DORRIT McKAY, who has died aged 93, exercised a vital influence on the breeding of whippets through the Laguna kennels, which she ran for 38 years at Brightwalton Holt in Berkshire.
Perhaps the most remarkable of her many champions was a brindle and white whippet, Champion Laguna Ligonier, born in 1960. Between 1962 and 1972 no fewer than litters sired by this dog were registered with the Kennel Club, and from these came 11 United Kingdom champions.
Dorrit McKay was also passionately interested in coursing, and would sometimes present the same dogs at shows and races, sometimes on