Itinerant Philosopher

Those of you who have followed our blog over the years have come to know our dog, Brighton. We’ve mentioned him, sometimes extensively, in 24 of our posts because we’ve often brought him along on our adventures. We’ve dragged Brighton all over the western US, and even taken him to Europe. One of our posts (Our Dog is Better Traveled than You Are) highlights how many states (19) and countries (7) he’s visited.  When we got caught in Covid-19 lockdown in Spain, we were particularly happy we’d brought Brighton to Europe with us. Taking him for multiple walks each day during lockdown is what kept us sane, even if it sometimes meant we were limited to exercising him in the condo parking garage.

A few travel snapshots with Brighton:

Because of his age and declining health, we knew we couldn’t take him on all of our jaunts during our latest travels. Instead, at the beginning of our year-long travel adventures, when we drove out to Texas to visit with Joy’s mom, we brought Brighton with us, and then left him with Joy’s sister who graciously took care of him for several months while we wandered around Cuba, Kenya, Turkey, and various European countries.  

As is typical of older Whippets, he had heart issues, so each time we left, we said our “final goodbyes.” We knew the odds were high that he wouldn’t be there when we got back.

As we neared the end of October, 2023, and finally headed back to the US, both of us were excited to see Brighton again. He was still hanging in there!  When we arrived in Texas it was wonderful to see him again, but it was clear that he didn’t have a lot of time. On Friday, November 3, it was time to say a final goodbye to Brighton. At just a few months shy of 15, he was at the outer range of a typical Whippet lifespan, so while it was difficult to let him go, it was clear it was time. 

He was a good dog and wonderful companion. He put up with more moving and lack of routine than any dog would ever want to go through, but he was always a trooper. He brought us a lot of joy and left us with many wonderful memories.  Here are a few.

A Hedonist

Like all Whippets, Brighton was either on (and sprinting at breath-taking speeds) or off (and lounging on pillows).

When we got Brighton from the breeder, she told us that the only way to keep a Whippet off furniture was to ensure that his dog bed was the softest, warmest thing in the house. We’ve always disliked the idea of pets on furniture so we made sure that we got him several big soft pillows with a heater insert. To our amusement, Brighton discovered that the softest, warmest thing in our house was our lovely and loving Australian Shepherd, Sydney. Brighton would often snuggle with Sydney. Sometimes, if Sydney decided the middle of the floor was a fine place to plop, Brighton would sit on Sydney. 

Once we lost Sydney to cancer, we mellowed and decided it was okay for Brighton to be on furniture, but only if he were joining us, and only if he were invited up. We have no doubt that he would sometimes sneak onto the couch when we were gone, but since his bed was right by the fireplace, that probably didn’t happened too often. 

Because Whippets have no body fat, he was always searching for heat sources. During winter months, he would live by the fireplace. He was very practiced at finding that delicate balance between stretching out as close as possible to the fireplace but not so close that he caught fire. 

Dog Games

Sydney would play fetch until your arm fell off. Brighton didn’t care for fetch, but being a sight hound, he loved to chase the ball. Well, chase anything, really. But mostly, he loved to be chased.  We often played a weird ballgame with Sydney and Brighton. If Sydney got the ball first, we were playing fetch. If Brighton got the ball first, we were playing keep away. Sydney would chase Brighton, barking his head off, encouraging Brighton to drop the ball. Once Brighton dropped the ball, Sydney would carry the ball back to us and we’d start all over.

Watching Brighton run was thrilling. Whippets are one of the fastest dog breeds, reaching speeds up to 35 mph (Greyhounds hit 40-45 mph), and are the world’s fastest accelerating dog. When he was going all out, his gait was a thing of beauty. Whippets, like Cheetahs, run in a double suspension gallop, which results in all four of the dog’s legs being off the ground twice during a stride.

At dog parks, Brighton would play chase with other dogs, letting a pack of dogs get close to him as they tried to catch him, and then zoom away, leaving them in the dust.

A Handsome Beast

Brighton was a strikingly beautiful dog who caught people’s attention. It was not uncommon for strangers to compliment how handsome he was. 

Because of his lack of body fat, when the weather was cold we’d put him into his giraffe sweater. That definitely caught a lot of people’s attention. On a cold and blustery Valentine’s day in Florence, we learned that the word “giraffe” is relatively recently adopted into many languages. We would hear a couple speaking, and then one would point at Brighton and say to the other person, “(Italian, Italian, Italian), Giraffe!”  Then a German couple would point and say, “(German, German, German) Giraffe!”, then Norwegian speakers, “(Norwegian, Norwegian, Norwegian), Giraffe!” That day two different sets of tourists asked if they could take a picture of Brighton in his giraffe outfit.

One day Joy and I were walking Brighton near our Oregon home. As two women power-walking in the opposite direction passed us, one called out “Cute Kangaroo!”  Joy looked at each other, smirked, and kept walking. About a minute after they’d passed, one of the women came running back to us and called out, “I meant to say ‘Giraffe’!”  

If he wasn’t wearing his sweater, coat, or raincoat, little kids would call out, “That dog is SKINNY!” One of my nephews referred to him as “Skeletor”. (Skeletor is He-Man’s archenemy. He-Man is an animated … oh, you get the idea.)

But mostly, Brighton was a chick magnet. Young women everywhere we traveled would coo and aww at him and ask to pet him. Joy and I would be walking him through city streets and see a group of young women coming and we’d slow down because chances were high at least one of them would ask to pet him. If you’re a young man looking to meet potential girlfriends, trust me, a Whippet is way better than Tinder!

Farewell, Brighton!