Kirislin

I love the clever anonimity (while still capturing the sense of the day) of the people shots.

I always admire your photos Huga, and I especially love the one of your son squatting down inspecting some hidden interesting whatever. It just epitomises childhood curiosity to me.

I was happy with this sequence though Marloo running sequence CR LM by kirislin, on Flickr sometimes peoples attitudes can be disappointing. I dont ask alot to send full res images to people. The owner of this photo commented that she would love me to email it to her, and when I said sure! I charge $5 I didn't hear from her again. If this was my dog I'd be thrilled to get a shot of it like this. I dont think $5 is too much to ask, but it seems it is. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. 5F6A4423dpptcr by kirislin, on Flickr

thankyou all for your kind sweet comments about my darling girl. I didn't have time to mourn her because I've been in hospital for 10 days having a hip replacement. When I'd think about the whippet pack while I was there, Penny was still clear in my mind, but I had to keep reminding myself she wouldn't be there to greet me when I came home. It's sunk in now, and I suppose I'm ok with it. I still talk to her when I pass her grave though.

I actually got the whole sequence with the macro and it kept focus. :D I think I'll use it again at our fun days. Marloo running sequence CR LM by kirislin, on Flickr

Yes, this particular whippet had amazing flexion getting her hind legs up so high.

thanks. It's the old lens too, not the new L series. I was pretty amazed with it although I've used it before for action shots at the beach.

I usually use my 70-200 2.8 lens for the fun days, and I did take some with it yesterday, but just for a change, and to see how it went, I used my 100mm Macro, with some very satisfying results, this being one of them. 5F6A4423dpptcr by kirislin, on Flickr

Happy Birthday wonderful old man!

Vale, Penny, Maysleith Musicale. You have earned your wings. A life so well lived, a dog so very much loved. A gem of a friend. Race free at The Rainbow Bridge, Penny. Thankyou thankyou all it helps. This made me teary. She was a great girl, a special friend, I've been very fortunate to have had her in my life. Once again, my amazing friends came through. There's no way I could have dug her grave, but a friend came and did it for me. I laid Penny to rest this afternoon and the house seems emptier without her. We'll be OK, but I'll miss that amazing intelligent funny girl.

thankyou all for understanding. Pennys parting was calm and peaceful. I haven't buried her yet. I've curled her up so she truly looks like she's just sleeping. It might seem strange but I'm still going to the whippet fun day today, I have to/want to take photos for everyone and keep myself busy. When I come home I will bury my sweet girl. Thankyou Penny, Maysleith Musicale, my fierce competetive racing girl, Little Savage, for 15 wonderful years. IMG_6326dppt by kirislin, on Flickr Penny running sequence by kirislin, on Flickr The two sticky noses. by kirislin, on Flickr Pennys 11th birthday photo by kirislin, on Flickr IMG_3538 by kirislin, on Flickr IMG_0291t by kirislin, on Flickr

When I said it's a day by day thing with Penny I didn't realise how close to the mark I'd be. She's taken a sudden dive and I took her back to Brett the vet this afternoon and he agreed with me that it's her time. He's given her a sedative/painkiller something or other to tide her over till he comes after he closes his clinic tonight. I'll just give her lots of cuddles till then.

Awwww thankyou. I'm so happy you remember my dear Kibah. Yes she did love her 'wartymelon' and 'nanas' I'm glad Penny's a favourite too. :D Here's the 2 of them as pups. As they grew up there was tension between them, but this is when Penny thought baby Kibie was the ants pants. 5F6A1800dpp by kirislin, on Flickr this was taken on her 12th birthday. Penny at 12 by kirislin, on Flickr and these just a couple of months before she turned 12. I sent them to her breeder and he was thrilled to see her in such good condition. Penny whippet by kirislin, on Flickr Penny whippet by kirislin, on Flickr

Oh that's made me tear up. Thankyou so much. Perse, she's staying with a friend who she knows well. I'm hoping she'll be OK with it. She's not a stressy dog normally and my friend is very understanding of her needs so fingers crossed it will work out but we dont have any other option. Another friend suggested putting her down before I go to hospital, and I gave it some thought but she just doesn't seem ready yet. Plus I'd be devastated if I did let her go and then had the operation postponed.

thankyou everyone for your lovely comments. I've never had such an old dog before so this is new territory for me. I'm trying not to worry so much now and just take it as it comes but I do love it when she surprises me and lets me know 'not today Mummy'. Usually when I bring her home I lift her carefully out of the car and she totters to the gate to be let into the yard, but the other day same old routine, I lifted her out and made sure she had her balance on the ground before letting her go, and to my surprise she took off down the drive way, she looked like she was jumping invisible hurdles. I was calling her but she's deaf as a post and I felt a twinge of panic wondering just how far she was going to run. She ran about 100 mts, stopped for a piddle and then did the same thing coming back frolicking like a lamb, jumping over her invisible hurdles and went and stood at the gate, while my heart was thumping. :laugh:

I'm enjoying every moment with her now because I know she wont be around much longer. I have to go to hospital soon and I'm worried that while she's being cared for by a friend she'll succumb. That's why I took her to the vet the other day, just so he can assess her now and also let him know I give permission to my friend if it comes to that. It's rotten having to take these precautions but if it happens I want it to be as stress free as possible for all concerned. The vet definitely agreed that her time isn't just yet though, frail as she is. It's because of Penny that my back has flared up something terrible. She had an attack of the sillies the other day so I sat on the floor to play with her. When I went to get up my back gave a shriek of protest. (Mr rolly eyes here)

Yep, this exactly! Here she is at 9 years old, so already quite a mature girl but she didn't look it. She's obviously from good stock, both her parents got to at least 14 I think. This is my favourite photo of her. IMG_1990cs by kirislin, on Flickr

Happy birthday Maci!!!!

In her racing prime she weighed 14.1 kilos, I weighed her at the vets the other day and she's only 9.9k now. As you can see though her coat is still lovely and she's still got a sparkle in her eye. Good ol' girl she is.

It's a day by day thing with dear old Penny now but this morning I managed to grab a coupld of shots of her frolicking like a lamb. She is 15 years and 3 months old young. Old Mrs Wobble Dog by kirislin, on Flickr 5F6A4307dppt by kirislin, on Flickr 5F6A4310dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

Ewww bastards!!! Fantastic shots though. Anyone know what kind of ticks they are?

It's heartbreaking to see them in pain and know they wont get better. Thankyou for doing the brave and unselfish thing and letting her go. You tried your best for her.

there are certain breeds I am automatically on the alert about from past experience, but I wont say what they are here. It doesn't mean I'm instantly frightened of them, just watchful, but mostly I dont base it on breed but rather the body language of the individual dog. The breed I'm most wary of is probably the breed I would get for myself if I felt I ever needed a protective dog.

I probably would have asked the owner if her dog was safe with others, or perhaps even asked her to hold it short on the leash because I felt a bit nervous. Some people are idiots with their dogs though, I was at the park yesterday with just 2 of mine, the smallest one and the oldest one, Penny who is very frail now. 3 elderly people were walking their 3 dogs off leash. 2 littlies seemed fine but the biggest one snapped at Penny who was oblivious to it so the snap came out of the blue to her. The owners just laughed and said oh yes, she snaps but she doesn't bite.

Happy gotcha day.