Isis!

This is Isis the very first day we had her home. Yep, she was an adult when she came to live with us! 19 months old to be exact :)

I hope I have the facts in Isis' story correct... but it's something like this:

Kathy & Debbie - Athena's breeders - had a friend in Florida who was a long time whippet breeder. In fact, one of her whippets is the ONLY whippet to ever take Best in Show at Westminster - back in 1963.

This friend was planning on retiring from the dog world - but wanted to have one last litter to show. Right when the pups where born, she ended up in the hospital for 18 months :(

The pups were still cared for by a relative during those 18 months. She came by every day... but they were not socialized at all.

The woman finally was able to come home about the same time that Kathy and Debbie were down for a dog show and visiting. Although she really wanted to try to show the dogs (there were 2) Kathy and Debbie convinced her to let them bring those 2 whippets back to Illinois with them to find them good pet homes.

One day I was off at a teddy bear show when Bob received a call from Kathy. She started the conversation by saying... "I know you don't need another dog, but I have a dog that needs you"

When I got back, Bob told me about her and we discussed it before going to meet her. We knew once we saw her we would want to take her home... so we decided to make the decision of adding another dog to the family first, and then go meet her.

Obviously, we decided to do it!

When we first met Isis (her name was Angel then) she was SO scared and submissive!! We all (Bob, Jen and I) sat on the floor of Kathy & Debbie's living room while they brought Isis out. Isis belly crawled across the floor and climbed right into Jen's lap.

I think that was a Thursday or Friday. The following Tuesday was my last day at work. I had quit my job to do the teddy bear business full time. We asked Kathy to keep Isis till then, so that when Isis was moved to yet another home - I would be with her all day long so she wouldn't be stressed.

Isis was wonderful!!! She didn't even know her name Angel, so there was no problem switching it to Isis. She learned her name in a day!

It took Isis some time to learn that she was finally home -- and she was a part of the family. It took a full year before she would hold your gaze. If you looked at her before, she would always look away (a sign of submission). After the 2nd year Isis was fully her own whippet and full of confidence! In fact, she can be a dickens! LOL!!!

Isis LOVES to drape herself over her people....

And the other whippets!!!

If she wants to sit or lay in a spot that is already occupied... she doesn't care... she'll lay there anyways! If whoever was there first doesn't like it, they can move!

Isis almost never barks.... but when she sees a squirrel... look out!! I never knew she had a voice till then LOL!!!

Isis' most favorite game in the world is ball. But... it has to be a green tennis ball. Yes, I said GREEN. She just doesn't care as much for tennis balls in other colors!

She has another favorite game she plays with Cleo. We call it "Stalk"

Isis and Cleo will lock eyes from across the yard. Then, they start approaching each other very slowly... stalking each other like a lion. It is SO cool to watch... they are able to walk without making their top lines go up at all.

Then... all of a sudden, they both break and start rushing each other... playing and having fun!

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On a Saturday in April of 2007, Isis was having fun in the back yard when she slipped and fell (not unusual) but this time did something to her back and was paralyzed. I was not home, but Bob rushed her to the vet. I called Kathy while I rushed home. The vet gave Isis steroids... shots and then pills.

Kathy told us to be sure to give Isis time to walk again... at least 2-3 weeks. She said that most vets try to rush this and if they aren't trying to walk in a week try to push you into surgery. We're so glad she gave us that advice... cause that's exactly what happened.

The Monday after the accident - Isis developed a slight cough... which turned out to be a symptom of Congestive Heart Failure. Evidently, Isis had just started developing this -- and then the steroids accelerated it so that is was a horrible case. We weren't sure she would live thru the night. At this time we had found a different vet - as we just were not comfortable with the first.

As of today -- February 8, 2008 - Isis is still with us!!!!! She has outlived what the vets had predicted by many months! She's walking and running again too! We gave her LOTS of time, and did lots of physical therapy with her...After 6 weeks she was walking by herself very well!

Here's a photo of Isis jumping AFTER the accident!

Isis is taking 10 pills a day for her heart condition and is on a low salt diet too. We know our time with her is limited... but we are enjoying every second we have with her!!

If you want to read the diary I kept during her recovery, you can find it here. Just scroll down to the bottom to start reading as the most current entries are at the top.