This morning with Guinnie.   Being with Guinnie is the quickest way that I know to find joy.  She is always present – intensely so – ready to play, ready to walk, ready, ready, ready.  I think that she would be a terrific agility dog, except that the joy of a full-on run would probably overtake her mid-course.

We have had greyhounds for the past twenty-two years.  Our fascination with them began during a cross-country ski holiday in New Hampshire.  The owners had a beautiful white and brindle greyhound named Finbar.  We had never seen an animal so elegant, so self-possessed.  Perhaps it had to do with the fact that his owners, the innkeepers, were British.  One day during afternoon tea, he walked in, through all the guests, over to the tea table where he delicately removed one biscuit from the tray and walked out.  All of us were breathtaken.  We hoped he would do it again.

The following week we adopted our first greys, Misha and Zoe.  Since then, there have been Tashi, Gordita, Dae, Esme, Luna, and now Cho (the 17-year old Spanish Galgo), Jules and Guinnie – the mistress of “Let’s go!”