Then by pure chance while out shopping around town with the missus we found our new dog, it turned out that a pure sent hound was not on the cards, instead I wound up with a Whippet

Now I have always had coursing hounds, Staghounds, Wolfhounds and greyhounds. This time I wanted a small dog that would be easy to look after and it turns out I could get a small sight hound, with a great nose (turns out their used for blood trailing also) and they have been used in the UK to reterive birds.
Their not the best at scent or fetching back birds, but they can do it and do it well with a bit of training, so she might just work out well.
Sandy