat to my amazement and amusement too! This girl acted like she had known me her whole life. She was comical and fun, and I hadn’t even taken her home yet. So Paris, dear sweet Paris was my introduction to the breed. Below find a few photos of Paris that were taken when we first got her. They are from old fashioned photographs and I scanned them in, so the picture quality isn’t the best, but it will give you a good idea what Paris looked like.
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- Elfin Paris At Nite
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- Paris
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- Paris enjoying the outside
After obtaining Paris, her breeder, Kat Wagner became my good friend and mentor in the breed. She guided me in the persuit of the history of the breed, different types of dogs, and encouraged me to develop my own eye for what was beautiful and correct as per the breed standard. This was a journey that I enjoyed very much.
