The Whippet. 169 



any scheme to make the whippet a popular animal 

 outside the society in which it is now received. Its 

 surroundings have not, as a rule, been of the highest 

 in the social scale, nor have the rabbit coursing 

 matches and tests of speed always been conducted 

 by its owners in the fairest way possible. 



Various tricks are tried by the unscrupulous to 

 prevent an opponent's dog winning, and a trainer or 

 his friend has to be a sharp man in his line, to run 

 successfully the gauntlet of all that is placed in his 

 way during a match for money where such dogs 

 compete. And it must be confessed that, not- 

 withstanding the fairness, honesty, and firmness of 

 the owners of the enclosed grounds where dog races 

 and coursing take place, and of the umpires and 

 referees, the general spirit ot the sport is not the 

 most wholesome in the world. Of course, these 

 remarks are not applicable to all owners of whippets 

 many of whom are as honest and good sportsmen 

 as ever owned a dog but there can be no doubt 

 that the popularity of the variety has been kept 

 back by those " black sheep " to whom allusion is 

 made. 



As I have said, the whippet ought not to be a big 

 dog, weighing, from i2lb. to say, about 25!^ 

 when in training. However, some of them are 

 much heavier than this, and many of the so-called 



