CHAPTER XIX 

 THE WHIPPET 



FOR elegance of style, cleanliness of habit, and graceful 

 movement, few dogs can equal the Whippet, for which reason 

 his popularity as a companion has increased very greatly 

 within the past decade. No more affectionate creature is to be 

 found, yet he possesses considerable determination and 

 pluck, and on occasion will defend himself in his own way. 



Too fragile in his anatomy for fighting, in the ordinary sense 

 of the word, when molested, he will " snap " at his opponent 

 with such celerity as to take even the most watchful by 

 surprise ; while his strength of jaw, combined with its com- 

 paratively great length, enables him to inflict severe punish- 

 ment at the first grab. It was probably owing to this habit, 

 which is common to all Whippets, that they were orginally 

 known as Snap-Dogs. 



The Whippet existed as a separate breed long before dog 

 shows were thought of, and at a time when records of pedigrees 

 were not officially preserved ; but it is very certain that the 

 Greyhound had a share in his genealogical history, for not 

 only should his appearance be precisely that of a Greyhound 

 in miniature, but the purpose for which he was bred is very 

 similar to that for which his larger prototype is still used, the 

 only difference being that rabbits were coursed by Whippets, 

 and hares by Greyhounds. 



This sport has been mainly confined to the working classes, 

 the colliers of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, and North- 

 umberland being particularly devoted to it. As a rule the 

 contests are handicaps, the starting point of each competitor 

 i 113 



