People thought they were "insane" moving out to Aldergrove from Vancouver 40 years ago, but Linda Buchholz and her husband wanted acreage for their dogs more than anything. 

"We both worked in Vancouver still, back then you didn't do that [commute]," Buchholz said. 

She still lives on the same five-acre property, and has two whippet dogs. 

When Buchholz was only 12, her neighbour had two whippets and thought they were the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Her neighbour let her walk the dogs, and took Buchholz to events and got hooked. 

"They're beautiful dogs, I fell in love with them," she said. 

The National Whippet Club of Canada is holding its regional/national showing competition this weekend at the Regional Park.

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Buchholz describes the breed as calm and quiet, but yet ready to go and full of energy. 

"As well as being pretty show dogs, they're an extremely functional hound. A lot of these dogs still race... it's a breed that can still do what it was originally bred to do, which is chase small game. We're very proud of that aspect." 

But they do have a strong prey drive, Buchholz notes, so they will chase things. 

"They're not a dog you have out running loose a lot, you have to be very careful because they will go after something," she cautioned. 

Buchholz brought her two dogs to participate in the 29th annual specialty show of the National Whippet Club of Canada, to which she is the vice-president of. 

Both her dogs placed first and second at different classes of the show held over the weekend of July 26 to 28 at Aldergrove Regional Park.

"They are our pets first and foremost, this is just our hobby," she commented. 

Her favourite part of the show is the people who come out from across Canada, the U.S., and Australia, and that there is a worldwide community where whippet owners come together. 

For those that might be interested in a owning a whippet and joining the specialty shows, Buchholz recommended going through the National Whippet Club of Canada website to pick a breeder who also will act as a guide. 

"That breeder will guide them on that journey," she said. 

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