As the Rabbit Runs: Our Lives with Greyhounds

Rebels trip to NY by the Martins.

2011-11-16T20:40:00.003-06:00

A friend of a friend wanted another greyhound to to a companion with the resident boy. We had cats and kids in the mix so the match was crucial. Rebel is a young fellow and I knew he would be perfect for them. How do we get him there ? hmmmm Coincidentally I got an email from IAGA's very first adopters just checking in and he ended with if you need anything let me know. Little did he know what he was in for ..... I knew Steve and Heidi were a road trip kinda couple and may be interested. Well generous as they are they agreed to get him to Louisville Kentucky to meet up with the second leg of his trip, Paws N Pilots. All went smoothly, Rebel is in his new home with his kids and new fur brother doing well. Our heartfelt thanks to the Martins for the ultimate generosity to take him on his trip, to Fran and Paul for helping fund the trip and Pilot N Paws for caring for our precious cargo and getting him home safe and of course to the family who trusted us to provide them with the perfect addition to their family. Here is The Martin's story of the trip.............

Precious Cargo Delivery on a Spyder

Heidi and I were very fortunate to be able to combine 2 of our favorite things last weekend, Spyder riding and retired racer greyhound adoption. We needed to deliver a very sweet 19 month old brindle boy to Louisville KY. Our deadline was 12 noon on Saturday the 29th. He was scheduled to catch a PilotNPaws flight to Columbus Oh., spend the night and do a second leg Sunday morning to his new forever home in Rochester NY.
We fixed up out time out trailer so that we could haul him safely and comfortably, and left Mobile at about noon Friday, headed north. We stopped several times in the first couple of hours to make sure that Rebel was good. We would take him out of the crate to potty and he would quickly beeline it back to the crate and jump in and lay down. It was obvious that he was comfortable and warm.
We stopped that night just south of Nashville Tn. temp was dropping and we were tired. Our grey baby snuggled into his blanket next to our bed, flipped over on his back and was good for the night.
We rolled out early the next morning, temp on the Spyder was reading 31, stopped again several times early in the ride to check on him. He was snug as a bug in a rug. We got to Bowman Field in Louisville at about 11:00AM and met up with our pilot. Did a little hand off paperwork on Rebel and he was ready to go. The pilot allowed us to take him to the plane and load him up. We only had him with us 4 days but were very attached to him. If you have never been around Greyhounds, they are among the sweetest, gentle and loving breeds there is and he is true to the breed.
I loaded him in his crate in the plane and stepped down. Heidi jumped up on the wing and told him goodbye. we shook hands with the pilot and walked back to the terminal and watched as the pilot went thru his checklist, started up and taxied out to the runway. A few minutes went by and we heard the planes engine rev, shortly after the plane lifted from the runway and as the pilot fly over head he gently rocked his wings, waving goodbye, and made a gentle climbing turn to the right and out of sight.
At this point, Heidi and I both had a lump in our throats and were trying to keep dry eyes. We had the honor to be part of something very special. Taking part in getting a wonderful deserving dog to a loving home.
A few hours later I recieved a text, he had made it safely to Columbus. The next morning his new mom sent me pics of Rebel at his new home in Rochester.

So here we are in Louisville, on a Spyder, got a day and a half to get back home. We ate a bite of lunch and headed for the Dragon. We made it to Marysville TN. at about 8, tired and ready for bed. We would have made it sooner but at the first rest area south of the KY/TN border on I75, after taking a stretch break we got mobbed at the Spyder for over an hour with folks walking up wanting to see it and ask questions. This is the first time this has ever happened to us and finnaly we just had to suit up and start backing out. The attention was neat, but we had to go.
The next morning, up at 8:00, we were on the Dragon by 9. Pretty much had it to ourselves, awesome ride....Picked up the Cherohala Skyway and rode it too. Saw a white RT and gave a big wave. By this time it's about noon and we are 560 miles from home and I gotta work in the morning so we put her in the wind. Atlanta was thrilling as usual but other than that it was a quite smooth, long ride home.
We rode 1497 miles from Friday noon till 11PM Sunday night.

What will happen to your pets ?

2011-10-22T23:55:00.002-05:00

Hardly a day goes by without a commercial about life insurance policies, wills or other methods of planning for a loved ones future without you. We understand the importance in doing this for children, but what about our pets? Most of us take for granted that we will outlive them. The best estimate is that at least half a million pets are put to sleep annually because they outlive their owners. These are not stray or wild animals, these are the beloved pets who share our beds, our homes and our lives. It is difficult for us to be rational at the loss of one of our cherished pets, but as humans, we have the ability to reason – they’re in a better place, they’re no longer in pain, etc. Pets cannot reason this way and are confused as to why their lives have changed and have suddenly been put in a shelter. Sometimes these are older pets that have little chance of being rehomed. One way to avoid this is to make arrangements for your pets in your will. We like to think that family members would tend to our dogs when the truth is, most have no space, resources or desire to have additional pets. This is especially true for those of us with multiple pets.

Most of us are relatively familiar with the traditional will, but don’t stop to think about how this affects our pets. Although they are a primary focus of our day to day lives, they are often little more than an afterthought in relation to legal documents and estate planning in general. Can you provide for pets in a will? This one is much more complicated and cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.

Pets are considered property under the law so they can be included as part of a will. They can be left to someone specific. They cannot, however; be the beneficiary of a will. In simple terms, a pet cannot be left your estate (money, etc) since they cannot legally own property. In addition, there is another problem with only providing for your pets in your will. A will is not in effect until your death. Depending on your estate, it may be weeks, months or even years before the details of the estate are finalized. What happens to your pets during this period or if you are incapacitated? In the midst of difficult times, pets can be neglected or forgotten without written instructions in the hands of appropriate caregivers. Even if you choose to go this route, you should put something in place for emergency situations other than death before a will is finalized.

Another consideration is that a will allows for you to leave your pets to someone, but typically does not detail anything beyond. There are no stipulations as to their care or lifestyle. In fact, the person who inherited your cherished pet could abandon them the following day and still meet their requirements under the law. Given this scenario, deciding who will take your pets really needs some thought and planning.

Obviously, it can be difficult to adequately provide for pets in wills. Progress has been made and slowly, the legal system is realizing that many of us consider our pets more akin to children than inanimate objects. It is believed that the laws will continue to offer more assistance to pet parents to ensure our furry friends remain well cared for, no matter what.

2011-10-17T23:13:00.003-05:00

Let's talk about greyhounds and children. Statistics show that a fair number of the returned dogs had some unsavory interaction with a child.

Most retired racing greyhound have not been around children. Greyhounds have no reason to dislike children and in fact most greyhounds really seem to enjoy being around them. Until they are accustomed, the activity level of smaller kids may make the dog nervous. While living at the race track, greyhounds have their crate which is only theirs, they don't ever have to share that space with anyone. They come into a home and they are given a dog bed or in some cases allowed to get on furniture. Soon this area becomes their own and they can require a transition period to become used to sharing their space. A small child walking over or tripping over a dog or even just startling a sleeping dog to give affection can cause an instinctive defense reaction and result in a bitten/snapped at, frightened child. With some stellar monitoring and consistency, children and greyhound can be wonderful companions. It's important to remember that no matter how much we love our dogs and consider them family members, they are animals.

The following are some general guidelines to help develop a happy relationship:

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE - Do not or let a child, jump on or even pet a sleeping greyhound. Some greyhounds sleep with their eyes open. When a sleeping dog is startled it may growl or come up with teeth before it is fully awake and realizes that the culprit is its best friend. If you must wake your sleeping greyhound, call its name and have it walk to you.
DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN CRAWL UP TO, RUN UP TO, LAY ON, KISS, HUG, PET, JUMP ON A DOG THAT IS LAYING DOWN AND/OR SLEEPING. Greyhounds do not understand the meaning of a child (children) rushing, crawling, running up to it or trying to kiss or hug it, when it is laying down (even if it is awake!). A dog may choose to get up and walk away, do nothing, growl or it may even snap or bite. Greyhounds sometimes sleep with their eyes open so it is very difficult to tell if one is asleep or awake. ALL of these behaviors are a warning to some degree that the dog does not like what is happening to it and they are trying to tell the child (children) to knock it off in the only way they know how. They may start off with simply leaving the area or turning away from the child, this will escalate to a growl, or defensive posturing and will then likely escalate to the point that if it isn't stopped they will bite. Dogs (ALL dogs) have teeth and will use them if they feel threatened. It is up to you as the parent to understand the body language of your dog and to enforce the rules of the house with the children so that this type of incident does not occur. Few if any dogs will "just bite" someone, they usually have been giving warning signs for weeks or months that have been missed or dismissed before they finally resort to a bite, greyhounds are VERY docile, for them to resort to biting a person it takes a LOT of stress, ignored warnings and eventually fear for their own safety to make them do it. In very rare occasions a dog can be just wired wrong and be a biter. This may be recognized prior to placement in a home however circumstances can perpetuate a biting dog.
PRIVACY & QUIET - All dogs are entitled to privacy and quiet when they eat and sleep. Children must be instructed to not bother the dog during its "quiet" times. This has to be consistently enforced. The greyhound's crate is his / her "room" and should be respected, they will quickly learn to go there when things get too busy as long as they can count on being left alone while they rest in their crate. If you choose NOT to use a crate, then a room or area of the home should be set aside for the dog as it's private area, this is where their bed should be and they can also be fed in this area.
CRATE - Do not let your children crawl into the greyhound’s crate. Initially, we recommend that you utilize the crate when your children are actively playing. It is also a good idea to use the crate when children have friends over to play. This way your new greyhound has a chance to experience and get used to children while in the safety and security of his/her crate. The use of a crate or some other method of confinement when you are not DIRECTLY supervising the dog/child interactions is mandatory. A muzzle can also be used. Just as you would not leave a toddler or infant alone unsupervised, children of any age and dogs should never be left alone unsupervised.

FEEDING TIME - Do not let your child take away the dog’s food or interfere with its mealtime in any way. If you have very young children it's recommended that you feed your greyhound in its crate to avoid any chance of a children interfering with him/her while eating. Food is a high ticket item and can become an issue especially if the dog has not been taught to respect the kids as superiors not equals.
DOOR BOLTING - Be extremely cautious about leaving doors and gates open (this goes for car doors also). Greyhounds move so quickly that they will be out the door and down the street in a blink of the eye. Teach your children and their friends about the importance of keeping doors and gates closed at all times. Make sure you have a hold of your greyhound by the collar before any door is opened to let anyone in/out of your house. It is a good idea to actively teach your dog the command for "wait" and use it consistently, this will reduce their desire to bolt through open doors. It can be started with letting them out of their crate and going in their crate and then built upon every day with your potty walks. Make the dog stand and "wait" they are not allowed to pass through the opening without the release command (usually a word like OK is used). If you are going out, attach the leash then say ok, let's go out. If you are letting them out of the crate, they must wait even after you open the door until they get the release command "OK, come on out". The key is be consistent, reward the positive behaviors and your dog will learn quickly what is expected of him/her.

KINDNESS - A child old enough to have a dog share their home is old enough to treat it with kindness. If they are unable to understand this, they may not be ready to have a dog as a pet. Many times rough housing with a greyhound can go bad simply because the dog just doesn't understand the game.
FURNITURE - We suggest that dogs should not be permitted on the furniture or to sleep with anyone on their bed for at least 6 months, they should NEVER be permitted to sleep with a child until they have been totally established in the household, this can take up to a year. This is true for any breed of dog, not just a greyhound, to allow them equal status (by letting them sleep with a child) you place them on equal footing which can cause many behavior problems that are avoided completely by removing this temptation.
BACK TO SCHOOL - We highly recommend dogs that live with children be taken to obedience school by an adult, to learn basic obedience and to aid in the establishment of whom is in charge (you and the other two legged people in your home!). Most basic obedience classes are held in the evening, one class a week for 6 to 8 weeks. Many veterinarians or boarding kennels may also be able to recommend an obedience class.

These are general guidelines and all dog/family relationships are different.

Meet Boston!

2010-11-13T09:52:00.000-06:00

Boston is a 3 year old, light fawn girl. She's a sweet heart with a little bit of an overbite (which I think is too cute!) She had a nice career back in 2009, after which she returned to farm-life, until she came to our group. While at the farm, her owner spent a lot of time working with her. He taught her great kennel and leash manners. She kennels on command and is one of the best leash-walkers I have seen in a while. Most of the time, if she gets ahead of you, she'll look over her shoulder and check where you are at and slow down. It's pretty cool. At home, she's very playful and has, over the past few days, taken all of the toys out of the toy box. She kennels while we are not home, and does just fine with that. She has had perfect house manners, not having a single accident. She sleeps on a dog bed in our room at night and has not tried to get on the couch or in the bed. She gets along great with our 3 greyhounds and did fairly well with the small dogs at the dog park. Placement with small dogs would be on an individual basis. She's quite interested in the cats, so a home without cats would be best. She does fine with children.

Overall, Boston is a fun, affectionate, silly girl who would make a perfect addition to someone's family!

Wordless Wednesday #8

2010-11-10T08:28:00.002-06:00

Meet Cindy!

2010-11-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

This is Cindy, or as I often call her, Cindy Lou Who, like from Dr. Suess, LOL. She's a wonderful, almost 2 year old red girl. She's currently fostered in my "working home" with 3 other greyhounds and is doing very well. She kennels when we are away, and does just fine going in and chomping down on her peanut butter filled kong. She's very friendly and shows that she would likely do well with children. Not too much bothers her. Initial introductions suggest she will likely be small animal friendly, but her formal cat test will be this week sometime. She hasn't really shown any interest in toys yet. She has not gotten on the couches, but does like to snuggle in the bed. She's a good snuggler! She walks on the leash nicely. No pulling, just the occasional side move when she gets distracted. :) She gets along great with our greyhounds and has been a perfect houseguest. All in all, Cindy is an absolutely wonderful greyhound who would make a great addition to someone's family!

By the way, this picture was taken after being in our home less than 24 hours. She's such a laid back girl!

Wordless Wednesday #7

2010-10-27T08:19:00.003-05:00

I Rescued a Human Today

2010-10-11T10:38:00.001-05:00

I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down thecorridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail,not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident Ihad in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them. As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that allwould be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one. I rescued a human today. ~Author unknown~

Tagging your dog !

2010-08-15T22:27:00.002-05:00

Lets talk about tags, yes tags.
Does your dog have along with a personal ID tag an adoption group identification tag ? Each adoption group has their own ID tag that typically bears an individual number that links it to your dog in the group database. Should the dog escape and picked up by someone, they can call the number on the tag and the group can identify the dog. This system WORKS, I got a call on a Friday morning and within minutes I knew who the dog was and was tracking down the owner, within a half hour dog and human were reunited. Several times a year dogs escape and their tags bring them home. Having said that, If you DONT have a tag from the group you originally got your dog from or have moved to this area from elsewhere please contact us and I will send you a short information form to complete so we can issue you one. If it is lost we wont bark to loud LOL let us know and we will get another one to you. Your dog does not have to have been adopted from IAGA however if you got your dog from another active local group you are contractually obligated to keep that tag on your dog, so we will not replace active local groups tags. Should you have a non greyhound and would like us to issue a tag to that pup we would be happy to do so.
You can never be to rich to skinny or have to many id tags on your dog.

Lesley Ezkovich
President
It's A Grey Area Greyhound Adoption
www.itsagreyarea.com
lesley@itsagreyarea.com
504-908-8884

How we caught Ganda

2010-08-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

First, the background information. Ganda is a 10 year old brindle, female greyhound who escaped through an open gate in her yard in Zachary, LA. She got out sometime in the evening on Monday, August 9th.

On Tuesday morning, I got a call from a recent adopter, who lives near us, who said her husband saw a greyhound running down Rollins Road. He tried to catch the dog, but was unsuccessful. There was some question about whether it was really a greyhound. We knew of no others in our immediate area, so we kind of dismissed it.

We heard no more. On Thursday evening, I saw a sign on my way into our neighborhood for a missing greyhound. My heart sank. I got the number and called the owner and got the details and some more information on sightings. We had somewhere to go that evening in Baton Rouge, but search between 10 p.m. and about 10:45 p.m. in the areas she had been seen.

Friday is when everything went into full swing. Tim got off work at noon and was able to start canvasing the area about 2 p.m. until about 4:30 p.m. I picked up a squawker on my way home, got some dinner and we started searching about 6 p.m. We brought Pierce with us and walked the Fennwood Golf Course, as several of the sightings were in that area. No luck. So we rode around a little bit and then swapped Pierce for Anna, as he was tired. We rode around the area some more and decided to try the Golf Course again. We were walking with Anna near the Clubhouse and thought we saw a dog run through some trees between two houses on the edge of the course, but there was a dog in a fence over that way, so we dismissed it as we had just seen that dog moving around. It was just hard to tell from that distance. As we were walking back to the Clubhouse, we got a call from Ganda's owner, someone at the course saw her and they were following her in a car. Tim ran to the car as Anna and I ran over to where we had seen the blur that might have been her. Nothing. Tim picked us up and we drove off to see if we could catch up. After a few more phone calls trying to pin-point where they were and what was going on, we found her. She was standing in a ditch, drinking and trying to cool off. I got out of the car with Anna and moved towards her, squatted down and called her name. She looked at us and just took off. At this point, too many people over the last several days had tried to chase her, and grab her and she was done with coming to anyone. So, I tried to follow her at a distance on foot, while several others moved around in cars.

I lost sight of her in the bushes a few houses and one office from the 4-lane, divided Highway 64. This was not good. She had not been in this area at all and we so did not want her to cross the highway. Tim parked at my mom's office, which is on the corner of Newel St. and Hwy. 64. He got out and walked around the building as I caught up. A women and a little girl yelled to me and told me the dog were wer following was in the field across the highway. Great.

I put Anna in the jetta, with the car on and the air running and bolted across the highway. Ganda had a head start on me. I got to the field and looked around and finally saw her, heading toward a tree line at the rear of a subdivision. I could not let her get past that tree line. I ran through the field to catch up, as she wasn't paying me any mind. I got within about 50 feet of her, stopped and called her. She looked at me, looked away and picked up the pace.

The grass had now gone from knee high, to waist high, to shoulder high. There were a few tracks where a tractor had been and she was moving through them until they ended. She started to have trouble moving quickly through the high brush and was getting tired, so she started to slow, but I did not. I just kept following her, getting closer and closer. Mind you, from the time I crossed the highway until now had only been a few minutes.

Finally, I was within 10 feet of her. I had a leash ready. I decided there was no way I could lasso her and if i spoke she would take off. That was not happening. As she slowed, I took bigger steps and was finally on her heels. When I got within reach of her, I just reach down and grabbed both her thighs and pulled her towards me. I started trying to talk to her as I held her. She immediately freaked out and started snapping, but I was not letting go! She bit my right arm twice, caught my shirt and scratched my chest with a tooth, and bit my arm a few more times. It was all our of fear and she barely broke the skin. Finally, I just sort of pushed her on her side. I had never let her go. I kept my left hand on her and reached over with my right and patted her and told her it was all going to be okay now and she started to relax some. I reached down and put the looped leash over her head and told her, "Come on girl. Let's go." She was panting and breathing very heavily, but she got up and came with me.

In the meantime, Tim had come across the highway into the field as well and was catching up with me, coming from my right, as I caught her. I think he was probably about 50 feet away when I got her. We walked over to Tim and he carried her out of the field and across the highway, back to where we had parked at my mom's office. We immediately brought her over to a water nozzle, laid her down and drenched her with water. We needed to try and bring her temp down. We kept wetting her as we began making calls to figure out where to bring her.

After about 10 minutes of wetting her down she was calming and not breathing so hard, but still panting and labored. We put her in the back of her owner's SUV and Tim hopped in with them and they took off for LSU's e-vet. I ran home, dropped off Anna, cleaned my bites, changed clothes, let our dogs our, and then met them at LSU. They checked her out, and after a few hours, a trip to Louie's for a bite to eat, a little blood work and some fluids, Ganda got to go home. I left ahead of Tim and Ganda's dad to let our dogs out at home. Then I went and picked Tim up and said a much calmer hello to Ganda. Then we went home, cleaned up and went to bed, after many hugs for our pups.

That was so not how that was supposed to go. All the reading and such I had done on finesse capturing went out the window when she crossed that highway into the big field. It was now or never, and I was not going to let her get away. We had come too far. So I threw the books out the window and went for it, and it paid off. So, my arm is a little sore, and I have a few scratches, but Ganda is safe at home with her family. That is all that matters.

This was one of the most difficult, frustrating and rewarding things I have ever done involving my work with greyhounds. I would hope that I never have to do that again. That no other dog gets out, but that's unlikely. It is an experience I will never forget.

Please take a moment again to look at something on our website, Buckley's Wish. It really relates here. It's about a similar situation that happened right after we formed our group. I didn't care that I had never met this family before, or that this dog had not come from us, or anything like that. There was a greyhound and a family in need, and we helped them and found their dog. Ganda is now home. I helped make that happen and that makes me feel wonderful about what we do.

Here's a map of where Ganda traveled, was seen, was chased and was caught. I forgot to show where she lives. It's on Jane Marie St. , so you can see how large of an area she covered.

Wordless Wednesday #6

2010-07-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday #5

2010-07-14T16:16:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday #4

2010-07-07T13:58:00.002-05:00

Greyhound Profile - Flynn

2010-06-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

This is Flynn. He is a 2 year old, smaller black, male greyhound. He is such a sweet, friendly boy. He is really doing well is his foster home, with 3 other greyhounds and foster parents who work all day. He kennels pretty well for eating and when his foster parents leave. He really like toys! He grabs stuffies randomly and will just shake them all over the place. He is also learning to play fetch with a jolly ball. He has shown no interest in getting on the furniture or in the bed. He frequently comes up to people for lovin' and nips at our hands when he wants to be petted. He is a really fantastic, handsome, sweet, cute boy who is looking for the right home.

Wordless Wednesday #3

2010-06-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday #2

2010-06-16T11:58:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday #1

2010-06-09T11:33:00.001-05:00

Greyhound Profile - Pepper

2010-06-08T15:50:00.000-05:00

Pepper is a 7 year old, black, male greyhound who never raced. He is small dog and cat friendly. He is a very sweet boy who gets along good with the pack at Lesley's house. No kennel needed for this boy. He is also a smiler. Pepper was previously treated for heartworms, but is all clear now. This boy had a rough life till DJ found him and brought him back to health. Unfortunately, due to life changes Dj cant keep him anymore, so he is here. Anyone interested in a ready made pet, Pepper is it!

Naked butt!

2010-05-24T16:58:00.000-05:00

Does your hound have a naked butt, belly and/or neck? Our blue boy Dax has been the most naked hound I have ever seen since we brought him home. A combination of his hairless-ness and skittish behaviors, we believed he had a thyroid problem. He was tested by our vet and we consulted the best of the best in the greyhound community with the results. No problem. Dax was perfectly healthy, except we still had a super squirrely dog with lots of baldness. Things stayed the same for about 2 years. We just kind of accepted the fact that he was never going to have much hair in those places and that we would always have trouble taking him on walks or out in public, as he was "afraid" and startled by so many things.

Then, one day I stumbled upon a post on greytalk where someone had before and after photos of their dog's butt after just a few weeks of melatonin. The results were amazing. I started doing a little research and began to wonder if maybe this would work for Dax, not only for the hair growth, but to calm some of his behavior issues as well. I spoke to both Lesley and our Vet about it, and both agreed it was worth a shot.

Dax has now been taking 3mg of melatonin twice a day for a few months now and we are very pleased! Not only does he have fur all over the place where he did not before and is very "fluffy", but it has also made him better in social situations. He is a lot calmer in public. He still walks away from small bouncy children, but he will let MANY more people pet him than ever before. He also does not dart away from inanimate objects too close to the sidewalk on our walks. He also tends to be less snappy with our other greyhounds and the fosters.

This is not a magic bullet for everyone. We have seen results from different people who have tried it with their dogs. It does not work quickly and you have to be consistent. It took about 6 weeks before we started seeing any hair-growth. It started on his neck. He still has moments when the other dogs agitate him, but they are much fewer than before. Overall, it has been a good thing for Dax. So if your hound has a naked butt, you might give it a shot. It's just a few bucks in the vitamin section of your local big box store, and for us, it's money well-spent!

Here are some before an after pictures of Dax:
Dax before:

Dax after a few months:

A change in the blog

2010-04-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I think it's time for a change. Get more active on here again. Well, when my partner in the creation of It's a Grey Area Greyhound Adoption mentioned she wanted to start a blog about the group, I figured why not just incorporate it into my blog that I already have? Seems easy enough. So, as soon as Lesley wants to start posting, she will and we will share the blog. It will allow us both to write about what is going on in the group, beyond what we can share on facebook, which we use one nearly a daily basis! Anyway, I look forward to this new collaboration and think it will yield a lot of new insights into our lives with greyhounds for our readers.

Here's a few links for where you can find our group:
It's a Grey Area Greyhound Adoption Website
IAGA on Facebook
IAGA on Petfinder
IAGA on Zazzle (we sell t-shirts & much more here)
IAGA on Greyhound-Data

I think that's all for now :) Looking forward to the new direction of the blog.

So very sorry it's been so very long...

2010-02-12T17:05:00.005-06:00

Wow, it was way too long between posts, but at least I have a reason for it this time..

First, to follow up on the kamikaze cat issue. When my in-laws came for Christmas, our two cats moved back to Mississippi with them. So, now we are a 3 dog, no cat household and things have been much calmer. We don't get to cat test anymore, but we can take any foster.

Now, for the reason behind my long delay. We started a new greyhound rescue group. You read that right. My very good friend Lesley and I left GPA-LA/MS and started a new group. This happened in January after their were some policy changes that we did not agree with. This was not just a whim, but had been heading in this direction for a while. There was a point right after Christmas where it looked like everything would be settled, but it all fell apart and we moved on.

So, now I am the Vice President of It's a Grey Area Greyhound Adoption, Inc. We are incorporated in Louisiana and are filing for 501(3)c status. Pretty cool, huh? I am very excited. It has been a wild busy ride, but so worth it! We got 4 dogs and have placed 2 already. We took in an older dog from another program after the passing of his owner and we have a young girl coming. Everything has been moving so fast and we have accomplished so much in such a short time. I built the group a website (http://www.itsagreyarea.com). As a part of that I designed our logo and we have t-shirts of our logo and a fleur de lis version for sale online (http://www.zazzle.com/itsagreyarea*). I just registered us for Petfinder. I don't have the link for that yet, but it's coming soon.

Now you can see why it has been a while :) Our hounds are fine. Berry White seems to be showing some signs of arthritis, but we are dealing with it. Anna is just herself, but we have apparently solved her eating issues. Apparently, it's fine if we have the same dry kibble all the time as long as I wet it and give her a spoonful of wet food that we change every can. We just started Dax on melatonin, in an attempt to grow some hair on him and see if it makes a difference attitude wise.

That is where we are now and life is good! Oh, I almost forgot, it snowed today! Berry White LOVES the snow! I'll put some pictures up here to go with this...(our house; Anna; Scarlet; Dax; Berry White; Berry White)

Kamikaze cat

2009-11-28T09:35:00.002-06:00

The tale of the Kamikaze Cat. We live with a kamikaze cat. My black cat, Enzo, is an 8 year old male with an apparent death wish. For the past few months, we have had trouble with him and Anna, but just at night. We have never been able to figure out exactly what is going on, but we have had several instances where the cat was in our bedroom at night and Anna goes after him. I think that most issues, at least in the beginning, we started by the cat. Now, the dog has the mindset that if that cat comes in the bedroom at night, she must get it. She generally leaves the other cat alone. We got to the point where we were putting up two stacked baby-gates at night, instead of the normal one, just to keep both cats out of our room at night. This has also helped with some cat-iffy fosters we have recently had. Well, a few days ago, before we went to bed, the cat jumped both gates. We put him back out and shut the door slightly. You may ask why we don't just close the door. Well, ask yourself how hot your bedroom would get with a closed door, two people and three or four large dogs? The answer is much hotter than we can handle.

So, we had become aware Enzo could, if he wanted to, clear both gates. I did not think about this when I went to bed last night. I'd like to not that Tim is out of town, so it's me, two cats and 4 greyhounds home alone. So, I go through my normal bed routine and put up both gates. I laid down in bed, with Berry White and Dax and watched TV as I dozed off. I talked to Tim once on the phone and then we half awake, waiting for him to call again, and that's when it happened. I see Anna stalking across the room. There were a few toys in the room, so I thought she might have just decided to play. I could not see the floor by the bedroom door. Apparently, Enzo had jumped the gate, without making a sound, and was sitting on the floor by the door, and Anna saw him. By the time I sat up and could see the cat, she lunged. By the time I could make my way over there, Anna and Jupiter (who happened to be muzzled because she kept trying to chew on our cable line coming from the wall) had the cat pinned with their feet and were barking madly. I pulled the girls back and the cat seemed okay, but he wouldn't leave. Then Berry White comes off the bed and wants to join in. So, here I am, Anna & Jupiter behind my left arm, barking, Berry White behind my right arm, trying to get at the cat, and the cat in front of my just sitting there. So, I push Berry White back and grab the cat with my right arm, while holding the girls back, and chuck him over the baby-gates. Once he is over, I can let the hounds go and turn on the light to the living room to take a look at the cat who appears to be fine. I close our door some, so he can't get another clear jump in and go back to bed. This cat is killing me, well trying to kill himself technically, but you get the point.

Anyone want a slightly suicidal, 8 year old, neutered, male, inside cat? I'm open to all offers :)

She's baaaaaccckkkk!

2009-11-28T09:13:00.004-06:00

So, our latest foster is a "repeat offender", but not in a bad way. We fostered Jupiter a few weeks ago. Now she is back. She was not fond of the small kids visiting in her other foster home, so we decided to give the cats a try again. After having Lily, who was crazy into the cats, I thought Jupiter might be workable. So far, I have been correct. I made a minor modification to the way that I introduce a new dog to the cats and it seems to have had better results. Most of our fosters have been just fine with the cats from the get-go, except for the last few girls we have had. I think that led me to lax from the way I had done it before. More leash time seems to be the key. That definitely led to a different reaction this time. She is not perfect with the cats yet, and may never be, but she is much improved. Right now, I would not leave her alone for any amount of time unsupervised and unmuzzled with a cat, but I can, with confidence, leaver her muzzled, not crated, with my pack with no worries. That's a big step. Last time she was here, she was crated when we left and muzzled a lot. Not so this time around. In the end, she will probably be deemed cat correctable and it will all depend on the owner and the cat, as she reacts differently to each of ours. I think she will get there where we can comfortably place her in a home with an attentive owner and some kitties, if that's the place for her. For now, she is here and doing very well.

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack is Closing

2009-11-25T12:42:00.002-06:00

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack is closing. There are a lot of false e-mails circulating saying, 400, 500, 900! dogs will be put down if people don't jump and do whatever. Well, it's not true. My understanding is that Wisconsin is 100% committed to adoption and the dogs will be safe. Some will race other places, some will be bred, some will move into adoption programs. Other tracks are also closing soon, so more e-mails will be coming around. Know that its fair to say that those dogs will be taken care of as well.

Below is the official response of GPA National to the closing of Dairyland.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack Closing
An e-mail has been circulating recently with some figures and statements that to the best of our knowledge contain outright bogus or misleading information about the closing of Dairyland.This is the information I can share with you all regarding this tracks closure from our volunteers heavily involved in assisting these greyhounds:
1) Currently the number of dogs at Dairyland (DGP) is unknown. A State official indicated they would have a list ready in 2 weeks. 900 was the number given in a recent newspaper article, but we anticipate that number is high and the realistic number is somewhere between 300-500 dogs.
2) There is confirmation from the track veterinarian, who is a State of Wisconsin employee, that no dogs will be left behind. The facility will stay open as long as it takes to find adoption groups for all the dogs that are left at DGP.
3) Hauls are being organized to move the pet dogs out of the track prior to the closing to relieve some of the burden. This is going smoothly. Racers can't be moved until January 1st, since racing will continue until Dec. 31st. A haul going east through Ohio is scheduled to leave Dec. 5th. Another haul is leaving for Canada around the same time. Both of these hauls are going to groups that are approved to accept dogs by the State of Wisconsin.
4) All of the regional adoption groups are all ready in communication with each other and are strategizing how to move the dogs and increase adoptions. Its a good team and confidence is high in their abilities to get the job done. The groups are from WI, IL, MI, MN, IN, OH and IA (the neighboring states), but we anticipate support from well behind that perimeter.

Rory Goree
President
Greyhound Pets of America - National

What is your new adoptive greyhound thinking?

2009-11-15T16:14:00.003-06:00

I have seen this passed around the greyhound community in multiple places many times. I thought I'd share it here as well, in case anyone missed it. It's great advice for any new adopter, and some old ones who missed the memo :)

This is an excerpt from a 1998 seminar given by Kathleen Gilley. It bears remembering.

"What is your new adoptive greyhound thinking?

This breed has never been asked to do anything for itself, make any decisions or answer any questions. It has been waited on, paw and tail. The only prohibition in a racing Greyhound's life is not to get into a fight----------------or eat certain stuff in the turn out pen.

Let us review a little. From weaning until you go away for schooling, at probably a year and a half, you eat, grow and run around with your siblings. When you go away to begin your racing career, you get your own "apartment," in a large housing development. No one is allowed in your bed but you, and when you are in there, no one can touch you,
without plenty of warning.

Someone hears a vehicle drive up, or the kennel door being unlocked. The light switches are flipped on. The loud mouths in residence, and there always are some, begin to bark or howl. You are wide awake by the time the human opens your door to turn you out. A Greyhound has
never been touched while he was asleep.

You eat when you are fed, usually on a strict schedule. No one asks if you are hungry or what you want to eat. You are never told not to eat any food within your reach. No one ever touches your bowl while you are eating. You are not to be disturbed because it is important
you clean your plate.

You are not asked if you have to "go outside." You are placed in a turn out pen and it isn't long before you get the idea of what you are supposed to do while you are out there. Unless you really get out of hand, you may chase, rough house and put your feet on everyone and every thing else. The only humans you know are the "waiters" who feed you, and the "restroom attendants" who turn you out to go to the bathroom. Respect people? Surely you jest.

No one comes into or goes out of your kennel without your knowledge. You are all seeing; all knowing. There are no surprises, day in and day out. The only thing it is ever hoped you will do is win, place or show, and that you don't have much control over. It is in your blood, it is in your heart, it is in your fate-- or it is not.

And when it is not, then suddenly you are expected to be a civilized person in a fur coat. But people don't realize you may not even speak English. Some of you don't even know your names, because you didn't need to. You were not asked or told to do anything as an individual; you were always part of the "condo association"; the sorority or fraternity and everyone did everything together, as a group or pack. The only time you did anything as an individual is when you schooled or raced, and even then, You Were Not Alone.

Suddenly, he is expected to behave himself in places he's never been taught how to act. He is expected to take responsibility for saying when he needs to go outside, to come when he is called, not to get on some or all of the furniture, and to not eat food off counters and tables. He is dropped in a world that is not his, and totally without warning, at that.

Almost everything he does is wrong. Suddenly he is a minority. Now he is just a pet. He is unemployed, in a place where people expect him to know the rules and the schedule, even when there aren't any. (How many times have you heard someone say, "He won't tell me when he has to go out." What kind of schedule is that?) Have you heard the joke about the dog who says, "My name is No-No Bad Dog. What's yours?" To me that is not even funny. All the protective barriers are gone. There is no more warning before something happens. There is no more
strength in numbers. He wakes up with a monster human face two inches from his. (With some people's breath, this could scare Godzilla.) Why should he not, believe that this "someone," who has crept up on him, isn't going to eat him for lunch? (I really do have to ask you ladies to consider how you would react if someone you barely knew crawled up on you while you were asleep?) No, I will not ask for any male input.

Now he is left alone, for the first time in his life, in a strange place, with no idea of what will happen or how long it will be before someone comes to him again. If he is not crated, he may go though walls, windows or over fences, desperately seeking something familiar, something with which to reconnect his life. If he does get free, he will find the familiarity, within himself: the adrenaline high, the wind in his ears, the blood pulsing and racing though his heart once again--until he crashes into a car.

Often, the first contact with his new family is punishment, something he's never had before, something he doesn't understand now, especially in the middle of the rest of the chaos. And worst of all, what are the most common human reactions to misbehavior? We live in a violent society, where the answer to any irritation is a slap, punch, kick, whip, or rub your nose in it. Under these circumstances, sometimes I think any successful adoption is a miracle.

He is, in effect, expected to have all the manners of at least a six- year old child. But, how many of you would leave an unfamiliar six- year old human alone and loose in your home for hours at a time and not expect to find who knows what when you got back? Consider that if you did, you could be brought up on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Yet, people do this to Greyhounds and this is often the reason for so many returns.

How many dogs have been returned because they did not know how to tell the adopter when they had to go out? How many for jumping on people, getting on furniture, counter surfing, separation anxiety, or defensive actions due to being startled or hurt (aka growling or biting)? So, let's understand: Sometimes it is the dog's "fault" he cannot fit in. He is not equipped with the social skills of a six- year old human. But you can help him." from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get. How EMPTY my life would be!

Foster #14 - Jupiter

2009-11-10T19:54:00.002-06:00

So, when we passed Fox on to his next foster home at the Play Day this past Sunday, we came home with another instead. Now we have FF Jupiter, aka Jupiter. She is a sweet and sassy, cute little girl who has not proven to be cat safe as she was said to be when tested at the track, by the other group or whoever. I am not really sure, but she walked in here and wanted to eat the cats. So, she is crated when we are not home, which we would not normally do with a girl after the first day or so, if all was going well. She wears a muzzle while out and about in the house. We keep the cats out of our bedroom at night, so she is muzzle-free then and is right now, baby-gated in the office with Dax, Anna and I. She just is still way too interested in the cats. She whines, she chases, but the snapping has subsided, so that's good. She responds to correction, but is very focused. We'll see how she does in the next week or two. Hopefully we can get her to come around. She's the "worst" we have had. Luckily, we know how to deal with her and are very careful. I guess that's kind of what fostering should be about. So, without further ado, here is our resident cat eater in training :)

Foster # 13 - Fox

2009-11-10T19:44:00.003-06:00

Once again, I am way behind. I may post a few separate blogs tonight. I hate to mix too many topics in one post. Too complicated when you look back on it that way.

So, we had foster #13 for about two weeks. His name is Lago Fox aka Fox, and he is Dax's brother. He and another greyhound were returned by their previous owner due to a change in circumstances. No details coming from me. It really doesn't matter. He's safe and we will find him another home.

He is sweet, handsome, quiet, well-behaved, playful, doesn't get on the furniture (not that it matters to us), just an all-around greyt greyhound. This handsome boy would have no trouble finding a home, except for one little thing., he has SLO. If you don't know about SLO, you can find an article about it here. He is fine, except he sometimes loses toenails. He is not on any medication, just supplements. He has been doing well for a while now.

I really enjoyed having Fox around. He is such a love. A lot like his brother. We all kept saying that he is a blue dog in a black dog's body. If we only had two, he could have stayed. We "traded" Fox for another foster on Sunday night (11/8). He is doing well in his new foster home as well. Hopefully he will have a forever home before we need to move him again. Love you Foxy.

Here is Fox:

One of my side-projects

2009-10-12T20:04:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post about this for a while, but just have not gotten around to it. I am a woman of many hobbies. I have my hounds, I do genealogy, I sometimes sew, I sometimes paint, I also play around on photoshop and do some graphic and web design. One of my graphic side projects if Greyhaus. (click on the word, and it will take you to the store). Greyhaus is one of my 2 stores on Zazzle.com. My other one is car, particularly Alfa Romeo, related. Greyhaus is my greyhound project. It started last Christmas as a way for me to label my greyhound-related Christmas gifts, but has turned into more. I only have a few designs now, but with the new camera, it should expand when I have more time, and ideas :). So, check it out. Let me know what you think. I have 2 of the shirts, and the quality is greyt! I was really impressed. It was neat to see my design on a shirt :).

So here is the main design logo (which you can see used many ways at the Greyhaus store:

I love my new camera!

2009-10-12T19:41:00.002-05:00

Before I get to that, Birdie got a home. Paddy is still at Lesley's waiting. He is a very stubborn boy. He may be there a while. That's okay. We will find him the right home. :)

It's true, I love my new camera! I had planned on using it at the Play Day this weekend, but we got rained out, but it will be rescheduled. Hopefully, the weather will be better then.

I have been taking pictures in the meantime. They have mostly been the hounds out in the yard. I'll share some here:

Birdie & the camera

2009-09-30T14:28:00.004-05:00

We were real busy the last few weeks, hence the lack of posts. Oh well, it happens. Well, Paddywack has finished his few weeks stint at our house and has gone back to Lesley's. We made a swap last Sunday and now we have Birdie, whose race name was Myredfirebird. She is a tiny, barely two year old girl. She turned 2 back on September 11, so she is a youngin'! She is a sweet girl. She plays fetch and likes to play with our hounds. She follows us around the house and will even lay down in the kitchen while we cook. It's kind of cute. She is a good girl. The only issue we are really having with her is her not wanting to go outside without one of us going as well, but we are working on that. She is also learning about keeping her nose off the table and her feet off the counters, typical adjustment stuff. No big deal. So here is a pic of Birdie!

On a side note, this picture was one of the first few I have taken with my new camera. I recently got a Nikon D3000. I am very excited and waited a while to get it. I am looking forward to more, better, hound pictures!

Paddywack

2009-08-31T19:54:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we picked up our latest foster, FF Peppermint, otherwise known as Paddywack. He is an 80 pound black boy, about Dax's size. He is big, sweet, funny, silly, goofball. He is terrible in the car. He just tried to get in the front seat of the car a good bit of the trip. In the house, he is okay with the cats. Just a little, pushy interested, but he'll be fine. He is always on the furniture, which is fine with us. He loves the couch and slept with us last night. He is still learning to work the couch, and has fallen off twice :) He is unhurt. He actually just slept right there on the floor where he fell! He has gotten in Tim's lap a few times and mine as well. This dog is a ton of fun, stubborn, but fun! He's learning some manners and figuring out how things work off the track. Here are a few pictures of Paddywack.

Dax update #3, this weekend, and a photo

2009-08-29T16:47:00.003-05:00

Last night, Dax and I did not sleep. Some how Tim slept through the pacing. Dax's wrap had come off, and I don't know if he was just freaked out by the stitches, they itched, or hurt when they touched stuff or what, but he would not stop pacing. No panting, just pacing. I ended up wrapping it after I let him go potty, and that settled him some. Ugh, what a long night.

Stitches were removed this morning. That was relatively uneventful. We did get to see our vet this time. She took them out and said his tail looked good. Hopefull, we are on our way to recovery!

We get foster #11 tomorrow. We are not sure who it will be yet, as some one is coming to look at the two possibilities as I type, but someone is coming tomorrow. We are meeting Lesley at the Howerton's. They are fostering a brother to their dog Rita, and we get whoever the other person does not chose.

Lastly, a photo. A little while back, we had a photo made of Dax and his 3 brothers for the GPA-LA/MS 2010 Calendar. It was quite a shoot. Sorry I missed blogging about it. A lot was going on at the time. Anywho, the shoot was chaotic, but went well and we all got some good shots. All I was worried about was a picture of all 4, and that's what I got. So, without further ado, the "Lago' boys! From left to right: Dax (Lago Dave), Andrew (Lago Andrew), Fox (Lago Fox) and Bud (Lago Bud).

Dax Update #2

2009-08-25T20:41:00.003-05:00

Dax is handling life with a shorter tail pretty well. On Monday afternoon, I took him in to have his bandage changed. They took him to the back and changed it. I returned the e-collar, as we never put it on him. The vet who did the surgery complimented us on the condition of his bandage. It looked just as it did when they put it on. We made sure he left it alone by muzzling him with his poo-guard muzzle whenever he was unsupervised. He really has not even noticed it.

Then tonight happened. We had to go help our neighbor set-up her new computer. When Tim came back to grab something from the house, he let the dogs out. He said that as Dax went out the back door, he whimpered and then the wrap fell of. He did not hit it on anything, it pretty much just slid off. He watched him outside, then brought him back in, muzzled him and came back to tell me what happened. Tim then went back to the house to watch him until I came home. I came home and we decided to wrap it again, as Dax began to be interested in it, wanting to lick it and such. I did get to take a look at his tail. The stitches look okay. They only shaved about 2 inches. It is a little crusty, but everything was dry.

Now he is a little fidgety, like he was when he was in pain. I don't think he is in any pain. I think he is just re-aware of his wound and more cautious of it now. I think Tim is going to take him in first thing tomorrow morning and make the vet wrap it again, since they did not use the same tape this time and it obviously did not work as it should have. We kept the other wrap on for 7 days with no issues at all. This one, with a different kind of tape, barely lasted 24 hours.

Now he lays down for a minute and then paces some. I think I am about to give him a Benedryl just to relax him some. Hopefully he calms down soon...

Dax update

2009-08-21T13:11:00.002-05:00

We were able to stop Dax's pain meds by Wednesday. He probably did not need them Tuesday night, but we gave him one last pill just to be safe. Since Wednesday he has become more and more his usual, goofy, silly self. He is pretty much back to normal now. His tail is still wrapped. After a little confusion over instructions, we were told to not take the wrap off. We have to bring him in on Monday so they can change it and look at it. The Vet who did his surgery thinks Dax chewed on his tail and that's how it got so bad, except for the fact he was muzzled any time we were not around once we started wrapping the tail. I could go on, but I am frustrated by the whole thing in that respect. Anyway, that's why we think they want us to keep it wrapped. Whatever. It's still wrapped. I just worry about keeping it dry, as it is rainy today. We will do our best.

So, Monday I will be able to update again, since we will have seen what we are dealing with then. Hopefully, it will be all good.

Dax is home

2009-08-17T19:07:00.004-05:00

Dax's surgery happened a little before 3 p.m. CST. The vet's office called just around 3:45 p.m. to say all had gone well and he could still come home about 4:30 p.m. I left work and went to pick him up.

He was remarkably not groggy when they brought him to me. He seemed glad to see a familiar face. We went home.

I got him home and he seems okay. He's still pacing and panting some, but I think it's more nervousness now than pain. He doesn't get anymore meds until tomorrow. They did a full blood panel, gave him fluids (he was a little dehydrated), and gave him some antibiotics and pain meds during and after the surgery. They had given him a heavy sedative and a local anesthetic. I expected him to be more loopy than he is. I think he will lay down once we let him in the bedroom in a bit.

We gave him a small dinner, which he ate with no issue. He is peeing a lot, due to all the fluids he was given. The tail is wrapped nicely. Overall, I think everything is definitely better than yesterday and surely will continue to improve. I'll be sure to post his progress on here. I do have some pics of when we got home to share now.

Oh, and thanks again to everyone who has been concerned about our boy and wishing him well! We really appreciate it!

Dax's Surgery

2009-08-17T10:19:00.001-05:00

Dax's surgery is scheduled for 2 p.m. I dropped him off around 9:30 a.m. They will call when he is done. We asked them to only take off about 6-8 inches. Just to make sure we got all the infection. I'll update once the surgery is over.

Dax's Tail

2009-08-16T17:35:00.003-05:00

As usual, it has been way too long since my last post, but I have an excuse for at least some of the delay... Dax's tail.

So, like 2 weeks or so ago Dax got a case of "happy tail". As far as I can tell, he hit it on the brick wall outside in the back. I washed it with water and put some neosporin on it and we moved on. It seemed just fine. Life went on.

Well, Thursday before last, Tim came home early to what looked like a crime scene. Dax has knocked his tail open. We rinsed it and wrapped it. The next day, he got the wrap off while we were away and did it again. We re-wrapped it. At this point, it seemed a little tender, but we didn't think much of it, knowing he had hit it on something.

Saturday comes. We wrap it up before we head to New Orleans. My Mom came over to feed the hounds and Dax got the bandage off. Mom muzzles him and tries to re-wrap it with mild success and much attitude from him. It's obviously starting to hurt more. We give him some baby aspirin when we get home and wrap it again.

The next few days are just on and off wrapping, letting it dry out, and so on. Last Wednesday, we take him to the vet. We tell her what's going on and everything we had done. She said we were doing basically what she would have suggested, but it looks infected and obviously hurts him. She gives him some antibiotic and pain pills and tells us to try to let it dry out.

Over the next two days (Thursday and Friday) we talk to different people, including the vet again and start doing some wet to dry wraps where you mix up 8 parts water to 1 part vinegar and soak a gauze pad in the solution, put it on with a dry pad on the outside and wrap it up for a few hours. You also do a 10 minute "soak" where you put a washcloth in the solution and put it on the wound for that time period. These things lead to a change in the tail, but we aren't sure if it's better or worse.

Saturday morning we decide we need to see the vet again, so we do. She is mixed about it being better or worse. It is drier and not draining, but there was a fluid build-up above the wound. We also indicated the pain is still pretty good and she prescribed him more pain meds.

Saturday night was a disaster. Before bed, we gave Dax some Benedryl to calm him a little, as the vet said we could, and we did an Epsom Salts soak, also as suggested by the vet. This went okay. We decide to leave the wound open to let it dry some over night. This was fine until about 2 a.m. when Dax began to pace the room. He paced for about an hour. Tim took him out to see if he had to potty, and he did poo and pee. He came back in and still paced. I tried bringing him into the living room, we tried more dog beds in our bedroom, nothing worked. Finally, close to 4 a.m. we decide to try a wet to dry wrap again, as it seems to calm him some. That worked and within 30 minutes, he was asleep and slept until 8:30 a.m.

Once we got up, he went out, ate, got his meds and then just paced. When he finally laid down, we did another Epsom Salts soak, which was okay until the last 2 minutes when he started getting fussy about it. After that, he just paced and paced and paced and panted and whined (which he has done more and more and more). He finally laid down again after I gave him another dose of Benedryl. He licked it a little at that point and that was when the matted mess that was his tail was moved about to expose raw flesh. It's not pretty. I e-mailed the vet, and I think we are at the point where we will be amputating part of his tail. He is just in too much pain and the infection is not subsiding. The vet brought this up as a potential occurrence when we first brought him in, and we think we are there. We have sought the advice of all our greyhound "family" and everyone agrees it's the right thing to do now.

So, now we wait on the vet to contact us so we can set up a time to do the docking. I will miss his long tail, but I want him to feel better and in the end, it's just cosmetic. We are also going to have the vet do a culture of the wound to see what is going on with it really, partially just to be sure he is okay otherwise.

I apologize for not posting anything while this was going on, but no offense to anyone, but we were getting enough advice and this was a decision we needed to make and I didn't want too many people involved. Now that we are making a move, I am ready to talk about it. I just want my big blue boy to feel better and if this is what it takes, so be in.

I have some pictures of his tail, but I don't want to post them. They are kind of graphic.

I'll post again once we have a date and time. For now, I think he is finally a little settled again. There is no whining at the moment and I think he is napping. It's time to feed and for him to get more meds, Fingers crossed for a good evening.

Take care of your tails.

Kiowa Sweet Trey

2009-07-23T07:41:00.003-05:00

Kiowa Sweet Trey, son of Oswald Cobblepot, half-brother to our Berry White (Kiowa Gal Berry), passed away last week. I won't even try to summarize his life and career, as others already have done better than I could. One such post is below.

http://www.blocksporthounds.com/martin/2009/07/kiowa-sweet-trey.html

His lineage on greyhound-data: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?z=1x2DEy&d=kiowa+sweet+trey

Kiowa Sweet Trey
7 Jan 2000 - 15 July 2009

Tags, Collars and Identification

2009-07-12T15:41:00.007-05:00

Everyone deals with the issues of tags, collars and identification differently.

Some people attach the tags to the martingale and the greyhound wears a martingale all the time. I, personally, don't like this idea because I worry that the hound could get caught on something and hurt or choke themselves while no one is around. I particularly worry about this when a greyhound is crated. When we crate fosters when we leave, I remove their collar.

Some people just let their hounds run around naked when they don't need a martingale, such and in the house or in their fenced yard. I rarely let my hounds be "naked". It just makes me nervous for them to have no visible identification on.

Then there is the option we chose and recommend to those who ask. This is also a variation of the method many of people who I seek my advice from use.

First, there is the "around the house" collar. When a martingale is unnecessary, my greyhounds wear a plain dog collar. We currently use just plain buckle dog collars. I know other people who use the plastic clip kind. That doesn't reall matter. What matters is, it is a looser collar that the greyhound more easily could get out of is he or she got hung up on something. Yes, there is a chance that this collar would come off of your greyhound if they got out, but, they will not choke themselves.

Second, there is identification. Some people have gotten collars that have the dog's name and their phone number embroidered on the collar (if you want to know where to get one of these collars, post a comment or e-mail me). These work just fine. They also have tags as well. We have tags, but not the embroidered collars. Our greyhounds are also microchipped. Personally, I recommend it. If you dog ever does get out and loses it's collar, if it gets picked up, you always have a back-up.

Third, there is the martingale. Okay, so you have all your hound's identification on another collar, so what do you do when you need to use a martingale. There are a few options here. We used to leave the plain collar, with tags attached, on whenever we left the house. Our dogs wore both the plain collar and the martingale. This works just fine, but eventually we decided it looked funy for them to have 2 collars on. It really doesn't matter, as we know others who do this, but we chose to go another route. Instead of 2 collars, we put all our hound's tags on a single ket-ring and then we put that key-ring on a carabiner, though you could use any type of "clip" device you wanted. Then we move the tags from the plain collar to the martingale with ease. The carabiner also serves another purpose, as a back-up to the leash clip. We actually clip the leash and the d-ring on the carabiner so that if the clip let go for some reason, there was a back-up. We've never had a leash failure, but we have heard of a few people who have.

Below are some pictures to, hopefully, make sense of everything I talked about above.

Here is Anna in her "plain"collar with her tags on the carabiner. This lose collar is less of a choking hazard than a martingale when she if left home alone or in a crate.

Here is a close-up of Anna's tags on the carabiner.

Here is a martingale, leash, and tags on a carabiner.

This shows the carabiner attached to the collar, not at the d-ring. If you are not using a carabiner or are not attaching the carabiner back to the leash, this is the preferred location of the tags. If the tags got caught on something, they are less likely tobe a choking hazard for your dog if they are on one of the others rings, rather than the d-ring that pulls the martingale tighter.

This shows the carabiner, with tags, attached to the d-ring of the collar and back to the swivel part of the leash. If there was a problem with the clip on the leash, this carabiner acts as a back up.

So those are my thoughts, and images, on tags, collars and identification. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or comments about anything I talked about or showed or where you can get anything I talk about or show in my pictures, just send me an e-mail or post a comment here.

Lesley's New Website

2009-07-12T15:10:00.003-05:00

Many of you around here are probably aware the GPA-LA/MS Transitional Kennel Director, Lesley, does greyhound boarding in her home near Slidell, LA. It is her personal business and is not connected to GPA-LA/MS. Well, she recently created a new website for her greyhound boarding business. If you are in South Louisiana, nearby or just passing through and you need to board your hounds, I highly recommend bringing them to Lesley. Our hounds stay with her for 8 days while we were in Chicago, and they were just fine. All reports were that they had a lot of fun.

So here is the link: http://greyhoundplayground.com/

a quick post...

2009-07-05T21:08:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to make a quick post to say that we had a relatively uneventful holiday weekend, as far as the dogs are concerned. The fireworks were very limited, as they should be since they are illegal in our city AND we are under a statewide burn-ban. So, there were only one or two times where Dax looked up or anything like that in reactions to the sounds.

Dax had a knitting fest on Hudson (cat) yesterday morning. Hudson was standing at the foot of our bed and Dax was pacing around, as we were all in the process of getting up, and he just decided to knit the cat. We have to watch him, as he is quite pushy about this. He was basically holding the cat down and knitting his back at first, then he moved to his side and was done. It only lasted about a minute. The cat doesn't seem to care. It's kinda funny. We just watch them carefully.

The only other thing that happened was Berry White stepping on Hudson's tail and making him cry. It was quite funny. The cat was fine. He shouldn't have been begging by the bathroom door and he wouldn't have gotten stepped on :)

That's all for now. I have a few more blog posts lined up. I just have to find the time to write some of them out. I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July!

Heat Stroke in Greyhounds

2009-06-20T10:55:00.003-05:00

This was passed on to me through one of my greyhound groups recently. It's VERY hot this time of year, particularly down South right now. We have been in the mid-90's with no rain for weeks now. We have to keep a close eye on our hounds and make sure they stay safe and don't over-heat. Keep your hounds safe and cool this summer!

"Heatstroke in Greyhounds: What You Need to Know"
By Judy Kody Paulsen, Founder
(Excerpt from Spring/Summer 2007 issue of GCNM News)

"I am grateful for the help of Suzanne Stack, DVM, in preparing this article. Dr. Stack is a 1985 Ohio State graduate currently practicing near her home in Yuma, Arizona. Previously, she served as a State Racing Board Veterinarian in Wisconsin and as a track vet in Texas at Valley Greyhound Park. Dr. Stack worked closely with Arizona Adopt a Greyhound (AAGI) for a number of years and still volunteers with that group.

The relative lack of information on canine heat-related and exertional ailments is alarming, considering how common the occurrence is among dogs of all breeds, particularly greyhounds. Not surprisingly, there is contradictory information on how to handle these sometimes fatal catastrophes.

Racing greyhounds are finely-tuned athletes and are usually conditioned by professional trainers. A racer’s performance while training and racing is (or should be) closely monitored. The onset of heatstroke or another debilitating and potentially life-threatening muscle disorder called hyperacute exertional rhabdomyolysis (HER) are two things no trainer wants to see.

Varying degrees of heat/exertional illness require specific treatment approaches to avoid permanent damage to muscle fibers, kidneys, and other organs. An experienced greyhound trainer has the expertise to recognize when a greyhound has been afflicted with one of these medical crises and knows the urgency in administering appropriate treatment.

Once the greyhound has left the racing environment and is lucky enough to be adopted, there are still numerous perils to which the dog may be exposed. One of the most common, yet least considered dangers, is that of over-exertion.

Well-meaning adopters want to give their greyhounds freedom to run and exercise, but it must be understood that unlike humans, dogs do not possess the ability to gauge their fitness and adjust their level of effort accordingly. Retired racers, depending on how long they’ve been off the track and how compromised their physical health might be, are at serious risk for experiencing critical problems when allowed to over-exert themselves.

Both hyperacute exertional rhabdomyolysis and heatstroke can kill a greyhound, particularly an unfit one. Physical effects can vary, but these two urgent conditions can show similar signs, including heavy panting; generalized muscle pain as evidenced by showing sensitivity to touch; muscle tremors; cardiac arrhythmia; a tendency to drag the hind legs or collapse; and extreme difficulty in changing position from standing to lying or vice versa. Treatment for both these maladies is basically the same, but the key is to administer it quickly.

Immediate, appropriate therapy is vital to the dog’s recovery. The body temperature must be brought down as quickly as possible. Rapid cooling can be accomplished with hosing down the dog, applying cool wet towels over the body, and exposure to a fan or air conditioning in house or car. Try to avoid producing a shivering response as this can create more heat in the body.

Transport the dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible and be sure to inform the vet’s office you are on the way with a dog in severe distress from apparent heatstroke. They can then prepare the necessary items for treatment.

The possibility of resulting bleeding disorders will require appropriate medications and, if available, frozen plasma. Not all vet’s offices will have plasma, although an emergency vet clinic is more likely to have this on hand.

IV fluids should be administered as soon as possible to prevent the onset of shock and to aid in flushing the kidneys of harmful byproducts leaking from damaged muscles. In researching this article, it is evident there is some disagreement over what solution is best for the IV. Some veterinarians feel .9% sodium chloride (normal saline) is adequate, while others feel it is prudent to use an electrolyte combination solution.

The effects of heatstroke or HER are not corrected in one day at the vet’s office. In-patient care is necessary for proper treatment and recovery. Several weeks of rest at home may be required for convalescence. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication should help reduce muscle inflammation and subdue the pain. Antibiotics may be recommended by your veterinarian to prevent secondary infection.

Given the greyhound’s purpose as a performance dog and the conditions under which they are trained, raced, confined, and transported, it is safe to assume many racers have experienced one or more episodes of heat/exertional ailments. These dogs may then have a predisposition for future episodes of similar illnesses and likely will have compromised kidneys and other organs. Consequently, great care should be taken to protect them from over-exertion and heat-related illness.

The following are some of the risk factors for heatstroke published in The 5-minute Veterinary Consult by Larry Tilley, DVM and Francis W.K. Smith, Jr., DVM: Previous history of heat-related disease; age extremes; heat intolerance due to poor acclimatization; obesity; poor cardiopulmonary conditioning; hyperthyroidism; underlying cardiopulmonary disease; dehydration.

Anecdotal reports from adopters whose greyhounds have experienced heat- or exertion-related episodes suggest that adopters need to be better informed of the dangers of allowing their retired racers free reign to run, particularly in hot, humid conditions. Obese greyhounds will be especially susceptible to the effects of over-exertion. Even on cold days, given the right conditions, a greyhound can collapse from over-exertion.

Extreme excitability in greyhounds, even while on a leash or in a fenced yard, can produce a combination of life-threatening factors which require immediate intervention by at least cooling the dog down and eliminating the stimulus (think high-prey-drive greyhound on a leash as a rabbit runs by!).

People who report coming home to a dead or dying dog should take into consideration the environment when evaluating the cause. Broken air conditioners on hot days, lack of shade outdoors, excessive excitement or exertion (possibly running the fence line with another dog), absence of water to drink – these factors can kill a dog or take them to the brink of death. Hot, humid conditions are by far the most deadly.

The frequency with which adopters report greyhounds “dropped dead from a heart attack,” when no previous indications of heart problems existed, suggests that death by heatstroke or HER may not be so uncommon. Only necropsy can identify the likely cause of death.

Close supervision of retired racing greyhounds’ exercise routines, particularly those new to their homes, should be recommended to all adopters. Greyhounds who appear to tire quickly, pant excessively, and/or appear to be reluctant to move after exercise, should be limited to mild or moderate exercise and then, only under supervision.

Close attention to heat and humidity in the environment is paramount in protecting a vulnerable greyhound from heatstroke or HER. A conditioning program similar to that of a human athlete (gradual increase in intensity of workouts) should be implemented before allowing retired racers to engage in physical activities which substantially increase heart rate and respiration.

Greyhounds lucky enough to have been placed in a loving adoptive home deserve to have more than food, shelter, and attention. Responsible guardianship of retired racers includes being armed with the knowledge to protect them from the hidden dangers that await these athletes once they leave the tracks and training farms. A few precautions and observations can save your greyhound’s life."

The pictures are in!!!

2009-06-15T17:34:00.002-05:00

These are the pics we had taken, by Sisters Pet Pics, for the 2010 GPA-LA/MS Calendar. It's not all the shots we took, just the ones we chose to purchase. If you haven't scheduled a shoot for your hound(s), you should! Enjoy!

Oh, be sure to check out the Sisters blog and subscribe. They have lots of greyt pet pics, including more greyhounds, as well as lots of good photography advice and insight. There blog can be found in my "Greyt Reads" list to the right or here.

Without further ado... here are the pictures!

To muzzle, or not to muzzle...

2009-06-13T09:30:00.003-05:00

Ah, the muzzle. The question of whether to use or not use a muzzle is often a complex one. Should you or shouldn't you? When should you if you do? Many of these questions are often answered for you by someone in your group or just by how you"feel" about the muzzle. Many people feel bad about muzzling there dogs and outside of the greyhound community there is often quite a negative stigma about muzzling.

Personally, I am pro-muzzle. We use the muzzle as a tool of sorts to keep our hounds and others safe. No, none of my dogs are aggressive, but they are dogs. With dogs, stuff happens. These dogs have had muzzles on and off for quite a while. No, they are not always thrilled about it. We have 2 champion muzzle rubbers. Anna and Dax will rub their heads on whahever they can to show they want them off, but it's for their safety. I am not into taking any chances with the safety of my hounds.

We generally muzzle in only a few situations:
1-When we are not home or are outside for a prolonged period of time. Basically, when the dogs are unsupervised.
2-When the dogs go out in the yard, unless we are outside with them.
3-Whenever a new dog is brought into our home. All hounds are muzzled and remain so until everyone seems cool and the foster is okay with the cats.
4-In the car.
5-In public if other people are being irresponsible about their dogs.

Those are, in a nut-shell, when we use the muzzle. Now, you may ask why. Let's start with when he hounds are unsupervised. My greys have lived together, as a trio, for almost 2 years now. Everyone is generally civil. BUT, Dax is a bit of a growly face. It is just how he is. We had a food incident, with both of us present, between Berry White and Dax a few months after Dax arrived. Dogs will be dogs, and you just never know what they will do. We also muzzle when they are alone to protect them from stuff in the house. Our home is very greyhound friendly, but you never know what they might decide they want to chew on. I live with 3 reformed chewers, but they have lots of toys and they can be destructive. The muzzle keeps them from getting into trouble, or at the least, makes it less likely. We also muzzle in this situation to protect the cats. Berry White was cat correctable, and actually gives us the least trouble despite his prey-drive outside of our home. Dax was also correctable and took some work. I am still not 100% that he would not get one of the cats, as he will still occassionally go for a chase and stalk them. And then there is Anna, who, at her first group, tested totally cat safe and she is 99% of the time. She is also silent 99% of the time. Well, we were reminded 2 nights ago why we muzzle when they are home alone. We were in bed. Berry White was in the bed and the other two were on the floor on dog beds. I don't know what happened, but, all of the sudden, Anna starts barking aggressively and has one of our cats cornered under stool in our room. We diffuse the situation before Dax got involved. Everyone was fine, but I don't want to know what could have happened if we weren't there.

Next, is muzzling out in the yard. Sometimes we let them go unmuzzled if we are with them, but generally muzzles go one before the back door opens. They even wait for them to be put on. My hounds play hard. Berry White and Dax are both quite mouthy. They run, they chase and they nip, all a perfect mix for someone to get mad and for their to be a fight. We take no chances. It also allows us to minimize the poop and grass eating by using muzzles with stool guards. This concept extends over to situations like play days. Any time there is a group of greyhounds running and playing together, there is always the chance for rough-housing, and I would use a muzzle.

The third muzzle situation is with new dogs in our home. We have a foster introduction routine. My hounds are muzzled and put outside. The new hound is muzzle and showed around the house. Then we bring the new hound outside and they see the yard and meet our hounds. It is not totally uncommon for their to be some grumbling amongst the furious sniffing that comes with meeting a new dog. Everyone is muzzled, so there is very little concern of an incident. Once everyone has calmed, we all go in. Muzzles stay on until it is clear the new hound and ours have settled and that the new hound does not see the cats as food. This time period can vary from a few minutes to a day or so. It mostly depends on the foster hound.

The next muzzle situation is in the car. The dogs are in a confined space, sometimes for a long period of time. They step on eachother, bump eachother, roll on eachother and are not always thrilled about that, so grumbling becomes inevitable. I do not want a scuffle to start while we are driving down the road.

The final muzzle situation is out in public around irresponsible dog owners. This actually mostly depends on which hound I have. Berry White is really the only one we have an issue with other dogs. He thinks every other breed is something to be mouthed. He is not aggressive, he just wants to use his mouth instead of his nose to meet them. We do a good job of keeping him under control, but that have been instances where it has become difficult due to the behavior of others, and we put the muzzle on.

So, I hope I have not made it sound like I have these 3 bully, aggressive greyhounds, because we do not. We are just very cautious. Our first group was very much in support of using the muzzle as a training and safety tool and that stuck with us and works for us. It may not be what is the best for everyone, but it is for us. The muzzle is not a bad thing. The hound might not be thrilled, but it isn't going to kill them and it is way better, and cheaper, than a trip to the e-vet and stitches!

We took pictures!

2009-06-02T12:36:00.003-05:00

Well, we did not TAKE pictures, but had our pictures taken. This past Saturday, we drove to Covington to the wonderful ladies of Sisters Pet Pics. They are taking the photos for the 2010 GPA-LA/MS Calendar. You go and have pictures taken of your hounds with the hope your pictures will be selected for the calendar. We were December last year!

With all the fan-fare we got last year, we had to take some good shots this year as well, and I believe we did. I do not have the photos to post yet, but one is up on the blog of the photographers. It's a great picture of Berry White. It is possibly the best picture of the entire shoot!

Here's the link to the photo: http://www.sisterspetpics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/berry.jpg

Here is the link to their blog: http://www.sisterspetpics.com/blog/

The Sisters are FANTASTIC to work with! We had fun last year and this year! If you are in our area, go on out. Have your hounds pictures taken. It is well worth it!

I will post the rest of the shots we purchased (Dax alone, Anna alone, all 3 hounds, and Tim & I with all 3 hounds) as soon as I have them.

On a side note, I hope you people out there are enjoying the little informative posts I am putting up every once in a while. I also plan on posting similars posts, but more from my experiences. The first one I have come up with has to do with leashes, collars & tages. I hope to post it soon. Just have to sit down and write it :)

If I Didn't Have a Dog

2009-05-26T19:16:00.002-05:00

This has been circulated via e-mail many times. To me, the original source is unknown, and I couldn't find it with some research...

If I Didn't Have a Dog....

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.
My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.
All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair.
When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.
When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.
I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, without taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.
I would have money ....and no guilt to go on a real vacation.
I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I put their yet unborn grand kids through college.
The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE.
My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or barriers.
My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.
My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and an extra leash.
I would no longer have to Spell the words B-A-L-L, F-R-I-S-B-E- E, W-A-L-K, T-R-E-A-T, B-I-K-E, G-O, R-I-D-E
I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.
I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog/cat ties them down too much.
I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of dreading 'mud' season.
I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have so many animals?'

A Dog's Purpose

2009-05-19T19:55:00.001-05:00

This is from an e-mail forward of unknown origin...

A Dog's Purpose, (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle
them gently.
Being always grateful for each new day and for the blessing you have.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
That's what dogs teach us...

Blood Level Averages

2009-05-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

Here is some interesting info pulled from "Platelete Concentration and Hemoglobin Function in Greyhounds", Patrick Sullivan, DVM.

This research paper dealt with a comparison of blood level average s between greyhounds and non greyhounds. Here are the averages for the 36 greyhounds that they pulled blood on. All of these greyhounds were free from any tick diseases. These can be compared to the results that are found in a CBC (Complete Blood Count) run by your Vet).

Value Average

HGB 19.86 +/1.56
Hemoglobin

PCV 53.6 +/- 3.8
Packed Cell Volume

RBC 6.66 +/-0.4
Red Blood Cells

Protein Totals 6.2 +/0.4

MCV 81.2 +/-8.2
Mean Corpuscular Volume

MCH 30.03 +/3.09
Mean Cellular Hemoglobin

MCHC 37.10 +/1.51
Mean Cellular Hemoglobin Concentration

WBC 7,886 +/-2,285
White Blood Cells

Segmented Neutrophils 5,867 +/-2,285

Band Neutrophils 22 +/51

Lymphocytes 1,735 +/836

Monocytes 194 +/-147

Eosinophils 74 +/-93

Basophils 5 +/-19

Platelet Count 154 +/43

MPV 8.81 +/1.46
Mean Platelet Volume

Reverse Sneezing

2009-05-16T10:33:00.005-05:00

I am not sure where Julie got this information from, but I am re-posting it here...

"The exact reasons for these episodes are unknown but may be related to allergies, nasal irritants or nasal inflammation. A reverse sneeze may look disturbing - many people fear that their dog is not breathing during these episodes - but it is not a harmful condition and there are no ill effects.

Reverse sneezing attacks are generally quite brief and not life threatening. An episode can be stopped if the dog is stimulated to swallow by either massaging the throat or briefly pinching off the nasal openings. Some dogs have reverse sneezing episodes so frequently that various medications may be needed to reduce the number of episodes.

Reverse sneeze syndrome is characterized by a series of rapid, loud, forced inhalations through the nostrils, lasting anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. Attacks occur on a sporadic, unpredictable basis. Dogs usually have the head extended forward and stand still during the episode with elbows turned out and sometimes with the back arched. Affected dogs appear completely normal before and after the attack. There is no loss of consciousness or collapse, though some times the appearance of the dog and the noise is upsetting to owners.

Many dogs have these attacks throughout their lives. The exact cause of reverse sneezing is unknown, but it may be associated with sinusitis, incomplete closure of naso-pharynx, and other upper respiratory disorders. Whatever, the cause, the condition is usually not serious.

Treatment is not necessary when episodes occur infrequently or on a random basis. To help your dog you may wish to try any of the following ideas: holding off both nostrils so the dog takes a breath through the mouth, blowing in the nose, or massaging the throat. All of these techniques are designed to stimulate a swallow reflex, which will help to stop the episode."

Dax's Birthday

2009-05-16T10:23:00.003-05:00

It was back on May 10th. They all had a greyt day. Their Uncle Billy brought new toys from Chicago, so there was playing. We got McDonald's Hamburgers for them, so there was eating. We also got Dax a new martingale, which came a day late, but better late then never.

Happy Birthday Blue Boy! Mom & Dad love you!

Trust

2009-05-13T09:27:00.004-05:00

I've often intended for this blog to serve as more than a place for me to write about my dogs. I also wanted it to be a place to share information with others about greyhounds. A resource of sorts. Because of this, every once in a while, I am going to try to post some valuable information about greys here. Something people can use. Nothing has happened to prompt this particular post, but it's something that goes around in the greyhound world. It has come around to me again recently and it's important. This is why I am posting it here.

On a side note, Dax's Birthday was Sunday. I have pics to post and stuff to write, but I'll do that when I have some more time - this will be a quick post.

"Trust - A Deadly Disease", by Sharon Mathers

There is a deadly disease stalking your dog. A hideous, stealthy thing just waiting its chance to steal your beloved friend. It is not a new disease, or one for which there inoculations. The disease is called trust.
You knew before you ever took your Greyhound home that it could not be trusted. The people who provided you with this precious animal warned you, drummed it into your head. A newly rescued racer may steal off counters, destroy something expensive, chase cats, and must never be allowed off his lead!
When the big day finally arrived, heeding the sage advice, you escorted your dog to his new home, properly collared and tagged, the lead held tightly in your hand. At home the house was "doggie proofed." Everything of value was stored in the spare bedroom, garbage stowed on top of the refrigerator, cats separated, and a gate placed across the door to the living room. All windows and doors had been properly secured and signs placed in strategic points reminding all to "CLOSE THE DOOR"
Soon it becomes second nature to make sure the door closes a second after it was opened and that it really latched. "DON'T LET THE DOG OUT" is your second most verbalized expression. (The first is NO!) You worry and fuss constantly, terrified that your darling will get out and a disaster will surely follow. Your friends comment about who you love most, your family or the dog. You know that to relax your vigil for a moment might lose him to you forever.
And so the weeks and months pass, with your Greyhound becoming more civilized every day, and the seeds of trust are planted. It seems that each new day brings less mischief, less breakage. Almost before you know it your racer has turned into an elegant, dignified friend.
Now that he is a more reliable, sedate companion, you take him more places. No longer does he chew the steering wheel when left in the car. And darned if that cake wasn't still on the counter this morning. And, oh yes, wasn't that the cat he was sleeping with so cozily on your pillow last night? At this point you are beginning to become infected, the disease is spreading its roots deep into your mind.
And then one of your friends suggests obedience. You shake your head and remind her that your dog might run away if allowed off the lead, but you are reassured when she promises the events are held in a fenced area. And, wonder of wonders, he did not run away, but came every time you called him!
All winter long you go to weekly obedience classes. After a time you even let him run loose from the car to the house when you get home. Why not, he always runs straight to the door, dancing a frenzy of joy and waits to be let in. Remember, he comes every time he is called. You know he is the exception that proves the rule. (And sometimes, late at night, you even let him slip out the front door to go potty and then right back in.) At this point the disease has taken hold, waiting only for the right time and place to rear its ugly head.
Years pass--it is hard to remember why you ever worried so much when he was new. He would never think of running out the door left open while you bring in the packages from the car. It would be beneath his dignity to jump out the window of the car while you run into the convenience store. And when you take him for those wonderful long walks at dawn, it only takes one whistle to send him racing back to you in a burst of speed when the walk comes too close to the highway. (He still gets into the garbage, but nobody is perfect.)
This is the time the disease has waited for so patiently. Sometimes it only has to wait a year or two, but often it takes much longer.
He spies the neighbor dog across the street, and suddenly forgets everything he ever knew about not slipping outdoors, jumping out windows, or coming when called due to traffic. Perhaps it was only a paper fluttering in the breeze, or even just the sheer joy of running--
Stopped in an instant. Stilled forever--your heart is broken at the sight of his still beautiful body. The disease is trust. The final outcome, hit by a car.
Every morning my dog Shah bounced around off his lead exploring. Every morning for seven years he came back when he was called. He was perfectly obedient, perfectly trustworthy. He died fourteen hours after being hit by a car.
Please do not risk your friend and your heart. Save the trust for things that do not matter.

Some fun stuff.....

2009-04-29T19:34:00.005-05:00

So, once again, I delay posting for a while. I mean the best, life just gets in the way of blogging. It happens....

Well, foster #9 has come and gone. We only had little miss Savy for 4 days I believe. She has moved on to what will hopefully be her forever home. She had been in a home for almost 2 years, and was returned because of a change in the family. She is currently be fostered with a family that adopted her sister. Last I heard, all was well, so let's keep our fingers and paws crossed that they decide to adopt her!

As for my hounds, they are all doing well. I was on a training kick for a little bit and actually managed to teach Anna to lie down on command, at least to a sphinx position. That works for me. She is even getting to where she will even do it if she is excited. The boys haven't learned much yet. Anna kind of already had the idea about down, so I just brought it up more and she caught on. I would love to teach them all more commands, I just have to make the time.

I bought a big rabbit stuffie from the sale bin at Petsmart last weekend. It's about 32 inches long. The hounds, particularly Dax, love it. He has tried twice to bring it outside with him in the morning. It's quite cute. He stands there waiting for me to put on muzzles and open the door and he just holds it in his mouth. The first time, he dropped it when I got his muzzle ready. The second time, I had to put the other two out and take it from him. Silly boy.

Berry White got a new toy as well. Berry loves his soccer ball, but we have seen these things called a "Jolly Ball." It's actually a horse toy. They make some small ones for dogs too. Anyhow, when we went to tractor supply last night (Anna came along) we picked up their food and bought a medium horse Jolly Ball for Berry. It's just a blue rubber ball with a handle on it. It's not inflated, so he can't pop it. It's just a heavier rubber ball so it's stays round without air in it. He loves it. I will have to try to get some video of him playing with it this weekend. He loves playing with the balls outside. He throws them around, chews on them, chases them when we kick or throw them, and so on. He just loves to play!

One last note is that we have scheduled our photo shoot for the GPA-LA/MS 2010 calendar. I hope we can make it in again this year. Not only that, but come up with something as cool as last year - the hinie shot! It was the December photo and everyone loved it! Their butts were famous in the group! I have a few ideas and the photo ladies are on board, so we will see what we can come up with!

Howlidays was a few weeks ago....

2009-04-14T12:52:00.003-05:00

So we went to Howlidays oh, 3 weekends ago. Friday and half of Saturday were quite rainy. The pups handled it quite well. On Saturday, there were a few things going on at the hotel, including a greyhound scavenger hunt, easter egg hunt, dinner, fashion show, raffle and auction. Out hounds behaved so very well in the hotel.

On Sunday, we traveled to Ebro Greyhound Park. There were tons of vendors. Anna was able to do a fun run. They only let them run down part of one straight. Anna was clocked at 35 mph, but we are sure she could have gone faster if she could run further and was actually chasing something.

Overall, it was a greyt weekend. We hung out with some greyt people, met some new greyt people and hounds, and had tons of fun. Who could ask for more.

Pictures of the weekend can be found at:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2487072&id=23410393&l=f374483ac8

A video of Anna's run is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXecb3bwzW0

As for home life, things have been quite calm. I'm working on a descent sized greyhound painting. I'll post about it once I am done, which should be this week. The hounds have been doing well. Everyone is eating and we don't have a foster right now. This weekend is a GPA Play Day. It should be fun. We had 37 hounds last time, so I'm hoping for a repeat.

I'm also hoping to maybe change my blog a little. I'm kinda of jealous because I really like the style Tim's blog is written in. I just need to take more time and mine could be better...

Andrew was adopted and Howlidays is coming!

2009-03-22T19:19:00.002-05:00

Once again, too long since the last post, but things are calming down in the next few weeks, so I should get to being more regular again.

On March 7th, Andrew was adopted. A wonderful family with two kids adopted him and he is doing so well. He did just fine with their cats and plays well with the kids. Another cool thing is that they should see his brother Bud at some events around New Orleans. I hope they do. When we handed Andy over, we did so at the Meet & Greet in Denham Springs. I knew right away that they would be fine for Andy. They even let him choose his own first toy at the store! It was so cute!

Other recent news, the hounds spent 8 days at Lesley's. We picked them up yesterday. Overall, they did well. Berry White chose to sleep in an open kennel every night and even jumped into an upper kennel once! Anna slept with Lesley in the bed most of the week. Dax, well, he's Dax. He couldn't figure it out the first night, so she crated him, then he cried. She brought him back to her room again, and then he was okay and slept on a dog bed there the rest of the week. Everyone ate well and behaved well. It was a good first experience leaving them somewhere. Thanks again Lesley!

Now for this weekend.... it is the Howliday event at Ebro, Florida. The event is being held by the GPA-EC group, which is where most of GPA-LA/MS's hounds come from. Event info can be found at http://www.gpaec.com/howliday/. I'll take plenty of pictures and share them here.

Our latest foster, ANDREW!!!

2009-02-26T20:18:00.004-06:00

First I'll mention that Bender is still looking for his forever home. On February 14th, he moved to a temporary foster home on his way back to Lesley's house. He took a little time to readjust, but I am told he is doing well and that someone was coming to look at him and Ima Dave Too this week sometime.

That said, On February 16th, Andrew (Lago Andrew) arrived at our house. Linda brought him over. He is Dax's littermate. It has been up and down since he came to the group whether we would get to foster him or not. First it was yes. Then, he was getting adopted, then he was coming, then he had a sleepover and then he came here! He is such a good boy. He shares many traits with his brothers. We know this because there are now 4 Lago boys in the area. The first 3, Dax, Bud & Fox, have all been shy, skittish and overall squirrely upon arrival. The level of adaptation varies from boy to boy. Dax, Fox and Andrew have the same physical traits other than color. Bud has a different face and may not be quite as tall. All 4 boys are stocky. They all do a head-turn thing when happy. Dax and Andrew both grin, showing their teeth. Dax and Fox both do this one ear up thing we call a "pirate ear". Andrew does it too, but differently. Bud and Andrew are the same color (white and blue fawn) and they both have floppy ears that sit on their heads. Fox is black. Dax is blue. They are all greyt boys.

Andrew is quite amusing. He is just a funny boy. Very outgoing and friendly. He seems to not be running from us so much, just a Lago boy thing. He does not have the chow-hound issues of the other 3. He has greyt house manners. He loves toys and loves to play. He barks when he plays outside. He is a bit of a theif, but it's managable. He does like food, and will take what he can reach. He crates VERY well and does well while we are at work. He sleeps most of the night and is quiet at night. He does not get on the couches, but will get in the bed with us sometimes. He is such a fantastic boy. If we jsut had 2, he would not leave. I just want to see him go to a good home, and I am sure he will. He is actually doing a sleepover this weekend with a great family who has another hound. We hope it works out, because we would get to see him quite a bit.

I took Dax and Andrew to go and play with Fox last Sunday. It went okay. Dax and Andrew do fine with eachother, but Fox was being a little bossy and Andrew didn't like it, so they scuffled a few times. They had muzzles on, so it was not big deal. I corrected them. We played for bit, then we went home. Here are the boys, left to right: Fox, Dax & Andrew.

I really have enjoyed having Andrew around. Andrew, Hero & Clyde have been my favorite fosters so for. Okay, I am just partial to the boys. And Andy is Dax's brother, so it makes it easy to love him, but he really is a fantastic boy. Chloe was pretty good too, but she wan't here very long. I liked Gus, but he was a little too clingy for me. Gus was special. I have loved all 8 we have had so far. I like fostering. It's fun. We're taking a little break after Andrew until after we get back from vacation and Howlidays.

The rest of our hounds are doing well. Berry White seems to be healthy and I think we have Anna's eating under control. Things are going well. We'll just have to see how they are after almost a week at Lesley's and then a family weekend in Florida!

WAY BEHIND!

2009-02-08T12:32:00.005-06:00

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post. Just been busy and haven't spent much time on front of the computer. Oh well, I'll fill in the gaps.

On Jan. 11th, we were brought foster #7, Be Ending, who goes by Bender. He is a tiny, shy black boy. He has done well. We crated him while we weren't home. He actually seems to like the crate. He feels safe there and I can't blame him, since he is so shy. We've had him a few weeks now and he has improved dramatically since we got him. The last 3 days he has even started to venture into our bed for what verge on snuggles. He will only come in the morning when we are waking up, but it's a step in the right direction. He has not tried to get on any other furniture. He comes up for loves. He is a sweet, sweet boy, just shy. He does get excited, hop and bark when it's time to eat. He's happy, just not confident. He'll do well in a quiet home with a patient owner who does not expect immediate affection. He is starting to bond with me, so it's time to move him. It's hard to say that, but he's getting too attached and he can't stay here. He needs to get a home ASAP. The right one just hasn't come yet. He may be moving to a new foster home this evening, but we are waiting on arrangements to be made. If we do pass Bender on, we are getting Dax's brother Andrew! I'll get into that if it happens. To foster a sibling would be such a cool thing!

Berry White has been doing well. No issues since the last episode and he even played VERY hard Friday night with some friends and his soccer ball and he was just fine the next day.

We, for the most part, solved Anna's eating issues. We switched foods to Beneful Healthy Radiance, which all hounds now approve of and we started giving Anna a little milk with her food. After gaining 10 pounds in a month, we are cutting the milk back. She is eating regualrly, except when schedules get screwy on the weekends. Then she gives us some trouble sometimes.

I talked about everyone else, so I'll say Dax is doing just fine as usual. He's just Dax. My big, blue, snuggle boy.

Yesterday was the LSU Vet School Open house. We went. We brought Bender and Anna. Bender, adn two other greyhounds, were meeting a potential owner there. We think he will adopt one of the girls, but we won't find out until later today probably. Hopefully, someone will get a home out of this. We had a good time though. We participated in the Parade of Breeds, which wasn't much, but we got to show off the hounds to quite a crowd, so that was good.

I think that's all for now. If I forgot anything, I'll post it next time, which will hopefully be sooner rather than so much later. Sorry again for the big delay. I'll try to be better.

Berry's on the up-swing

2009-01-05T19:45:00.003-06:00

Berry seems to be feeling better again. No meds since Saturday. Kudos on that. Let's hope it stays this way for a while....

Berry White, the saga continues

2009-01-03T11:22:00.002-06:00

Berry White seemed to do well on the Rimadyl yesterday, but by last night, the pain had returned and he woke us up with yelps several times in the night. We gave him another dose of Rimadyl this morning, and that seems to have helped again. If this goes on all week, he'll see the vet next weekend, as she suggested several days of pain in a row prompt further investigation. Some reading and advice from Greytalk leaves me a little more paranoid of other potential problems, but I'd rather know what I should be looking for and worry about it than be blind and have no clue what to look out for.

When I spoke to our Vet she said we would start where we are and just deal with flare-ups and if the flare-ups became consistent, we would do some more investigating and add meds. Yeah, meds. I don't like the idea of a med regiment, but we will do what we have to do. She also mentioned the potential of sending him to LSU for an MRI and more tests, and this is where a big problem would come up. I LOVE my dogs and would do everything I can for any of them, but it will cost over $1000 to have tests done at LSU. I'm not going to have this internal debate outloud and I don't want to think about it.... or the choices we sometimes have to make for them.... not yet....

To end on a good note, he had a nice bow about 15 minutes ago, which usually means he is in less pain, so the Rimadyl must be working at the moment. Yeah for the small victories!

Berry White - Round 2

2009-01-02T10:41:00.003-06:00

So Berry White had another neck/pain episode this morning. He seemed fine when I let him out and fed him. T put them all back in the bedroom with me when he left for work (I have one more day off) and then when I got up I noticed Berry seemed to be holding his neck funny like he had before - just outstretched forward. I had trouble getting him to look up at me and he would not jump up on me, which he usually readily does. I sat down with him and he put his head in my lap and I decided to try and turn his head as the vet had done to see if he reacted, and a turn to the right yielded a scream. So, we had some Rimadyl I had gotten from the vet before Christmas for Dax's reoccurring limp on his broken hock leg, so I gave him one and then went and talked to the vet. I was already going there to get more Heartguard, so I just talked to her then. She said just give him the Rimadyl as needed for now and if he has several bad days in a row we may move towards a daily regiment and add other medications as necessary. So, right now he, as well as Anna and Dax, is sleeping on the floor with me in the office. I hope the medication works and that he is fine tomorrow. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for the goof-ball. I know this is something we are likely to continue to face with him, but I just hope that we don't have to put him on a daily medication anytime soon.

I'm waaaaaayyyyy behind!

2008-12-31T16:28:00.003-06:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote. We've just been oh so very busy!

A few quick notes.... back on the 10th of December we got 5 1/2" of snow! In Louisiana! It was amazing!
All the pics can be found here! I have videos too, but have yet to get them off of my camera! I post a link when I upload the videos.

Christmas was greyt! The pups got a ton of toys thanks to us, family members and their Greytalk secret Santa's (thanks again!)

Today is New Year's. Tonight is the LSU game. We are going to watch it with my parents and chill with some close friends and watch movies. They are in the midst of losing one of their dogs, a lab-mix. It's a very sad situation. They just want a quiet evening, so no fireworks, but that's fine by us.

We're getting our first foster of the New Year this weekend. I'll post about him once he arrives.

On a non-grey note, I got a new car on the 20th! It's a 2009 VW Rabbit! I love it! I think we're going to call it Esca, which means lure or bait in Italian. It maybe should be a German name, but all our cars have Italian names, whether they are Italian or not, and German is just not a fun language to speak. The words all sound vulgar :oP

So that's my quick notes. I'll try to get back to posting at least once a week again as soon as things get back to normal, whatever normal is :o)

Another quickie

2008-12-09T19:27:00.003-06:00

1-GPA Christmas party was a blast. We came away with a coffee cup and a martingale.

2-We brought Hero to the party and he went home with another family who are fostering with intent. We should know this weekend if their intentions are true.

3-We got Anna to eat consistently with water in her food. Whatever works.

4-Berry White started giving us trouble, turning his nose up at his food. He would eat bread and such we put in his food as well as sour cream and peanut butter mixed in. He got to the point where he would remove the liquid and leave the kibble. At the advice of L, we decided to try Beneful Healthy Radiance. Berry White loves it! This morning he even picked it out and left the Nutro (we are mixing the food for now). Anna likes it too. Dax has not tried it yet, as he gives us no trouble eating and will eat just about anything! I am just glad Berry White is eating normally again.

a quick note on Anna

2008-12-01T21:22:00.005-06:00

Well, it is the usual up and down with her. Breakfast was drawn out, but eaten this morning. This evening, she just stood there for a while. When Berry finished, I added water to her food and she ate it all. Kudos to her for that. So, I guess, at least at dinner for now, we will try water. I looked her teeth and everything looked fine. Someone suggested picky-ness could be a sign of a kidney problem. Not sure what to make of that. For now, we will just battle on.... take it a day at a time....

many things....

2008-11-30T08:51:00.005-06:00

First, we had a nice Thanksgiving. Relatively quiet. We visited my parents and ate there. Friday, we had some friends over for Greek food. It was nice. I have started some Christmas decorating. I put lights on the column in the house and hung the stockings.

Next, I want to express my condolences to a friend who lost a very young greyhound yesterday. It's tough to lose one, but I would think tougher so young. No details here, but I will say he will be sorely missed.

We still have Hero. He is doing well. He has been a perfect house guest. He will be a fine greyhound for someone. He has a few quirky traits, as they all do, but overall he is a good boy.

Berry White thinks he has to talk to us all the time now. He has always been vocal, but it seems like the last 2 months or so have lead to him talking more. It seems like he just fusses a lot. He wants out, he wants to be petted, he wants in the room you're in, and so on. He just barks, roos, and whines on. Goofy boy.

Dax is just Dax. He is still funny about certain things, but that's just him. I have not had time to work on training him to do things as I had hoped. Hopefully, after the holidays.

And then there's Anna. She is still giving us a hard time eating. I've explained what she does before, but I'll brief it again. She just walks to her food and walks away. Sometimes, she stands over it and will eat some. Other times, she just eats. She will eat any treat with no issue. We have changed them to another flavor of Nutro, with the plan of switching every couple of bags back and forth between the 3 or 4 available flavors. We changed the first time recently and she ate with no hesitation for about 5 days and then went back to her old habits. Sometimes she tries to eat Berry's food, which has water added. We had done that for Anna before, but then she started her eating issues and was wasting food. Water peaks her interest some but not all of the time, so I won't do it. I am not wasting food. We talked about switching to the Sam's Member's choice I think it is, but we are too far away from any Sam's and would have to make trips out just for that, whereas now we have close access to a small local pet store and Tractor Supply which carry the Nutro. It seems like the Nutro is the best we can afford. We go through so much food, it would be a financial strain to switch to anything more costly. I'd consider doing it just for her food, if she would eat it, but I'm not sure that anything would keep her interest for more than a few days. I also will not add cheese or anything like that to her food. I have done it before but the boredom thing persists after a few days no matter what we have tried. Sometimes, if she does not eat her breakfast, about 20-30 minutes later she will scope out all the bowls like she is looking for food, but I can't just leave her food out, especially since during the week we are on such a tight schedule in the mornings and any unattended food for any amount of time will be eaten by Dax, who is the opposite of Anna, as he is ALWAYS hungry. I am just getting tired of fighting her to eat. Nearly every meal is a battle. I just don't know what to do with her or if anything could be wrong. I'm getting my Mom to bring me a scale today. I'm going to start monitoring her weight..... I may post this on greytalk to seek more advice....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T13:55:00.005-06:00

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving! For those of you here in Louisiana with us, I hope you are enjoying our wonderful fall weather. Cold yesterday and now it's wet, balmy, humid, and warm. Ah, South Louisiana weather!

I will also note, that I am trying to get into the holiday spirit, in a way other than all that darn sewing! I updated my greytalk signature today to something more, holiday-y....enjoy! If anybody wants one, just let me know. It may take me a few days, but I'd be happy to do it.

Have a greyt Turkey Day everyone!

Hero & Crafts

2008-11-19T12:54:00.002-06:00

First, Hero is doing very well. He has excellent house manners and seems to just go with the flow in our busy house. He is a gentle boy. I think he will end up being a snuggler. He seems to be heading that way. Last night, he got on the couch with me for a few minutes and, between T & I going to bed, he snuck in the bed and slept between us all night. We do not encourage our fosters on to the furniture, but we don't stop them either, unless we know where they are going and that it won't be allowed. Otherwise, they are treated like one of the pack. I also have decided that if he were mine, his name would likely be Mogwai, as in the little creature that Gremlins are before they become Gremlins. Anyway, I think that's what he looks like. It would be that or Mojo. I keep goign back to Mo names since he has a little mohawk. Oh well, not my place, just my opinion.

On to crafts. I just want to say that I have completed all of my first greyhound project and am working on the second one. I will post pics and such after Dec. 6th, which is when the GPA Christmas party is and some of both are for that, so I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, that's all for now....

The Play Day and Hero!

2008-11-16T18:40:00.007-06:00

The Play Day was awesome! We had, at last count, 37 greyhounds out running and playing together! It was awesome! The human company wasn't too bad either :o) Overall it was a greyt day! I think everyone, hound and human alike, had a fantastic time. It was a little cool at times, mostly when the wind was kickin', but it was fun. I have more pictures to upload to my image site and will post the link when I do.

The second happening of the day was us getting a new foster. I came home form the Play Day with one more hound than I came with! Who knew 4 greyhounds would fit in a Scion xb!!!! I NEVER believed it was possible, but 4 tired greyhound will fit! So anyway, I came home with Causey's Hero, AKA "Hero". He is a very calm, quiet and sweet 3 year old white and red boy. He is just so cute! I'm interested to see if he becomes more active and such in our house, but it's cool too if he doesn't. He seems like he will be an easy foster. I sure hope so. No crating. We shall see what tomorrow brings....

Today is Rex Manning Day!

2008-11-15T09:52:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I would suspect only a few people would get my Empire Records reference in the title, but today is going to be a good day! Today is the GPA Play Day! I am so excited! The hounds have no idea what today will bring, but they have figured out they are going somewhere (we put martingales on earlier) and are VERY excited about it. It should be a fun day. I'm bringing both the still and video camera. Hopefully they run a bunch. We shall see!

I've been busy....

2008-11-12T19:55:00.010-06:00

Okay, so I have started on some of the crafts that I have mentioned before that I wanted to start working on. I will not share what they are here yet because some may be part of some secret Santa or white elephant gifts in the near future. Let's leave it for a surprise....

I will share the little logo I came up with to go with the items I create. Who knows, maybe something could come of it someday.... Anyway, so here is the logo: (click image to enlarge)

So, I think it came out pretty nice. Color could be used in place of the gray sometimes, which could be neat. Maybe I do red and green for Christmas or something.

As for the name, this actually holds a good bit of meaning. First, Bauhaus. I will utilize Wikipedia to get a concise definition for those of you unfamiliar with it. So Wikipedia says, "Bauhaus ("House of Building" or "Building School") is the common term for Staatliches Bauhaus, a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.
The Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. In spite of its name, and the fact that its founder was an architect, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during the first years of its existence. The Bauhaus style became one of the most influential currents in Modernist Architecture and modern design. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography." I have had an interest in and appreciation for this particular realm of design for a while and appreciate the works of many that arose from the school and related movements. This is not a blog about design, so I will NOT go into detail about the movement, who and what I like, etc.

So, in case you also are not aware, T (my husband) and I both work in the field of architecture and I have a degree in Art History as well. Design culture runs deep in my house. I designed our house. When we moved in, T decided it had to have a name. I am not sure how long it took to come up with it (months I think), but we wanted it to reflect us. We eventually came up with Greyhaus, which tied together greyhounds, architecture and a little play on words.

When I came up with the idea to include a little card with my crafts, after a little discussion with T, I decided to carry the Greyhaus name over to this endeavour as well. It seemed appropriate. Greyhounds and creation, craft, design. I think it's cool....

A greyhound in the White House?

2008-11-09T21:03:00.005-06:00

The country is a buzz. Obama has won and promised his girls a "puppy" by the spring. Well, one has allergies, so their breeds are limited. Also, Obama has expressed interest in rescuing a dog. As you can imagine, there is now much discussion in the greyhound community about the possibility of a greyhound in the White House and what that would do/cause?

I think there would be positive and negative effects. I must also say that it is a bigger deal because of them getting the dog post election. To be frank, I doubt they will adopt a greyhound. There are too many political connotations and too many people that would be pissed off by it and trying to read something into it. Is he pro-racing, anti-racing, or does he even give a crap? I just think it would be too political. I do have some worry that people who do not need and should not have greyhounds would end up with them in a sort of 101 Dalmations sort of situation. There may be some cases of that, but the fact that many if not most groups require home visits, a lot of that would be prevented with the exception of direct from the track adoptions an such. On a positive note, there would be increased awareness of the breed and how great they are as pets, as well as the plight of many former racers and the like. I could go on more, but I won't. This is a sticky subject. I am torn as to which I would prefer, yes or no...

I would like to wih the Obama's the best in their dog choice. Please rescue. Purebred or mutt does not matter, but NO DESIGNER BREEDS. I just cannot support that at all.

Greyhound Racing banned in Mass.

2008-11-05T21:28:00.003-06:00

So, yesterday, the voters of Massachusetts passed a ban on greyhound racing. There are two tracks in that state that will be affected over the next two years. One of the tracks is not currently open and only runs seasonally. The anti-racing people are very excited and hope to move more states to a ban on greyhound racing. I am not anti-racing. I believe that the racing is not the problem. Yes, accidents happen. Dogs are injured and some die on the track or from injuries sustained on the track. It is true. BUT, that is not the problem in my opinion. I am more worried about what happens when their career is over and how they are treated off the track. I think the answer is not to ban racing, but to regulate it more. Make the tracks safer. Hold people responsible for the care of the dogs during their careers and make sure NO greyhound is needlessly put down when their career is over. More oversight.

What would happen to the breed if there were no more racing? How long before there were no more greyhounds that needed to be rescued (or very few at least)? I'm sure there would always be coyote hounds, but what about all the others? What about the breed in general? Would the just become just some other dog breed, because right now I think they are pretty damn special? I pose those questions to the anti-racing people out there. YES, some people are bad. YES, bad things happen to some dogs, BUT many owners are honest, caring, and trustworthy. I have met many owners through Greytalk that do a fantastic job taking care of their hounds throughout their careers and afterward. I like to hope they are the rule rather than the exception.

My three hounds come from varied race backgrounds. Without these race backgrounds, I would not have these wonderful creatures. I am sorry some dogs suffer on the track, and wish that did not happen. I want all greyhounds to have their own couch, BUT I don't think that ending racing is the way to make that happen. Some people will always find a way to do bad things, and through this industry, some accomplish that, BUT I believe racing can be better, safer, and lead to those couches....

.... let's see what the courts say. I'm sure there will be a challenge, since many people stand to lose jobs...

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:38:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Halloween and share my greyhound pumpkin!

Yes - I carved it. I found a picture online, printed it, use a spiked-wheel tool to punch the pattern onto the pumpkin, traced the dots, and cut and carved my way to a greyhound head. Enjoy!

Dax has hurt himself, again....

2008-10-31T08:27:00.000-05:00

Last night, we come in from handing out candy and take the dogs out back. They ran around a little bit, but nothing too crazy. We come back in and all 5 of us head into the office. We hang out in there for 30-45 minutes. Dax gets up to leave the room and he is limping on his back right leg, holding it up. That is his broken hock leg. I figured he just maybe twisted it playing. So, I get him to lay back down in the office and he is licking his foot pretty good. When he finally lets me see, I notice it's bleeding and it looks like it is between his toes. So, I pull his toes apart a little and he has totally split the webbing between the two middle toes! This is the second foot he has done this on! 6-8 months ago he did this on his front left foot between the inside and next toe. And he split is all the way too! Nothing left between the toes! We have no tree in our yard, or any of the neighbors for that matter, so there are no sticks or anything that he could be stepping on. Neither of the other two have had any foot problems in our yard. I just don't know what to make of it and it just seems too ironic that he has done this twice!

So, I put some neosporin on some gauze, put it between his toes, vet wrapped his foot, then put a sock over it and vet wrapped that to his leg. He slept muzzled because he would not leave it alone. This morning, I put neosporin between his toes and re-wrapped the foot. No sock this time. Poor baby....

Berry White update

2008-10-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

Berry has been taking his Medicam since the vet visit yesterday, and I am happy to say that he is back to normal. He is eating, not that he stopped, playing, rooing, jumping up and so on. We are still making him go out alone to limit his running, but he seems to be back to himself. The Medicam is for 10 days, so let's hope that he is still feeling good AFTER he is done with the meds.

a scare...

2008-10-25T11:09:00.005-05:00

So, yesterday afternoon, we let Berry White spend some time by himself playing in the yard with the soccer ball. He LOVES this. He does not do it often, but he seemed interested, so we let him go. That was about 5:30 p.m. We went out to dinner with friends and then came hound a little before 10 p.m. When we got home, Berry did not seem himself. He had his head hung low and let out a GSOD (greyhound scream of death) when bumped. We let them out, brought them back in and watched tv for a bit then headed for bed. Berry could not get settled and when he would lay down, if he shifted around, he would let out a GSOD again. He woke us up throughtout the night. He just could not settle and he was in pain.

Fearing the worst, I called the vet to see if we could get in this morning. We did, but not with our normal vet, which was okay. We brought him in and the vet was able to find two things that bothered Berry: turning his head towards the right a bunch and a spot on his humerous where the tendon meets the bone. Xrays were called for. So, we went back to the room, while they x-rayed Berry. Luckily our vet uses the newest digital xrays, so he did not have to be sedated.

The vet entered the room without Berry and closed the door - my heart sank, but the news was not as bad as it could have been. The point on the humerous where Berry reacted seemed fine on the x-ray. His leg bones actually looked very good. No arthritus or anything. When x-raying the leg and shoulder, he noticed a spot on his spine. He then did an x-ray of that. He said Berry has one fusion and another poor looking vertibrae. He thinks the pain today was from the tendon though, but said we should watch for any neuroloical changes, as the spine issue seems to be nothing now, but could be bigger later. So, we were sent home with Medicam and instructions to limit his activity for the next week or so. So, something is wrong, but it's not the BIG C as I feared it might be. I had already shed some tears, thankfully, it was for naught.

He is resting now and has had his meds. I think they are finally starting to work and he is relaxing. He just seems unsettled and is still keeping his head low, well he was last time he was up. I know he hurts. Hopefully the meds will help. If not, we see the vet again....

Gus is home - and now there were 3....

2008-10-22T19:21:00.003-05:00

Last Friday night, Gus went to his new home in Mississippi. Last I heard, he was doing very well. His new Mom and Dad loved him from the get-go and he will surely be spoiled.

I must admit, I do not miss him as much as I thought I might. As I have said before, he may not have caused any trouble and my hounds did not mind him, but he was not right for our pack. He is a greyt boy, but never to be my greyt boy. When they left with Gus, my 3 immediately went to sleep. It was like a weight was lifted from them. The last few nights, it is not a mad dash to get in the bed and everyone doesn't have to sleep with us. It's just no big deal. That goes back to me saying he did not really "fit" here. My hounds are not "needy". They all like attention, but none of them are velcro dogs. Gus is. He wanted to constantly be in contact with SOME human. Mine normally do not, but became jealous because he got all this attention. This bothered them and I ended up with a house full of velcro dogs! No one ever got snippy or anything, there was just always a hound there. I am by no means suggesting my hounds are not spoiled rotten and the center of attention in my house, but it's just different. Some of you will understand what I mean.

Either way, Gus is in a happy home. My home is settled again. Life is greyt!

Gus is going home!

2008-10-12T15:14:00.001-05:00

Gus is being adopted! He goes to his new home in Jackson, MS on Friday! We love him and will miss him, but I am so happy to see him go to his forever home and know that we played a role in that. It is greyt news! I'll post more about it after we meet his new family.

Greyhound Crafts

2008-10-07T12:52:00.002-05:00

So, lately I have been looking around greytalk and the web and checking out all the greyt greyhound related crafts that people are doing. I am an artsy person, so I think I need to do something too. I'm going to have to try out some of the things I have seen lately. I'm not sure where to start or where any of this will lead, but it's been a while since I've done anything artsy other than some photography. I have a few non-greyhound things I need to do. I think I might get the pups to paint something. I've got a pretty good idea about how to do it now. I think it would be neat. I'd also like to make some Christmas stockings for the greys. I saw some on greytalk that someone did and I think I could do something similar. I already can make coats. All mine have coats already. I need to make some new beds. I'm pretty much just rambling now. :o) I'll figure something out.

more life with the hounds... more Gus

2008-10-04T17:27:00.002-05:00

I really don't have anything in particular to write about, other than wishing that I could commit to writing something regularly, even if it was about nothing.... We still have Gus. On the 20th, he weighed in at 72 pounds! We just finished a round of de-wormer today. Nothing major. He is doing well. He is very stubborn sometimes. Loves attention of all kinds and follows whoever comes to the house and leans on them. He is very sweet. Tomorrow we will have had him 6 weeks. He is a greyt dog. This is where the questions really start to come in about, "Why don't you keep him?" "How can you let him go, he is so great!?" And so on. We get this with every foster. Seems to be more with Gus since we have had him so long. He is a fine greyhound. He does well with our hounds and they don't mind him. I love him to pieces and treat him like my own, but he isn't. I don't feel compelled to keep him, I mean there are times, but generally, I don't feel like it's right. It's one of those, I wouldn't mind if he stayed, but it's cool if he goes too. We have had a foster that we were so glad it left. Others, we have liked a lot, but didn't go well with our hounds... the situation is different with every hound. Gus is special. He has his sad story, but that does not compell me to feel any different with him as it does/might some people. In the end, he is just like any other greyhound. He really is. He is just your average goofy boy greyhound. At this point, he looks like a hound that just left the track not long ago. You would never know what he has been through. You know when the hound is right. Most people don't really get to "pick" so to speak as we have. We adopted Berry White and Anna in "love-at-first-sight" moments and Dax was only from a picture and a description. I knew when I saw him that he was different and would take work. He was so shy, and still retains some of that. BUT he is my boy. My boy. Gus is not my boy. And I know that every dog you have isn't. I will let him go. I will let others go. Maybe 3 is our comfort level. I don't know. Four for this long has not been hard. I think the reason we have no fallen head-over-heals for Gus is because he is too needy. Clyde was KINDA like this, but not as much. As T (my husband) said the other night, Gus needs more love than we can give him. He needs to be with another dog, but maybe just 1, so he can get more attention. Something. Gus is a greyt hound, but he is not our greyt hound.

Gus is still here...

2008-09-16T20:03:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to give an update. Gus has been with us for 3 weeks now, and we MIGHT have a home for him.... (fingers crossed) He is doing very well. No accidents. We are moving out of the crate as we speak. We still have to keep him under wraps when we feed all the hounds. He started stealing some stuff, but has not hurt anything. He stretches, plays with the hounds, plays with toys, snuggles, climbs up in our laps, he is just all around a FANTASTIC hound! If we only had 2, he would so stay! Our house just can't handle 4 on a permanent basis. He is just such a love and will be the hardest to let go. He is up to 65 pounds! Which is about a 10 pound gain for him. He looks and feels much better. We are working on walking on a leash, which is his only problem right now.... he pulls quite a bit. He is just so loving and affectionate! A near-perfect hound! I hope the potential home works out, as he has a few restrictions on him: must have another dog, preferably a grey, and must have a privacy fence. No 4' chain link - he would probably climb it (as he climbs baby-gates like no one's business, when he feels like it). Otherwise, he is fine with cats (as we have 2) and should be fine with small dogs... just curious. He doesn't need a crate. He's a good boy. If anyone is nearby and interested, he is available...

I have included some updated pics...

Hurricane Gustav - Post 4 (several days later)

2008-09-05T16:59:00.004-05:00

Okay, so we lost power at around 2pm on Monday September 1. I took quite a bit of video. Things went as good as could be expected. The winds got pretty high and it rained a bunch. No damage to our home or property. The hounds took it well. Didn't get too hot, because it was raining and windy.

On Tuesday, it continued to rain. And rain. And rain. And then came the flooding. First the street started holding water as did the creek that runs behind the houses across the street. Then, the pond at the end of the street (to the right in the pictures) began to fill up. As it continued to rain, the three began to come together. Neighbors began scrambling for sandbags. The house to the right of the pond flooded a little, as well as at least one house in the neighborhood that backs up to ours. It came very close on about 4 other houses along our street. Our house is the highest on the street, so it never came too close to us. And of course, I had to go and play in the rain and show how deep the road was at that point.... not as deep as it got. The hounds still did okay this day, once again, rain and wind kept the temperatures down.

On Wednesday, the tide began to turn. The clouds began to break and the temperature rose as the rain left. The daytime was relatively bearable, but the night was terrible. We had all the windows open, which we now know was a mistake. It was so humid. Humidity is something we are used to here, but not at this level of constant exposure. It seemed like we could not get the dogs to lay down and relax. We were all so hot. I think Berry White was beginning to distress a little in the night. Tim said he almost sent me and the hounds to my parents in the middle of the night. They had a generator and a window unit. We made it though. No breaking of curfew necessary.

Wednesday night, very late, my grandparents got power back. So, on Thursday morning, the generator migration began. We left the hounds with the evacuee/friend we had at the house and set out to help move the generator. We met my mom and grandmother at her house, loaded up the generator and they followed us back. We set it up and ran it on and off throughout the day. It was nice to move some of the humidity out of the house. If we could not have gotten the generator at this point, I would have had to take the hounds to my parents house.

Thursday night, we sent the temperature to 60 on the window unit and let it go all night. It got the temperature in the front of the house down to about 70 by morning. Tim slept on one couch. Dax slept on the other. Anna and Gus ended up with me on the mattress on the floor, UNDER the covers. Berry White slept on a dog bed, above my head, UNDER covers. My sweet babies. I much preferred to see them all cool and snuggley over the panting they had done on and off for the previous 3 days.

This morning, Friday, the alarm went off at 6 am. Tim had to go in today. I was supposed to, but no power. I could not leave the hounds in the house alone with or without the generator. Too risky. Tim showers and then comes into the kitchen and begins making breakfast. He turns a lamp on (plugged into the generator) and gets out the milk and then THE LIGHTS AL TURN ON! I was never so excited to have power in my life! We turned off the generator, cranked up the A/C and started the day. I went in to work for a bit and then brought work home, just in case anyone needed the generator that we had or needed any help. I came home and started working. Then all of the sudden, the cable comes back on, along with the phone and the internet. We are back in business! So, all is mostly well now. My parents are still without power. All friends are pretty much accounted for. Some have some damage, but everyone is physically okay.

I took videos throughout the storm (well the first 2 days) and they can be found at: HERE

I am just glad it is almost over and things are starting to get back to normal. I will say there has NOT been enough nationaly media attention. Most people we know STILL do not have power 4-5 days later. Just because the levees did not break in New Orleans, does not mean that nothing happened. We are here. People are in need. There is a lot of damage in Baton Rouge and outlying areas. I hope everyone can get back to normal soon. That's all for now. I will write more as I have stuff to talk about. Sorry for the hurricane hijacking the greyhound blog, but it was a big deal in our lives right now and it affected the hounds as well. All four are fine and enjoying the A/C!

Hurricane Gustave - Post 3 (Monday Morning)

2008-09-01T09:11:00.004-05:00

Well, It is morning now. We had some rain overnight. Definitely raining now. Wind is picking up. We obviously still have power. They say it has moved a little west and won't be as bad here as it was expected. But we will still have HOURS of wind and rain. So far so good. I think it will be fine. We are watching the trees sway across the street. When it gets stronger, I'll take some video. The pups are all still calm. I think it may be because we are letting them stay in the bedroom if they want to. So far, all have chosen to. Go figure.

And by the way..... today is the 1 year Anniversary of us moving into the new house. It is also 1 year today that Dax came home. Happy 1st Gotcha Day my blue boy!

Hurricane Gustave - Post 2 (Sunday Evening)

2008-08-31T20:45:00.004-05:00

It just started raining here. We are under a tornado warning. I can hear the wind a little outside already. Tried to get the dogs to go out. The rain had already started. Berry White ran out and peed, but that's it. I even went out in the rain to try to get them going. Need to take a shower. Have not done so today. Should do it soon just in case we lose power. Can hear some thunder now. May have to shut off the computer soon if the weather gets too bad. May, at least turn it off for the night soon. I'm kind of frustrated because it is going to start hitting at night tonight. It just makes you more nervous. Off for the note. Hopefully I can post tomorrow.

Hurricane Gustave - Post 1 (Sunday Morning)

2008-08-31T09:47:00.004-05:00

It is 9:47 am on Sunday August 31st. Hurricane Gustav is coming. We may start seeing rain this afternoon to early evening from the outer bands. The intensity at impact and once inland keeps changing. We just have to see what happens. AT this point, most everything is going to be shut-down on Tuesday. We don't know about work and won't know until Tuesday morning. Will the storm be over here? How widespread will the power outages be? We won't know until we get there.

I think the hounds should handle this pretty well. Anna and Berry White are not phased by much. Gus seems to be the same. Dax doesn't like bad weather, so we will see how he does. I am considering giving him a benedryl to help calm him, but I have not decided yet.

We know some people that are leaving or have already left further south. One of our closest greyhound friends is in Kenner in the hospital with her husband who cannot be moved. She will weather the storm there with him. She has some other greyhound people from Gulfport, MS who have offered to stay at her place and care for her hounds. I'm glad someone was able to do that.

Now we continue to wait.

Our foster Gus and Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-30T15:50:00.004-05:00

So first Gus, and then to Gustav.

Back on August 12th or 13th, there was a raid by animal control in a nearby town. Link to the story can be found here. Anywway, many animals were taken, including 3 greyhounds. They were very malnourished and underweight. Our group got the greys and is taking care of them now. They now have new names and are working on new lives. The first male is now called Ernie. (they were all retired racers, so we know who they were and I won't get into the backstory too much.) Ernie has already been adopted by our Baton Rouge placement rep's. He is a 3 year old brindle boy. They now have 6 greys in their house! Next is a 4 year old white and brindle female who is now being called Bella. She is being fostered with Dax's brother Bud's family. If things work well, they are considering keeping her. And we are fostering a 3 year old red boy who is now being called Gus. (how ironic huh?) Gus is quite sweet. He is adjusting pretty well. No accidents so far. He doesn't chew or steal. He did a little counter-surfing at first, but we have curtailed that so far. He crates well. He does jump over baby-gates though. He will most likely need a home with another greyhound and with a 6' wood privacy fence. We think he would jump a 4' chainlink with little effort.

And now in Gustav....we have been watching for the past week as things have progressed and now we are preparing for a potential hit. It could be quite a big deal. We are just watching the weather and waiting. We have food until into next week for both us and the hounds. We are far enough inland that we don't have to worry about storm surge, flooding or anything like that. We are just hanging in there. I will try to post throughout the storm if possible, if not as soon as I can once it's over.

Happy Birthday Berry White (written a few days late)

2008-08-04T19:41:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note. July 31st was Berry White's 8th Birthday. July 29th was also Berry White's 2nd Gotcha Day. He turned 6 just two days after we brought him home. He was our first greyhound and his presence has forever changed our lives. We love you Berry White, Berry, Mr. White, and the many other names you take. You are the sweet kissy, lover-boy of the house. You are Daddy's heart-dog. We can't imagine our lives without you. You will be the first of many. You got treats on your Gotcha Day and new toys on your Birthday. Enjoy big guy! We hope for MANY more years to come!

Dax is allergic?

2008-07-29T12:25:00.003-05:00

So, two weekends ago, my in-laws came to visit for my husband's birthday. They arrived around 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon. About 6:30 p.m. we leav to go to dinner. Before we left for dinner, T's mom kept talking about how their friend's bulldog had totally been interested in licking her legs earlier that day. It must be her lotion. The greys had shown some interest as well, but no licking. So, we return from dinner and let the pups out and so on and Dax starts coughing, like he needs to hack up something. We get him to drink some, but it won't go away. So, we take the hounds to bed and he seems fine. He does not cough the rest of the night. We get up in the morning, let the hounds out and feed them. T's parents get up and the coughing begins again, on and off, throughout the morning. T's parents leave. We go grocery shopping and come back. Dax coughs 2 or 3 more times. I call my friend L who runs the rescuse kennel for our group and she suggests benedryl and an allergy. We give him her suggested dose and he is fine. No more coughing. We decided it might have been the lotion. Now the joke is that my in-laws can't come over anymore because one of the kids is allergic.... LOL... just kidding. It is funny though. My poor blue boy.

Happy Birthday Anna!

2008-07-14T21:15:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to make a short post to say Happy Birthday to my baby girl Anna! She turns 4 today and will soon celebrate the beginning of our third year together. We adopted Anna in late August of 2006. I don't know the exact date, because it didn't seem like such a huge deal then,but now i know how important a hounds "Gotcha Day" is. I appologize to Anna for not having an exact day for her (or Berry either). Anywho, Happy Birthday sweetie. We love you!

My Trip to North Carolina

2008-07-13T21:07:00.003-05:00

Okay, sorry it took me so long to post after the trip and sorry that I didn't post on the trip. The trip was busy and it took a while to recover and get life at home back settled.

On Tuesday July 1, 2008 I boarded The Crescent Amtrak Train in New Orleans, LA bound for Salisbury, NC. It was supposed to be an 18 hour journey. It turned into 20. It was a long, but comfortable ride. I had a seat to myself all but a few hours late that night. We arrived in Salisbury around 4:30 a.m. on July 2nd. J and S were there to greet me. We then dropped S off and J and I drove the near hour back to Cool Springs. We were greeted by J's herd and promptly went to sleep for a short few hours.

The next few days were full of work and spending some time with the hounds. There was some relaxing in there too. I fixed the gate, helped tile the floor, organized some things, fed hounds and did a few turn-outs. We spent an evening at T's house in Lewisville, about an hour away. We had dinner, visited and looked at some craft projects that J & T are working on.

I loved visiting with all the hounds. There is one fellow in particular that I took out several times and worked with one on one. His name is Frisky Lyon and he has the same sire as our Berry White. He is a big sweet black boy who has been at CFGA for over a year. He is a little rambunctious when you first get him out. He then settles down very well, is very sweet, walks well on a leash and is an overall fantastic greyhound. If we were not at our capacity, he would so come home with me. He is just so sweet and I fell in love. We are trying to work it out to where he and another hound, most likely Go Go will be brought down to Louisiana to our group. If he comes, we will foster him unless L has a home lined up for him before he comes. I felt like Frisky and I really bonded. He just needs someone who is calm, patient and affectionate. Firm, but not harsh. He is a good boy. He just gets really excited to see people and does not show well in the setting of a kennel.

On Friday July 4th, I was able to help a family select their first greyhound. J thought that a certain boy named Bandit might be right for them, but in the end, a little brindle girl named Kessie was the one. They took her home that day.

On Saturday July 5th, we were having our big gathering. There was going to be lure coursing, but it rained. The hounds were still allowed to have a fun play run in the big coursing field. Before the gathering, a couple drove up form South Carolina to select a hound. They had recently moved from Michigan and lost one of their 3 greys. They had applied at a group I will not name in SC and had selected a dog and I think even put a deposit down for him or her. When they went to pick up their new hound, the group has adopted it out to someone else. They turned to our group, over 200 miles away, to find their new hound. They brought their other two hounds and checked out the crew. After looking at many hounds they decided on a young red girl named Fanny. They brought her home that day. I have since heard Fanny is now Annie and she is doing very well.

Once the gathering began, I was able to show a hound to another family who had also recently lost a hound. They brought their little blue girl and met the crew. They settled on a shy, slender white and red boy named Bandit. They will take him home as soon as he is neutered.

The gathering was a success. We had a greyt group of hounds who ran up a storm out there and had a good time. I think the people enjoyed the hot dogs and watching the hounds have fun. J, S & I rested after the gathering and I prepared for my trip home.

The ride home was not as nice as the way up. S took me back to Salisbury and I hopped on the train in the wee hours of the morning on July 6th. It was so crowded. I had to sit with someone in an assigned seat as soon as I got on the train. I only had a seat to myself for a few hours and slept very little at night. I picked up a seat-mate again in Atlanta, but she was a nice young girl from SC going to her current home in Slidell. We talked and had a nice time and I was able to sleep a little more. The one really good thing was that the train was on time.

Overall I had a greyt trip. I got to see some old friends and met a few new ones. I hope J gets to come and visit us in the Spring sometime. It would be nice to be able to return teh favor of hospitality to her and anyone else we know or have met from up there who ever end up down our way.

posting a lot & trip to NC

2008-06-28T15:20:00.002-05:00

First, I must say that I am proud of myself at the frequency I have been posting lately. I shall try to keep it up.

Second, on Tuesday I leave for my trip to North Carolina. You may ask what that has to do with greyhounds and the answer is EVERYTHING! I am going to be staying with Julie at Circle of Friends Greyhound Adoptions in Statesville, NC. 4 full days at the rescue kennel! It is going to be so much fun! Anna and Berry White came from Mama Julie (that's what everyone calls Julie). The adoption of Berry White was such a life-changing event, that Julie has a special place in our hearts. We spent a lot of time there when we lived in NC. It made it more pleasant I think. Made us less homesick, because Julie and everyone there became like family. Tim isn't coming this time, no vacation yet. Next year, we hope to drive up there and bring the hounds with us. I plan to take tons of pictures and will try to blog if I can. If I don't all of you have a greyt 4th of July!

lacy went to her home....thankfully

2008-06-26T18:52:00.004-05:00

I have to say that little girl was a handful. It wasn't necessarily her, but her combined with Berry White was just a bit much. Nothing like 2 rowdy greys having a good time :) One roos, the other roos. They played, rough-housed, were just all over the place! An example of the roo play in the photo. Sometimes it was fun and funny, other times it was just a bit too much. Especially when you are trying to do something and they start up. She was overall a good girl. She did have a few accidents, but some just can't or don't hold it for 10 hours. Mine do. All of our previous fosters have. I am not complaining. Every new foster comes with it's joys and pains. We don't mind. Just goes to show you that you don't want to keep everyone. I mean, she was tiny, adorable, the rooing was cute, but she definitely did not belong in our pack.

People often ask, "How do you foster? I couldn't do it. I'd want to keep them all! I'd get so attached!" Yes, you get attached to all of them, but the letting go part was only a little hard the first time, and she was not a dog I would have kept either, mostly just because she was a girl. You learn, at least I would hope, that it's about the dogs, not just you. The pack changes. You have to see what is best for your pack. When there are four greys here, mine are all different, which is to be expected. Anna is always the alpha of our pack. It took us a while and a few conversations with L to understand that, but she is. When a fourth dog is added, it comes out more. It just becomes more obvious. The boys are funny because there positions of 2 and 3 among the dogs changes. When we are at 3, Berry White really seems to be at the bottom. He is insecure and it shows. Those insecurities are still there when another hound is added, but it's the change in Dax that moves Berry up. When there is a fourth, Dax backs off. He doesn't sleep with us as much. He just kinda keeps to himself. I don't think he likes a pack that big, which is ok. I further that statement with the fact that he did not do as well in his foster home where he was with 5 other greys. He acted out and such. I will say though it depends on the foster. When Clyde was here, he was pretty much normal. All our other fosters have been girls. Maybe they just make him nervous or something. My Dax-man slept next to me, on the pillow, last night. I think he was glad the house was calmer. Like I said, do not interpret this as complaining. I love fostering no matter the challenges, it helps me recognize what a nice pack we have and how different greys fit in better in different situations. Besides, I don't plan on having another hound permanently any time soon. I can only have one crazy child in my life, and right now that's Berry. Would I foster another wild child, sure, but that's one foster we are guaranteed not to fail with.

foster #4 & dumb owners

2008-06-23T21:17:00.003-05:00

So, the grey we cat-tested at the beginning of last week is now our foster! Lacy came to us last Saturday and will go to her new home on Wednesday of this week. She is just a doll. She is staying with us to further her cat okayness and work her back into being crated, which was not happening at her previous foster home. No biggy. She is readjusting fine. She is quite a tiny girl. She must only weigh about 50 pounds - despite what he race records might say. Here is her greyhound-data page: linky
She is actually the half-niece of Berry White. She roos whenever she feels like it. She will just walk up to you and start talking. She also will run up to you and slide across the floor. She has a ton of energy, but that's too be expected at barely 2 years old. She is going to be an only child for a younger owner (he's 22), so she should be well-spoiled. Gotta love being able to be a small part of the lives of these hounds and so many more to come!

On a side note, and I will keep it brief. Our group is removing a hound this week from her home. Her owner called initially because the grey got out and attacked a dog that was on lead. She claimed she now did not trust the grey with her other dog and feared it.... well, as more of the story came out she admitted having the grey off lead in her front yard and implied (by amongst other things saying the grey got out while she was getting ready to go out of town... which led to the discovery the grey was being left outside). So, you have a grey that is at least being partially kept as a yard dog and is being walked off lead, too things that are against the contract that you sign when you adopt from our group. The lady said there was no rush to get her, but she had to go. L's response, no, there is a rush, the group will get her ASAP. Poor grey. Put in such a terrible position. Now with a bite on record. We will find her a new home. If we didn't have Lacy and I wasn't about to be out of town for a week, she would be coming here....

She passed, Anna eats, we have a new couch

2008-06-18T12:54:00.003-05:00

So, Lacy passed her cat test. This does not mean I would leave her alone in a room full of cats, but she is definately not in immediate kill mode. She perked her ears up when she saw the kitties and then walked over and shoved her nose in their face/butt/side whatever she could get to and sniffed. Then she would walk away. Even when one of the cats ran, she perked her ears up and followed sniffing. I would suggest a muzzle and lots of supervision for a few weeks, but she should be fine in the long run. She reminded me a lot of how Dax was at first. This was in drastic contrast to Tails, her current housemate. We were not cat testing him but he was there. Wow, he wanted the cats. Ears perked, body tense, barking, the whole nine yards for the most part. he is somewhat correctable, as in he does not like to be fussed at and would generally stop, but he was a little too focused and overly interested. I would not put him in a home with a cat. MAYBE with an experienced grey owner and a cat that would defend him or herself, but even then it would be touchy. It doesn't matter though. They have no cats and never will, especially after that little show he put on at our house! No cat was ever in danger. Safety first with us. ALL the greys were muzzled both for safety during their introductions and time in the yard as well for the cats safety in the house.

On a side note, we have won the battle with Anna. We had a minor setback for a few days over a week ago, but now she knows we have won. We are in charge. She even eats her food straight dry, no water, now. It's nice. She may have had a little bug or was just showing her butt. We will never know, but she is eating now. We were out of town Friday night to Saturday afternoon, so my mom did two feedings. Friday dinner Anna tried to push her, refused to eat and mom gave her a little cheese. Sucker. Saturday morning she gave her no trouble. She gave us no trouble at dinner Saturday or at all since. Good girl.

Our trip was to visit T's grandmother, two friends, JT & Batman, and go to IKEA! We came back with a new couch, new chair, bookcase and some small stuff. The greys did not care for the living room reorganization, even though it included a new couch. We ended up putting a blanket on the couch and slowly they began to approve. How they dislike change.

cat test today

2008-06-17T11:09:00.003-05:00

Today we will give our first offical cat test. There is another coupe who is fostering a greyhound that has not been cat tested. The guy who is interested in here lives with his parents (for the next few months) who have a cat. He really likes this grey, Lacy and we just aren't sure how this is going to turn out. Lacy is barely too and very wired. She has done pretty good with the small dog at L's house (L is our head of placement who keeps fosters and does boarding at her house, she will probably come up frequently in future blogs) as well as with the black lab puppy at the foster home. L is just unsure of how crazy Lacy will do with a kitty. We shall see. Our kitties our calm, well relatively. Lacy's foster dad is also bringing his greyhound, Tails. I think we will put Tails, Anna, Berry White & Dax outside for a bit after everyone meets so Lacy can see the kitties alone, which is how she will be. This will be fun....

Oh how special they are!

2008-06-02T17:07:00.002-05:00

Today I had a doctor's appointment. Last year when I was there, I only had 2 greys. Well, my doc asked how my pups were and I old her that we now had three and began to brag on my babies. She asked a few questions and I went on to describe the little idiosyncrasies of greyhounds (blood values, low body fat, being on a leash or fenced in yard and so on). She and her nurse were fascinated. They just kept telling me how they had no idea how different greyhounds were. My doctor also complimented me on how wonderful it is to have people that care so much about a single breed (she had no other patients that have greys that she knows of). There were nothing but compliments and inquiries. It was fantastic.

On a side note, I think we have finally beaten Anna's not eating without much fuss thing. I was really starting to worry about her. I had one good feeding last Friday, no corral necessary. I was out of town until Sunday evening, with just Tim here with them. She gave him trouble all weekend. We had decided to try a mix in of another flavor of food, which I did for dinner on Sunday. So far so good. We will just have to see how it goes.

A little background. Anna, for the last few weeks never wanted to eat. You would have to add a mix in to her food, which only worked sometimes, or hand-feed her some food to get her to eat. Also, we were using chairs to corral her into an area to eat. We tried waiting her out, but she would eventually just lay down. We praised her and gave her a treat when she finished eating. Nothing was consistently working. We were advised to praise her, take her food away if she didn't eat in X time (I couldn't do that due to past experiences with Berry White), don't feed her right after she comes in (in case she's hot, since it is VERY hot and humid here already) and/or change her food. We tried it all and finally made it to the food change. Like I said, so far so good. Dinner is in 15 minutes, so we shall see if we can get 3 in a row!

2008-05-05T20:32:00.004-05:00

I don't really have much to say, but Anna is cockroaching on the couch and has her face in Berry White's butt. Now that's funny I don't care who you are!

Actually, I will say things are well with the hounds. Anna has also, in the last 3 days, decided that she wants to sit with us in the recliner. Berry White is Berry White. Dax's left ear has been sore for about a week now. He had a red spot on the inside that I noticed this weekend. I am pretty sure it is from him rubbing his head on the wall outside with his muzzle on and he squishes his ear and pinches it. He has a vet appointment next week, so I will have the vet look at it then, just to be sure.

No fosters in a while. That's cool. We thought we were going to have one last weekend, but everyone found homes, which is greyt! Maybe next time. No big deal either way. Not much else to say. No news is good news I suppose, not that anyone reads this anyhow. ...

A Rant of Sorts

2008-04-07T20:23:00.002-05:00

Not everyone should have a greyhound. They are just not right for everyone. I say this as someone who is in a profession that made it very clear in school, that it was not for everyone. It was only for the few they chose were good enough to continue. Anywho, greys just do not fit the lifestyle of everyone and sometimes they do for a while and then things change. Other things get in the way. The newness wears off. The dog gets pushed to the side and ignored. The dog is still "loved" but not "loved" if that makes sense. I won't go into why I write this today, but I am saddened. I know it is very hard for people to admit failure, not even failure or even defeat, but that they have taken on too much. No one should suffer for that. It's not fair. So how do you handle such a touchy situation. There is love, minimal care, no imminent danger, but really only basic care. Good enough for a yard dog but not a greyhound. That may seems like a harsh thing to say, but it's true. Having had many other dogs who both resided inside and out, the lives of many regular old dogs may suit their needs, character and demeanors just fine, but a greyhound is different. Yes, in the end, they are just dogs, but they are dogs with specific needs. They prefer to be with people and/or in groups. They cannot or at the least should not be left outside. They should have a soft,conditioned place to sleep. Food. Water. Something to play with. Interaction, not confinement. And I don't mean don't crate, we have done that in the past, but not 20 hours a day. Deep breathe. I hover somewhere between pity and anger at the moment. I know that I cannot make them all safe and happy. No one can. But what about this one. What about this one in front of me that deserves so much better? Right now, I just don't know. It's not my place to say. It's a shame.

Clyde is going home

2008-03-25T12:32:00.003-05:00

Today begins week 2 with Clyde. On Easter Sunday we found out that Clyde will be going to his new home on Wednesday April 2nd. I will miss him, but am very excited he will have a home. His new parents are a young engaged couple who seem very excited to have him. Clyde will be their first dog together. They called to arrange when they would pick him up and with questions about him. I am going to write them a letter to give to them along with his purple hippo stuffie and his nice new martingale. I tihn the letter will go something like this:

Dear S & B,

We have been delighted to have Clyde in our home for the past three weeks. He is a very sweet, affectionate, snuggly boy. He doesn't mind the kitties in our house, but has shown a little interest to those running around outside. He crates pretty well. He eats in his crate and goes in super easy when food is involved. When we have to leave, it just depends on how he's feeling. Sometimes, you grab his collar and he walks right in. Other times, you have to get behind him and give him a little boost. He has never had an accident in his crate and only one outside of it. He likes to play with balls in the yard and will almost bring a tennis ball back. He likes to romp around and throw his feet. He likes stuffies and anything else he can take. If you don't watch him and he can reach it, he will take it. He even tried to take a loaf of bread twice in about 10 minutes. :) He walks well on a leash and is not easily distracted. He loves to sleep on the couch and snuggle with us in the bed. He has no sleep or space aggression. I don't think I have heard him growl at all, even with our rowdy crowd. Congrats on adopting this very sweet boy. May you have many years of happiness with him. Please feel free to call or e-mail us anytime if you ever need anything.

Clyde's Foster Parents,

Britt & Tim

Things the Adoption Group Forgot to Mention

2008-03-19T13:04:00.001-05:00

collected from Greytalk 03/19/2008
http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=195723

1.We would have to buy endless amounts of stuffies.
2.You would spend more money on collars then your own clothes.
3.We'd never be able to have just one!
4.They sure didn't tell me about the "silent but deadly" gas some of these guys have.
5.That my lfe would never be the same
6.That you would have to explain why your dog is wearing a coat to everyone you meet.7.That coat buying is addictive and you need one for every sort of occasion (rain, cold, pjs, sun)
8.They give you the best behaved one first.
9.They failed to mention a small detail....separation anxiety. Ouch.
10.That your dogs would eventually end up wearing nicer coats than yours!!
11.That every outing would turn into a mini meet& greet!
12.That you swear there is a bit of bloodhound mixed in with them!
13.That you would become the neighborhood celebrity and everyone wants to know when you are going to start racing(never mind that it's illegal here) him/her
14.Crazy fits (aka: zoomies).
15.That our backyard would never be the same again16.That we would have to purchase a king size bed so there would be room for the humans17.That all my vacations would revolve around dog friendly hotels.
18.That even if they DON'T have separation anxiety, you won't be able to leave them with a boarder on vacation because you just don't know if they'll be "okay".
19.That your husband (who objected in the first place to getting a dog) would want to get #4!!!
20.That the most used phrase in the house would be "get the $&#@#&*# out of the kitchen!!!"
21.That some day you'd be having a birthday party for your pup, but never seem to be able to get one together for your spouse.
22.That you would take your hound/s to the vet for the least little thing, and spend more on their medical care than you do on yourself!23.Oh, one more thing -- you'll be buying all kinds of things to dress your hound up for every holiday imaginable.24.I keep thinking of more things -- you'll have to learn new meanings for words -- roaching, ETS, Frito Feet, and on, and on.
25.That you would be so addicted/obsessed with their loving spirit and unmatched loyalty you would spend every waking moment of "free" time researching, admiring, helping and loving on them. To the point that others think you have lost it
26.Your car windows and picture windows and low mirrors and door glass will never ever be clean again! And you won't even care...
27.That you would have to have more than 2 and your parents would be too scared to visit you. They say those BIG dogs belong outside then you have to explain no they are NOT outside dogs. They are my kids and I treat them like one, then they say you are better to those dogs than us, you spend more time with them.
28.that you'll need to have more that one couch, just so you have some place to sit other than on the floor!
29.That they can require large amounts of people bedspace.
30.my dogs will always be better dressed than i'll ever be.
31.That your car/clothes will become an advertisement for greyhound adoption.32.That even tho you chipped on your first adoption, the next couple of years you'd be adopting 5 more.
33.That your "family vacations" will now be going to Greyhound events all over the country.
34.That contrary to popular belief the ARE, in fact, actually dogs. Not hothouse flowers and fragile glass ornaments. They are wonderful, lovng, hardy *gasp* DOGS.
35.That the adoption fee is $200 and the new hound mobile you will buy next month will be $30,000...
36.That you will have to buy a new car/van to haul all of your hounds around. Never mind that you would never consider a new vehicle otherwise!
37.That your life prior to being owned by greyhounds was just a waste of time......
38.That other dog breeds will always look fat
39.That many many strangers, mostly men, will drop to their knees in front of your dog, cradle his face in their hands, murmur his name repeatedly and kiss him over and over again.
40.that every future purchase you make, whether it be a car, couch, house, etc. will ALL revolve around what works best for the dogs
41.that I would fall in love sight unseen with a pup!! Even though he has cut loose and peed all over the back of my truck, and this morning punched me in the eye with a paw (trying to love on me!) and has the worst gas ever (grandpa gave him a handful of milk bone biscuts) that all I have to do is see his sweet brown eyes and everything is all good again!!!
42.That your greys will eat better and more expensive food than you do...43.That you will have more places for the dogs to lay (ala dog beds) than actual seats in our family room..44.That you will join a message board full of strangers and talk about the breed nonstop...45.and you meet people from asid board you tell them the names of your greys before introducing yourself...
46.that we would be joining secret santa and sometimes secret bunny and buying stuffies, treats and greyhound gifts, not only for our dogs, but for other greyhounds thousands of miles away.47.that we would become addicted48.that we would sleep many nights hanging on the side of the bed for dear life because we don't want to disturb the dog...
49.That it is perfectly normal for your hounds to wear jammies so they aren't cold.50.That, yes, you do leave the tv on for the dog51.That you see nothing unusual about finishing a drink after the hound has decided they are thirsty too.
52.Not to expect much sleep the first night you bring home a hound. Hoo boy.
53.That when the GSD happens you run faster than if its your own kids crying.
54.That WE would experience separation anxiety every time we have to leave the hound(s) at home. 55.That "no dogs on the furniture," would lead to "Well, maybe just the bed," and then to both of us sitting on the floor, because the pups are sprawled across the couch and chair. 56.That I, a life-long vegetarian, would EVER buy, prepare and serve raw meat57.That our sense of our dogs' size would change so much. I talked about this in the "amazing, shrinking greyhound" thread a few months ago. Gabe, especially, seemed HUGE when we brought him home. Now, he hardly seems like a big dog. 58.That our sense of what's "normal," would change so much. Our families think we're nuts for having two big dogs. We've already preadopted #3 and will probably adopt #4 next year when I finish law school.
59.That I would avidly read and respond in so many posts about dog poop. (And yes, even write some of them!
60.That my father would ever touch a dog again, let alone buy her a special charm for her ID tagset (St Francis)
61.That I would even consider stalking someone because of their dog.
62.That I would turn the hottest guy down for a date ebcause he thought my dog was "Fugly"
63.That this xl breed would look normal and that other dogs would be midgets. (I actually asked my visiting brother last summer when i saw his dog - that they ahve had for over 10 years - "When did you get a new dog?" Because she looked SO much smaller than I remembered!!)
64.That greyhounds are attention-getters every place you go! When I was dating my fiance, we had Frank at the farmer's market and I handed him the leash while I went to buy some produce... I told him "be careful, he's a chick magnet!" and he laughed me off... ha... when I came back he handed me the leash and said I was right! He'd been practically mobbed with people wanting to meet and ask questions about Frankie. He's used to it now!
65.I won't board my pup because I am the one who developed separation anxiety!
66.That you would be willing to sleep on the corner of a king size bed!
67.That you would shed tears for dogs/owners you haven't met.
68.That you WILL risk getting a speeding ticket trying to chase down someone who has a greyhound magnet/sticker/license plate on their car JUST to see if it's someone from GT.
69.that I would break up with more guys than I can keep track of because they just don't get my obsession
70.That you'd graduate from buying collars that cost more than the clothes you buy for yourself to fancy coats. Then you'd buy more collars because they match the fancy coats. 71.Your pups will eat better than you do.72.That you spend so much time talking about your pups, your co-works a)think you're crazy, think you need to stop buying so many stuffed animals and c) mistake your pups for your kids.
73.All of the above and,,,that I would be vacumming the house more then i ever thougth i would ("these dogs don't shed,,,who came up with that one???).
74.That you'll decide to buy a house based SOLELY on the fact that your landlord veto'd a third dog, and that while buying said house, your realtor will throw his hands up in exasperation and say, "I KNOW what your dogs are looking for in a house...but what do YOU GUYS need????"
75.They failed to mention to me just how thoroughly these dogs wrap themselves around your heart.I truly can't believe how much I love them.
76.That when your landlord becomes a pain, you will buy a house to make sure you can keep your dog
77.That you would become so fascinated with poo that you would stand outside looking at it with your wife saying, "Yes it has improved a lot this week. I will call Diana and let her know."
78.Sometimes you have to bribe him to eat!
79.that your camera's memory card will hold 200 photos, 199 of which feature your greyhounds.
80.that when you watch your grey run his/her heart out, your own heart will fill with so much joy that you think it will surely burst.
81.They didn't tell you that you wouldn't be recognized by neighborhood people if you don't have the hounds with you. When they see me without the pups they ask where they are, not Hi, How are you? They ask how the hounds are
82.They did not tell me that my parents would suddenly have no interest in me and have actually banned me from coming over without the "grandbabies"
83.That when you adopt a greyhound you also get the most wonderful support and social infrastructure as a bonus84.That I would be picking out floor covering based on the needs of my dogs
85.that from the second you met them you wondered what took you so long to get one.
86.that your skin kids wondered why there were more pictures of the dog you have had for 2 months vs the teens you have had for no less than 14 YEARS.
87.that you time yourself when you are out of the house so you don't leave her lonely for too long - not because she will get in trouble but because you don't want her upset.
88.That at the vet or PetSmart, you quietly snicker when you see a white fluffy (or any other breed) being dropped off to be groomed, because yours hasn't had a bath in a year!
89.They forgot to tell me that my shattered heart would never be the same again after they cross to the Bridge.
90.How they can run like the wind, except at bath time. Brenda puts on the brakes and I push from behind to just get her into the bathroom.
91.That a Greyhound would make you smile everyday and show you what love really is.
92.That a roach was something you would WANT to see!
93.That a dog who barks very little can still be incredibly verbal -- tooth chattering, snuffling purrs, and lip wuffling come to mind.94.That you would be forever checking for those last 3 ribs and hip points just to make sure the dog everybody thinks is too skinny doesn't, in fact, get fat.95.That you would begin to think dogs with heads bigger than their necks look ungainly and odd.96.That you would willingly pamper an 80 pound grey more than you ever thought to pamper your 5 pound Yorkie. (Well, a grey does deserve it!)97.That a grey would forever spoil you in regards to other dogs. When I am old and can barely walk, I will still have a grey. Hopefully, a senior grey who won't mind my limitations.98.That a vacation without your dog is really no vacation at all.99.That once a grey shares his soul with you, you are never the same.
100.That your son and his GF, who rarely visit, now stop by often... to see THE DOG.101.That your DH didn't give YOU kiss one yesterday, but DID kiss THE DOG on the head last night.
102.That you'll just about have a heart attack after hearing the greyhound scream of death... only to realize your hound is screaming because her leg is tangled in a blanket or because he stepped on something gross. And that it's when you see your greyhound take a nasty spill of the deck and she gets back up and starts running without uttering a peep that you'll end up taking her to the vet for stitches.
103.That you're joining a cult
104.That you would more often show pictures of your hounds than your kids.
105.That you would get completely choked up reading threads like this (making your co-worker in the cube next to you wonder if you've finally gone mental) because everything is so TRUE!
106.That we would spend THOUSANDS of dollars in vet bills without blinking an eye....107.That our lives would be 110% devoted to them, their needs and wants to the point of scheduling our lives around their schedule and doing everything we can to include them to where we go. Arrive late and leave early to functions to minimize their time alone,108.We did not get a pet, they got themselves PEOPLE.
109.That you would want to adopt them all and that with just one look they can melt your heart.
110.That the dog would be a tourist attraction.
111.that of all the breeds I've had, this one would be my favorite forever.112.and that I'd become a collar addict...
113.Your unfenced yard was fine for 41 years, then when the greyhounds moved in, it was fenced within 3 months
114.That your hounds will get an account on a message board so they can "talk" to other hounds.
115.that you would quit your paying job to become the crazy greyhound lady...............and LOVE IT !
116.that I would become one of "those people" who have to take their dogs everywhere with them...117.that I would drive halfway across the country just so that my dog could spend Christmas with me at my parents' house...118.that my 98 year old Grandmother, who flat out told me I was crazy to have such a big dog in the house, would be disappointed that I didn't bring my dog with when I went to visit her while home on the aforementioned Christmas trip...
119.They didn't tell me that my skin kids would be jealous of our greyhound (I like to tell myself they are just kidding, but I'm not so sure sometimes!)
120.that my dog could tell a story with just the look in her eyes
121.that those who aren't fascinated by her will be scared by the sight of her- people in my neighborhood will cross the street to stay away
122.that the pupper who looked massive the day I got her would so quickly seem not to be very big at all
123.that every other dog we see will seem overweight
124.That your life will revolve around them.
125.That your time with them will fly.
126.They didn't tell us that after you've had a grey and lost him..a house without a grey is no home at all.
127.That greys are better at guilt trips then mom ever thought about being!
128.that you would spend more time and money than is sensible driving around to every store that sells meat or pet food looking for turkey necks or tripe...129.that a stop for gas in Alberta could mean someone formerly from Florida catching up to you just so she could talk to and pet your dogs, and find out she worked with greys at a Florida track...130.that muddy footprints and hair on the floor, on the bed and on your pillow are really a minor inconvenience...131.that a prize winning garden is much less important than the girlies who turned it into their own private race track...132.that even though you KNOW your dogs have enough toys, you still break down and get just one more (for each!) ...
133.That I would stay on the couch to sleep or watch tv instead of my own bed because I didn't want to disturb the sweet, drooling, sleepy grey on my lap at 2am
134.Your hands might be really dry for the first few days since you'll wash them all the time. But don't worry--you don't need special lotion or anything. Your standards of "hygiene" will change pretty quickly and that will take care of it.
135.That you become neurotic...... humm I might have been this way before but it was hidden.
136.That a thunderstorm could wreck such havoc on your night. 137.That you won't sleep the first week because you wake up every time your precious new houndie moves in her sleep.138.And that even though you swore you would never move again when you moved to Austin in August, you are now pretty sure you need a place with a fenced yard so the dog can run around...so pull out the packing boxes.
139.that a greyhound is not "just a dog", but a wonderful creature that shares his or her soul with you....something rare and beautiful that brings great joy and great sorrow....
140.no one ever told me that greyhounds smile!
141.That you can actually pas gas yourself, blame it on the dog, and no one will think that you are lying.
142.that even once you lose your first grey (and don't get another right away), you MUST go to M&Gs, events & Dewey just to get your grey-fixes!!
143.That you would have to give up your name and be forever known as "the greyhound lady/guy"
144.If you adopt one that needs ample leash work GOOD LUCK! Bentley does great at learning - its my neighbors that kill us!It's even harder when working with a pack. People expect you to be able to talk for 20 minutes when really you just want to work on walking (in my case) 4 dogs at a time. They all know "wait" when alone but it's so much harder with other dogs there!145.You're expected to know EVERY greyhound owner on the planet. "oh, Greg has greyhounds. He's a cop so I'm sure you know him." Nope. Never heard of him. Or my favorite; "Oh, it's a race dog! My daughter's pediatrician RESCUES those dogs! Dr...ummm...oh, YOU know who I mean." Yea, don't know Dr.Whatshisname either.146.Everyone (that's never owned a grey) knows what my greyhounds needs. One guy chased me down screaming to give me a GPA pamplet to "inform me". The gesture was nice, but I've read every book I can. Twice (with each adoption I read it...dorky but true). Then he looked at me like I was jerk when I politely declined. He was really uhappy looking when I told him my hounds have already been helping me at their meet and greets. what?
147.I was not told that I, an introverted (former) cat person, would look forward to meet and greets.148.That if my hound doesn't have an "eargasm" I feel disappointed.149."No, he's not a Great Dane, those are BIG."150.My favorite so far "How can you possibly get that dog enough exercise?" 151.My adoption group has learned from my hound just how successful these guys can be at drive-thru window mooching.
152.that i would buy doggie necklaces to match the collars that i bought for them -- matching & co-ordinating of course! (also must match the different coats they have!)
153.that I would gladly give up my spot on the king size bed and move to the couch if my greys need more room one night!154.that I wouldn't want to go on vacation and leave my greys!155.that I would get so excited and amazed everytime they choose to do their laps around the yard...poetry in motion...just beautiful!!156.that I would make sure that my greys are covered up at night so they don't get cold!! they often have more blankets than I do!
157.That your husband, who rolled his eyes at every greyhound collar, coat, treat, forum, etc, would TUCK THE DOG IN every night when you weren't looking.
158.that a dog wearing a muzzle doesn't necessarily mean that the dog will bite. More likely than not ~ poop is a favorite snack and the muzzle with a poop guard will help prevent that.
159.That you would brush your dog's teeth every day, and become obsessed with ways to improve their dental cleanliness and breath. 160.That time stops when you pet and snuggle with that bunny soft fur.161.That the expression "air snaps" is meaningful, and precious when your hound does it looking up at you, coming out of a stretch.
162.that your standards for proper dog behavior would be much higher after owning a grey. How can people let their dogs jump on you and pull them down the street and push at you constantly to keep petting, throw the ball, and drool on everything, etc.?
163.That I would ignore the king-size bed upstairs and destroy my back sleeping on the couch for over a year becuase my senior arthritic old grammaw-dog couldn't handle the stairs.
164.That I would be so excited to meet complete strangers and their dogs on vacation (people from GT).165.That though they do things that should make us mad, we find ourselves trying not to let them see us stifle a giggle.166.That you would spend as much time researching products to prepare for bringing home your first grey as you did preparing for the birth of your first child.
167.That greetings include great big kisses on the face, face-to-face, that is. And if you're not greeted that way, you feel sad!!
168.That talking about ways to stop eating poop is normal dinner conversation
169.That you will laugh harder than you've ever laughed before170.That you will cry even harder watching your remaining Grey try to imitate the behavior of the first one, just to fill the void.171.That the aforementioned experience will leave you forever changed, for the better.
172.That when your dog destoys a stuffy, tears apart the garbage, eats the couch, etc. rather than yell the first thing you will do is take pictures so that you can post them on GT.
173.That when you come home to find that your dog has pooped/peed/vomited in the house, your first response is "Oh, honey, I'm sorry I wasn't here to let you outside!" not "omg you stupid animal!"
174.That my small female greyhound would always get mistaken for a Whippet. (does a 65lb greyhound look like a whippet?)
175.That you will be the owner of a ton of worthless "nose print" art on each & every window or piece of glass in your house or car.

We've created a monster!

2008-03-19T12:13:00.002-05:00

So, Clyde will be with us one week tonight and I think I have created a monster of sorts! He is actually a wonderful hound and still feel he will make a greyt first hound for someone. He crates pretty well, though we are starting the process of weaning him of the crate, but leaving him with a muzzle as we do our own when we are not home, out of the house, etc. He eats fine, plays with stuffies, has no growlie issues, and is generally starting to come out of his shell. He is a chewer if left unsupervised. The only thing he has destroyed was a Dr. Fosters and Smith Catalogue, oh well. He is not a couch hog, though I cannot be sure that will not change, and this goes back to the monster issue....

A little backstory, our hounds sleep with us. They are babygated in our room and allowing in our platform style king-sized bed. They just walk right up there. So, yeah Clyde does now too. It took him a few nights to figure out what was going on, but for the past 3 nights he has, like Berry White, walked right in our room and right onto the bed. Sunday and Monday night he even stayed put all night. Last night he got up at some point. I don't mind it, but his future family might. Oh well, he seems to be very obedient, so they should be able to break him of it .. hehehehe... Lesley says treat them like my own, so be it!

Welcome and intro...

2008-03-17T16:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. I decided recently that it would be a neat idea to blog about the hounds, since they are such a huge part of our lives now. I could talk about day-to-day life with greyhounds, and just maybe it could become a guide for future potential adopters to see what life with these guys is really like. So, I'll start with a little about our hounds. Our first grehound was Berry White. We adopted him from Circle of Friends Greyhound Adoptions in Statesville, NC in July 2006, while we were living in Charlotte, NC. Berry was just turning 6. He is white with brindle ticking. Berry was a little pushy and demanding. He threw his feet up on people and was a bit of a handful.... the solution, get another.

So, almost exactly a month later we adopted Anna from the same group. Anna had just turned 2. She is red. She was very shy at first, but is now very spunky and a greyt snuggler.

In December 2006 we moved back to Louisiana and lived with my parents while we built our new house. As the time approached to move into the house, we toyed with trying to adopt one of Anna's brothers. We had started volunteering with GPA-LA and had made some contacts and starting making arrangements. When things started to fall apart a bit, we were given the option to adopt a 2 year old blue male. We jumped on it! So, on the day we moved into our new home, September 1st, we brought home greyhound #3, Dax aka Danger Dog. So, now we have the three hounds and every day is an adventure. They are always doing something new or different. It is so awesome living with them. They stay home muzzled during the day... keeps them out of trouble.... and at night they sleep with us. Yes, when they want to, 3 greyhounds have the option of sleeping in our king-sized bed with us.... and they often do! We love these guys.

We are very active with GPA-LA and have started fostering. We had our first foster, Chloe, a few weeks ago. She was returned thru no fault of her own. She's a little red girl, only a few years old. She was only with us for about 7 days. We brought her to her forever home where she lives with a family and another grey. She is doing wonderfully there.

This past Wednesday, we got our second foster Clyde. He is a 2 year old black boy with only a little white on his chest and back feet. It has been fun to watch his personality develop over the last few days. He is much calmer than my hounds. He does cry a little when we leave. He is crated when we are not home and muzzled when we aren't watching. He likes to chew stuff - we are working on that. He very sweet. He has learned about the couch - which he got on with the first day of being at our house - but he isn't a big couch hog. He has also figured out he can get on our bed, and even slept with us all night last night. He has also fallen off both the bed and the couch LOL but he is ok. He will make a greyt first greyhound for someone. Well, I hope to post here often the escapades of my hounds and any fosters we have about. Enjoy.