Nick’s family never had dogs. No fences at our place in Ashfield, so we had cats, which would be stolen, poisoned, or run over.
However the Giura family in Bucharest were dog people.
We bought our flat in Bondi in 1995 (for $200k) right next to Waverley Oval. Being “childfree”, we convinced the other three owners to allow us a “small and quiet” dog. After installing side gates, the search for a breed began via books like “Selecting a Small Dog.” Nicoleta’s favourite in Romania was a cocker, a friend had a springer but I was keen on whippets, the fastest accelerating breed. Or maybe it was just the word. There was a car called a whippet. Models were whippet-thin. Speedy wingers were called whippets.
Small, quiet, don’t shed much, don’t need much exercise. (It’s working dogs like kelpies and border collies that need lots of exercise) We found a breeder, were looking for a girl. They gave us a choice of two boys. He lined them up and we let them choose. “Patch” took a few paces towards us. We collected him just before Christmas 1996. He was born on 12 September 96, so about 14 weeks old. That’s a good age – give a pup plenty of time with the litter. Don’t grab them at eight weeks.
He howled on the first night, took a while to adjust to the new normal. He was frightened by the noise and bustle of Bondi. We kept him on a tight leash, afraid he would bolt. One afternoon in the park, we met a guy with a jack russell, who suggested they might like a run together. We were apprehensive. He’d never been off leash but we were in the middle of the park so we decided to risk it.
What a transformation! They chased each other round and round. Born to run!