|
|
29 July 2004
Just wanted to take a few minutes to get started again on this blog...
So much has changed since my last entry, but so much remains the same. It's been well over a year since we've had a foster, and I'm pretty used to it now. All the hounds and the kitties are still with us. I'm still without an adoption group, and it seems that every time I get a pang to try again with one or the other of the two that have gone by the wayside I hear a story or have to interact with someone from one or the other groups and I'm QUICKLY reminded of how much better off I am going it solo. :)
Here's a recap: Somewhere around December or January, Candy and Josh had a fight between their foster, Matt, and their other dogs. CGC found out and Tavette soon demanded his return to her house. Between then and February, there was a lot of static, but it ended up with Tavette (acting as CGC) taking Candy to court over Matt AND Blitz b/c even though the board voted to approve Candy adopting him no adoption fee had been paid. Somehow she convinced the court that the blue slip signed by the owner AND a letter signed by the other owner did not mean that the owners had handed over the dogs to Candy, and Tavette won. Me thinks that she might have known the judge, but I wasn't there so it's all just supposition. Candy appealed so that she didn't have to give up the dogs. Groovy right? Wrong. The payment for the appeal bounced about the same time that Candy and Josh got screwed by their landlord and evicted, and the dogs went to the Animal Shelter.
Well, the buddies that Tavette has at the shelter wasted no time in calling her about the greyhounds that were there...they didn't wait the required 3 days for the owner to claim them, mind you...and she ran over and scooped up Matt and Blitz. Candy was devastated. Another greyhound friend helped her bail out the rest of her dogs, and she and Josh set out to stay with a friend of theirs.
Somehow they ended up back in court...I'm actually not sure how, don't really remember...but this time Candy had pet certificates on both boys proving that they were hers. Would you believe Tavette won AGAIN? I think she was asking for some ungodly amount of money that Candy ended up not having to pay, and Matt and Blitz stayed with her...probably crated all day in her small foster room...watching the small dogs in her house run by...I can't imagine. Part of me wanted to go watch the circus that I'm sure that court was, but I couldn't due to work. Kinda glad, actually...if I never have to hear Tavette's voice again it will be too soon.
Candy has now moved to Long Island and Josh is looking for a new place to live...and life goes on, I suppose...
Renn Fest is quickly approaching...again. Seems like we've just gotten done with our two weekends at GARF and now CRF looms in the distance, only 2 months away. I can't wait, though...I love having that special time to spend with my hounds. :)
One last little funny before I head off to work...Profile is not quite so brave anymore when it comes to balloons heading over his yard. Two days ago he was out in the yard when I heard a strange bark. I came out (with the other three) to investigate and found Profile staring up at the sky, ears up and tail tucked to his ribs, watching three hot air balloons go by. Must be a race in town this week or something. I opened the door and he flew inside, shaking like a leaf. Poor Liz just stood outside, looking up, trying to figure out what the hoopla was about. :)
Off to work to pay for kibble!
2 December 2003
Well, Thanksgiving and my 32nd birthday have both come and gone. My computer has been moved downstairs, and I've gotten re-addicted to EverQuest (aka EverCrack). I currently am playing a level fourteen druid wood elf named Ginolweyne (the game named her, not me) and I am having a blast! It's a nice escape from what has become a tiresome job for not enough pay. I know, that's everyone's complaint, right? Anyway, Candy and Josh and I play EQ most nights, and I think it's even going to be good for my marriage. Scott gets to have his time alone, gets to watch whatever he wants on TV, and I get to kill orcs. What could be better?
Liz goes in for a dental on Friday, and will go with Hunk on Wednesday for a blood draw. The old gal's been moving kinda slow lately and I'm getting worried. I'm trying to tell myself that it's the weather or the fact that she was without glucosamine for about 2 weeks...but then she looks at me and it's almost more than my heart can take. Sometimes she's happy and bouncing around the den and sometimes she seems unable or willing to get up from her dogbed. Anyway, we'll see if she can handle the surgery. Dr. D seems to think that she can, and if so she'll be a happier pup. I wish she had taken all of Liz's teeth out the first time! Jeany needs a dental too, but that will have to wait for some more $$ to build up.
I really hate that we have to put off stuff that needs to be done because of $$, but that's just life right now. Hunk ran into the railing downstairs last Thursday and ended up with a nosebleed. Folks with money would rush him to the e-vet without a second thought. We decided to keep an eye on him and call our vet the next morning if needed. Insert loud sigh here. We do the best we can, and I don't think anyone can say that we don't adore our animals.
The CGC mess is churning up again. Man, do I ever understand that line from the Godfather movies about being pulled back in!! Thanks to Amy Lyn reminding me how much CGC meant to me in the beginning, there is now somewhat of an email war going on between the board members about whether or not I'm still a member and whether or not my amendments to the bylaws will be accepted blah blah blah. I'm definitely not interested in starting yet ANOTHER adoption group, but if some major changes could be made within CGC I'd be glad to continue volunteering there. They have to be major, though. Apparently the stubborn streak that plagued me and my parents throughout my childhood has returned. I will return to the scene and resubmit the amendments to the bylaws that I really did work hard on...and if they are overturned, not allowed to be discussed, or otherwise dismissed then I'm done. I really don't want CGC to be dissolved, especially because the assets would not be going to a greyhound organization but to an all breed rescue that was picked soley on the basis, I think, of Tavette's friendships with members of that group. Blah. How do I get myself into these things? I do feel a bit more confident, I admit, with Amy Lyn firmly in my corner. She's got a desire to see CGC turn into a thriving, properly run adoption group, just as I do, and she definitely has lit a fire under the board to see that it gets done. Doesn't hurt that she works in an office full of lawyers, either!
I guess I should cut this off before I say any more. Apparently according to one lawyer that was asked, email is now admissible as legally binding documentation, so I'm sure this blog would be nothing but fodder. At least the dogs and cats are well, I am well, Scott is well...that's all that really matters in the long run.
10 November 2003
I had planned to journal each weekend of festival…but if you've ever participated in something of that magnitude you'll know why that idea is nothing short of laughable. I barely had time to breathe, even on the weekend that I didn't go because Scott was in California (AGAIN). I've decided to add some pictures here and let the hounds take turns recounting CRF 2003...but first, an update on the Zoo.
On September 10th, shortly after I posted the last entry, CGC's President decided she no longer wanted to be President. There was a flurry of phone calls among board members followed by worry and contingency planning. Finally, around four hours after she made that decision she changed her mind. That moment when I received the email stating that we shouldn't "count us out yet" when it came to her and her husband's involvement in CGC was the moment I realized that I had to start taking care of myself and my sanity or I was going to be no good to anyone, human or canine. That was the moment I made the statement (while talking to another board member on the phone), "If they stay, I go."
I stuck to my guns. The first thing I did was resign as secretary, deciding that I could stay on as a board member until Ty got adopted. I was not about to hand over the responsibility for his adoption to others. Ty was adopted by a WONDERFUL family on September 20th, and shortly after that I left the board. Now there's talk of dissolving CGC...honestly I don't care. I have put that behind me as a chapter in my life where I helped some dogs make it to their homes, and that's enough for me. I did try to make an effort to have some contact with my old friends in Greyhound Crossroads.
Make no mistake, I did NOT want to volunteer for that group again (or ANY group, for that matter!). I did NOT want to be friends again with anyone that has hurt me in the past two years. That was not my intention. I merely wanted to get back in touch with some folks that I'd lost contact with and perhaps have the opportunity to do some fun greyhound stuff. Well, I really should have known better. Really. Sometimes my hindsight is 20/20 and sometimes it disappears all together. I got it into my head that because I had been able to work congenially with GC folks during the hunt for Dixie that I'd be able to just slide back in under the radar. I thought I could get to know better the folks that I'd met at play-dates and just go to a few fun events...maybe even help Lisa out with her solo M&Gs from time to time in Greenwood.
I could not have been more wrong if I'd tried. First of all, when I was re-admitted to the GC list, I was moderated. I was MODERATED on a general chat list. I had been asked not to post, and had agreed until Liz's books arrived. I didn't think a short blurb for my books would cause any harm. Well...it didn't because it never hit the list. After that, Kim sent me an "I'm Very Disappointed In You" email and that was the end. I am an adult, and a darned nice one at that. I've even been accused of being a doormat because I'm just do darned polite and NICE. Now I'm being told to watch what I say and do, and that I've hurt so many people in GC that the mere adding me back to the mailing list caused Kim grief and heartache. WHAT? Suddenly all of the hurt of realizing in what kind of people I had placed my trust returned and I wanted to bang my head on my desk for being so stupid. The membership of GC had not complained about me being back, June probably did. The membership of GC didn't hate me, but I’m pretty sure June does. I'm also pretty sure that I don't care WHAT June thinks of me, but I digress...
And the best part is that I'm fine with it! Absolutely fine. Right now, all of my greyhound adoption efforts are concentrated into the Hounds of East Fairhaven, and I'm happy as a clam. I did manage to send Kim an email in response to the above mentioned message, and basically told her that I was done. I am done stepping on eggshells. I am done being overly concerned with what people think, especially those that are more or less unimportant to me. I am done calling my dogs anything but my dogs...if she wanted to keep tabs on them throughout their lives she would have made more of an effort to make things right with me, or at least to check in from time to time to see if they were even still alive. I was being dealt a penance to serve, for doing nothing more that what was right for me at the time. I had to watch out for everyone else's feelings, my own be damned. As my friend Charles would say, "NEGATIVE."
Well, now that all that's out...here are the Rennie Hounds to tell you about Festival. -Nan
Yo. Profile here. Hunk's letting me type because...well, because I got to the keyboard first. Renn Fest is not a complete nightmare, but let me tell you it is WORK. Mommy gets us up in the middle of the night, expects us to eat breakfast like it's a normal day, then shoves us in the car for about two months. When the car finally stops, we're at this big dusty place and she won't let us sniff or mark anything!
We have this tent that we live in while we're there, which is better than last time because it doesn't leak and it's big. Also, Miss Joanne The Treat Lady made us some HUGE dog beds which aren't stinky like last year's were. I get to lie on them any time I want which is way cool.
There have also been some new folks that have come and some new hounds...specifically this hot little number called Callay. That chick has got some attitude! She is just a hottie...but I think she's got a thing for JD. Fine. Waste your time with that show off. Your loss, sister.
Hunk wants me to point out that you get lots of treats at Festival, like beef jerky, turkey legs, bread that tastes like soup, and other stuff. Very yummy. I also get almonds but Hunk doesn't like those. He's too fickle. We get lots of attention... sometimes too much attention from the little humans but Mommy is always there to shoo them away. I haven't had to even growl at one yet. I don't understand why Mommy keeps calling me the child-biter either...something to do with something that happened a long long time ago, before I was adopted by Mommy and Scott I suppose. Dunno about that one, all I do know is I've been tempted to bite a few of those kids and some of the adults too, but haven't yet!
Jeany mentioned that she HATES festival. She thinks that it's loud and awful and cold. Well, last weekend it was cold, that's true, but the awful part was that Mommy put FAERY WINGS on me and Jeany. I mean, Jeany I could understand but HELLO!?! On me? Whatever. At least that Faery woman didn't give the wings to Mommy for good. A dog's got to have his dignity, after all.
One more weekend left, and then we can return to sleeping late on Saturdays and Sundays...at least until April, Mommy says.
10 September 2003
What was it I said about being better about keeping up with the journal? Well, thanks to a wonderful note from Sage, here I am writing again.
Busy busy busy here at the Zoo. Last weekend Hunk and I went to Alabama to sell books and promote the newest in the Proud Racer series, Blind Faith. This one's about Liz and her friendship with Dori, Tavette and Dennis's girl. It took me a long time to get this one written, actually, because last summer Dori went to the Bridge and I just couldn't write anything for a long time. She was the first greyhound I'd known personally to die since I adopted, and it was really hard on me. After that the Easlers lost Brownie as well...almost a year ago, actually.
It's funny...all of that sadness was the beginning of the end of my time in Greyhound Crossroads I think. It also taught me a lot about keeping in mind what's important and doing what's right for me and mine first...often to the determent of others, unfortunately. Tavette had asked me not to say anything to anyone in GC about Dori's death, because she felt that was a private thing and did not wish to share it with people to whom she no longer felt connected. I respected her wishes on that, and it caused a world of trouble for me. Once again I found myself between a friendship with one and my responsibilities to the group. When Brownie died, I told some folks in GC, and upset Tavette. I don't think there was a good way to resolve either one of those conflicts. I was unwittingly placed in a no win situation both times.
Anyway...the book is done now, and at the publisher waiting for me to raise the $$ to have it printed. My goal is by October of this year, and I think I'll be able to meet that.
The trip to Alabama was rough. There was an undercurrent of unrest among us from CGC. Tavette has pulled out of the Renaissance Festival for reasons I still fail to understand. There's also a feeling among the board members that a lot of times decisions are made without the input of the board...so that has tainted all of our interactions. I roomed with Lisa because she brought Marky...and unfortunately she had to hang out with me most of the time and miss the seminars because of where they were...dogs weren't allowed, and Marky gets waaaay too stressed out when he's away from Momma. I think the other members of our little CGC group were irritated that she didn't go with them. They'd written me off, it seems, because I made it clear that signing/selling my books was a priority for me...somehow that translated into "I don't want to do anything with you." Whatever. I'm way beyond trying to get into other peoples' minds and figure out what's going on in there.
I won't say that GPA was a total loss though. There was one bright point that made all the dirty looks, snide comments, and hurt feelings worth it. Hunky saw a race and the delight in his eyes made me want to cry. It's true that they never forget, and the ones that had a positive experience racing seem to hunger to get out there with the others. I love my heart dog.
We're back home now, and I sold some books...and now I have to get down to business getting ready for the festival. A month from last Thursday is opening day and I'm not ready at all...but I will be.
23 May 2003
Nancy here. Scott comes home today from 2.5 weeks in California. Being a single mom has been hard, but it hasn't been unbearable. Today is also the official beginning (I think) of Freedom Weekend Aloft here in Anderson...I'm expecting the hot air balloons and the crowds at any time.
We have a foster who has been here since the middle of April. His name is Tyson, and he's the sweetest thing...a beautiful black boy with dainty white toes, a bit of grey under his chin, and a white blaze on his chest with black ticking. The spooky thing about Tyson, though, is that Scott didn't have to be persuaded to foster him. Just asked and Scott said okay. Then Ty starts acting like Bo, which is even weirder. The rational side of me says that I'm just looking for him to act like Bo because I miss Bo so desperately at times...but some of these things are just hard to chalk up to coincidence. For example, he sits in his crate waiting for his food in the exact position (left front paw over right) that Bo used to strike when he was a foster and crated. Ty runs up behind me when he is urging me to do something (let him out, feed him, etc.) faster and nudges me with his nose. Bo was the ONLY dog in the house that did that. He stands right under me as I'm fixing their food (until I order him to his crate) and he even gallops around the yard like Bo used to do...a sort of stiff legged gait that could turn into the famous double suspension greyhound gallop at any moment. Ty is also BIG...but unassuming, which is different than Bo who filled a room with his personality when he entered. Perhaps that's why he left such a hole in our house...
Scott will never agree to adopt Ty, though. I've been talking to my sister, Susan, and her husband Dave about adopting him because I think he'd make a fantastic first greyhound. They will be moving into a real house (from an apartment) soon, and I think they'd be great grey-parents. We'll see.
In the meantime, Ty Ty sleeps away on the floor...and I miss Bo. I keep thinking that it was a mistake...that I'm going to open the back door and there he'll be...I wonder if this will ever go away?
1 May 2003
Today should have been a happy day. Today is a happy day, because it commemorates the 7th anniversary of the world gaining a banana brindle boy named Flashy Jo Star, known to his friends as Bo. Some of the happiness is tainted for me, though, because I can't hug him or give him a special treat...all I can do is be very still, concentrate on his spirit, and wish him a happy birthday from his Momma.
I miss Bo.
27 March 2003
Maybe this is going to turn into a monthly thing...or maybe I'll get slack again, who knows. The pain of losing Bo is still fresh, but there was more to tell in February that I just couldn't get out in that last entry. I said earlier that my involvement with Greyhound Crossroads had just about ceased...well, as of the week of Bo's death it DID cease. As I said before, it's hard to be enthusiastic about being in a group where you don't feel wanted. I had not been posting much, but had sent a request for white light for Bo during his illness...and got responses from only a few of the folks that I call friend outside of GC. I was surprised that some of the others that I thought were friends remained silent, but chalked that up to another life lesson for me, the PollyAnna.
The final nail in the coffin came in a series of emails concerning a post I'd made to the Greyhound-L about groups working together. Kim made a response to the L, seeming to try to discount my earlier post and somewhat disparage me in the eyes of the greyhound community. Ah well, such is life. I know what I know, and I know what happened in the situation to which the post pertained, so I went on about my business. I then got two more emails from June, another GC member and close friend of Kim's, that were accusatory, hateful, and just downright mean. I'll not quote any of it here, because to me that would only give validity to her hurtful action. I will say, though, that while June hurt me with her words, Kim hurt me more with her silence. June cc'd the emails to Kim, and Kim made no response whatsoever. Silence implies Consent. Is it any wonder that I signed off of the GC list that very night, wiping out all the photos, bookmarks and other proof that I had ever been a part of that group before I left?
I'm sure that flames will come from this journal posting. Flames I can take. I'm too old to be playing games like a child, and I am quite secure that those I care about know me, and will not be swayed by defamatory words from others. I am proud of my work in greyhound adoption, proud of the fosters that I've housed who have gone on to make great pets, and proud of my accomplishments as a writer and an interpreter. I don't need approval or sanctions from people who sink to the depths mentioned above.
Gosh, now that I've been all healthy and self assured, let me give a quick update on the hounds. All are well! Hunky and Jeany have been switched to a raw diet, and we see some improvement in Hunk's feet. I think we're going to switch over to Wellness Kibble, though...long story there. Profile continues his therapy work, and Liz just maintains status as Queen Of All She Surveys and Tastes. Proud Racer: A Tail of Two Brothers is now in print as of the first of this month, and seems to be meeting with favorable acclaim from those who have read it. I'm working on book three, which is about Liz, title to be decided upon later. Life is good at the Zoo. Finally.
27 February 2003
It's been a bad month at the Lassiter Zoo. At the end of January, we started to notice that Bo was having recurring bouts of diarrhea, and none of the home remedies we tried were helping. Finally we took him to the vet, and found out what a truly sick boy he was. He lasted until Valentine's Day, when we sent him to the bridge. We all still miss him, and I even still talk to him now and then.
Run free, Bo...get those squirrels!
Bo ("Flashy Jo Star") Lassiter, 5/1/96-2/14/03
6 January 2003
All right, one of my New Year's resolutions is to be better about posting to this journal; even though I doubt anyone ever reads it but me. In the past 6 months a lot has happened. Carolina Greyhound Connection has taken off with a bullet, and has kept me fairly busy. My relations and volunteer work with Greyhound Crossroads have all but come to an end...I do sign on to the group site to read the email and respond now and then, but other than that I really have nothing to do with them. It's hard to continue to try when you don't feel welcome, and I didn't there. Life is too short.
Scott and I are fosterless at the moment. Onyx FINALLY got adopted to a family in the Atlanta area, and Alex went to try living with Amy and Charles. I hope that she behaves herself... Since July, I have been to a track in West Virginia with Tavette and Lisa, Hunky turned 6 years old, Liz celebrated her first Gotcha Day with us...we went to our last Beach Bound Hounds trip...and I am suddenly able to look at my dogs as MY dogs, and not as dogs that I adopted from Greyhound Crossroads. Weird, huh?
But the most important thing to happen today is that it is Bo's 2nd Gotcha Day. I can't believe it's been 2 years. The hounds celebrated last night with a dinner of left over veggie casserole.
Off to work to pay for kibble!
11 July 2002
Nancy here again. Once again, it's been awhile since I posted last, and lots has happened! I've downsized the amount of work I do with Greyhound Crossroads from being a Core Group Member and the Internet Coordinator to just being a foster home and maintaining the group's website. It seems that some of the other members of the Core Group were disturbed that I was working at a leadership level with two groups, so I did what I thought was best and stepped down. Now I can enjoy seeing friends I've made with that group, but not have to worry about what I say or do as much. Also, I'm taking on more responsibility with Carolina Greyhound Connection (in addition to being a board member and the Secretary) and taking on a foster beginning next week. Her name is Alex (Lucky Alexandria) and I swear if our pack wasn't full I'd want to keep her. What a silly dog!!!
We celebrated Mills's fourth birthday on May 31st...he's getting to be a big kitty! Also celebrated Profile's SEVENTH birthday on June 1st...I can't believe he's seven...a senior, technically. Scott and I were talking about the dogs the other night, and came to the conclusion that Bo and Jeany are "his" dogs, Liz and Hunk are "my" dogs...and Profile...well, Profile just belongs to "da ladies..." :) Hunk, Jeany, Bo, and Liz are doing fine. I had wanted to have a joint birthday party for Hunk and Marky around the time of their birthday, July 16th, but I don't know how that's going to work. All the weekends in July are full for me...Hunky will be 6!
The most important thing that's happened, though, is that my book is done! As I type, there are 300 copies on my sofa, waiting to be shipped. I can't believe it. I nearly fainted when I opened that first box and saw MY NAME on the book cover. It's a really weird experience. Hunky seems to be handling his fame well...he's going to love all the chances he's going to get to go to schools to talk about his book! :) I've created a website for the book, Proud Racer: One Greyhound's Journey, for anyone interested. Whew! Back to the grind...
25 May 2002
Profile here. I am reporting to you from a war zone. My House has been attacked by huge flying things! They sneak over into a Yard down the street, and then they stand up straight, screaming and growling until they are as big as the house. The one that actually DARED to fly over our yard was red and yellow, and it had already tried to eat some of our neighbors! It was carrying them away to meet its pack! Mommy and Scott just stood and laughed at me. I know it's because they don't understand Greyhound, and they don't know that I was sounding the alarm!! Just wait till more of them show up...speaking of which, I've got to get back out in the yard on patrol.
Nancy here now. This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, which means Anderson County is beseiged with hot air balloons. One of the participants blew their balloon up in our neighbor's yard, so the dogs got a close up look at it as it filled with air and took off. Poor Profile...he really seemed to think that it was coming to get him. He even tried to climb the fence after them! The balloons are filling the sky, as they will for the next three days. The other dogs looked, and Jeany and Bo chased the balloon as it sailed across our yard, but that was about it. I don't think Liz could really see it, she just ran around behind the others.
7 May 2002
Bo again. Now they've put me in school. Can't a dog catch a break? All I want to do is go for Walks with Daddy and here Mommy puts me in school. She thinks I'm going to be a little sissy boy like Profile or Hunk and Sit or Stay, but I've got news for her. I'm going just so I can see that cute little girl Ginger and get her Mommy to give me those yummy liver treats. Mommy calls Ginger's Mommy Aunt Lisa, but I call her the Treat Lady. We'll see how this school thing goes.
29 April 2002
(Jeany's 2nd Gotcha day and my sister Sooz's birthday!)
Bo here. I'm a dog of few words, so I'll make this fast. Mommy and Daddy tricked me, and I'm not really happy about it. I went for a nice ride in the car and they left me at this place...then some people started poking and prodding me...then I went to sleep, and when I woke up my mouth hurt and part of my ear was gone! Mommy cried all the way back home and apologized, so I guess I'm not mad at them. I don't think they knew what would happen to my ear either! I've got to listen closely and figure out what the word biopsy means...
27 March 2002
Nancy here. It's been a long time since I last wrote, nearly 2 months. In those two months the Carolina Greyhound Connection has gotten off the ground with two fosters, and I'm dividing my time between two groups. WHEW! I can't complain, though, because now I have twice as many fosters to moon over! Speaking of fosters, BUCKY IS GOING HOME SOON! One of my co-workers is adopting him, and I couldn't be happier for him. He's going to be very happy. That leaves us with just Onyx, and after that a break from fostering. How strange it will be to only have five dogs in the house!
All of the Lassiter Hounds are doing fine. Bo has had dental surgery scheduled twice, but because our vet has stopped running accounts for clients we have had to reschedule. I feel like a bad momma for it, but we just don't have an extra $125 to hand over all at one time. Profile is still Profile...he ate the leg of my favourite pajama pants, has peed everywhere he can, and is still "claiming" the girls each time they go outside...and we still love him. Hunk has learned to sing, and leads our crew (along with Momma) in a rousing chorus at least once a day. (When I figure out how to put .wav files on a website I'll post the harmonious result.) I'm just waiting for the cats to chime in!
Jeany is coming out of the back more and more, which is good, but she's still our obnoxious little blonde bombshell overall. Her fifth birthday is coming up next Friday, April 5th, and I can hardly believe it. Where does the time go?? April 29th will be her second gotcha day, and I'm sure she'll get to GO in the CAR with a LEASH at least once on that day. Liz, otherwise known as the Canine Sherman Tank, is not only hanging in there at 11 and 3/4, but is bulldozing through a world that she can barely see, experimenting and learning about her environment in the shark-like fashion of putting her MOUTH on everything. She's also developed a very cute playbow that's followed by VICIOUS barking and snapping...all in play, of course, and only with the humans...but if she had teeth we'd be in trouble!!
Lots of opportunities coming up for Meet & Greets, etc...so I'm sure there will be more excitement to write about soon!
17 March 2002
(as posted to the GH-L)
"The luck of the Irish" has definitely been with this Scottish lass for the past two years. On March 17th, 2000, my DH and I were blessed with the biggest, goofiest greyhound boy who danced straight into my heart as though he already knew the way. Fond A Hunk, Hunkamuncha, Hunkadoodle, Bubba, Bubba-LOO, Boobala, Hunky-Wunky...one look in those deep brown eyes and I was hooked. I knew I had to have whatever dog was attached to them. There is no way to fully list everything that he has taught me in the past two years, but let me sum it up by saying that I can't wait to see what's next. He's my foot warmer, my face washer, my singing partner, and my best friend. He reminds me daily what's important in life.
Luck again graced us last year on March 17th. Profile became an official member of the Lassiter Clan on that day, and we haven't regretted a single moment. He's our Profee, the Short Mouthed Guy, Mr. Professor, Mr. Man, Sir Marks-A-Lot, Don Juan, the Urinator, the Ladies' Man...and we adore him. In his journey to us, Profile endured a foster "mother" who let him out with an AGRESSIVE male unmuzzled, the aftermath of that attack, drainage tubes and all...an adoption to a nursing home whose staff didn't want to care for him as much as we thought, quarantine for rabies after biting a girl (the staff was starving him and she crawled on him with chicken nuggets in one hand), life in a small closet when he was bad...bouncing about in foster homes...adoption to a family in the midst of divorce and crisis....and then finally to us, where he walks all over us, excels in obedience training, and most importantly runs about the yard as though possessed, grinning like an idiot. Profile teaches us stamina, patience (sometimes), and that love truly can change everything.
Happy Gotcha Day, Boys...your momma loves you and owes you the world.
27 January 2002
Boy...what a weekend. Profile here. Momma rarely lets me write, but I thought I'd just jump in here and tell you about the GIRLS that were here Saturday night. A woman that Momma calls Miss Loretta (and Hunk calls The Nice Lady) came to the house with THREE GIRLS in her car. I saw them from Momma's bedroom window and BOY did they smell good! And they were pretty too, especially one named Princess. She was stunningly white with the prettiest red on her head...and she had an attitude that only I can truly understand. We got to go out with them for a minute, until one of them got upset and nearly caused a fight. What a baby. My poor darling Princess got a nasty scrape on the back of her leg, but she and Jane looked like ANGELS jumping over the brick wall in the middle of the yard. I don't know what happened to them though...by the time I got back down to the basement they were gone.
Anyway, I really liked having Miss Loretta here. She slept on the sofa and I decided to be a good host and warm her feet for a bit. I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up it was dark and Bo wasn't in the den! He usually gets to sleep out there alone and I have to fight for space in the bedroom-den but last night *I* got to stay out in the den all night and cuddle with Miss Loretta. She really knows how to share space with a hound, better than Momma. Momma is always telling me to move so she can roll over when all I want to do is be close! She'll learn. Anyway, Momma said I was a sweet boy for snuggling with Miss Loretta, but I really liked it! Maybe this means the next time Miss Loretta brings girls to our house I can meet them before they get whisked away?
20 January 2002
Nancy here. The snow came and went, and we've come and gone lots since then. It seems like we barely get off to work in the morning before it's time to come home and then time for bed...there just aren't enough hours in the day.
Two weeks ago we had some unpleasant excitement. Onyx and Bucky had an altercation in the morning during the first turn out, and a terrible dog fight insued. I was upstairs asleep, and was awakened to the sound of what we call "growlies" outside. No big deal, we have lots of males who "talk" to each other routinely. I then heard Scott yelling at the dogs to stop, then heard his voice change. I can't explain what it was in his voice that made me jump out of bed, but I did and flew down the stairs.
When I got to the door, I saw Onyx and Bucky tearing into each other with Scott right in the middle of them. I ran outside and grabbed Bucky's tail because it was the only thing I could reach. No luck. I then grabbed one of his back legs and yanked him backwards. That gave Scott enough time to get him by the collar and me enough time to get Onyx, who was bleeding profusely.
Onyx had taken the worst of the damage. Although his wounds luckily were all skin tears, they looked horrible. We took him to the vet straightaway (Bucky had only one wound, a skin tear, the size of a dime on one leg), and are continuing to clean his boo-boos and nurse his ego. :) Thankfully our director understood that this was an ACCIDENT and that it will NEVER happen again, and didn't strip us of the ability to foster for our group.
I learned a great deal in the process: Always grab for back legs when attempting to separate dogs that are fighting. Do not try to grab anywhere near their heads: Scott did so and got bitten by both dogs just because his hands were in the way. Don't try to clean up big wounds on your own: you never know what you might wash away that can help the vet. And NEVER NEVER NEVER get complacent with these dogs, especially foster dogs.
3 January 2002
Snow! Nancy here again, but reporting for several of the hounds in order to avoid fights over the keyboard. We've got probably 2-3 inches of snow now, with a nice layer of frozen slush underneath. I think the general opinion from the hounds is that they like the snow, just so that the basement door is open for them to come in and get warm. Scott and I took a walk with Hunk and Bo just now, and (bless his heart) Hunk looked so silly... I put Liz's snood on him (I haven't officially ordered the other four from Angela Bruce yet!) which is teal, and the "Ski Instructor" jacket: light blue sky with a snowy-tree filled-mountainous scene around the bottom and a wide neckline that looks like a collar. Bo wore a berber accident that his Mommy and Daddy thought would pass as a coat, as long as none of the boys have to go while wearing it.
Jeany keeps running out here into the den and looking out the window, like she expects to see the yard again at any moment. When she went out the first time this morning, she ran to the edge of the yard, did her business, then FLEW back to the house. Jeany is nothing if not a creature of comfort.
Liz was a real trooper. I decked her out in the "spotty dog coat" which makes the wearer resemble a dalmatian, and sent her out to potty. She jumped and played and enjoyed what may be the first time she's ever seen snow (since she lived on a farm in Florida her whole life). I know that those old bones and joints were cold, but she didn't seem to mind. The funniest thing was when we let the fosters out of their crates for their turn in the winter wonderland, and they couldn't stop sniffing her! It was as though they'd just discovered a giant stuffy toy. Right now, as I write, she's on the couch taking it easy, with a towel over her head. That girl LOVES to burrow!
Profile wants desperately to play out in the snow, but he's got to wait until the humans warm up a bit. :) We've lifted the drape over the defunct sliding glass doors, and he keeps running over to the sofa in front of them and standing up, straining to see outside and whining. He'll get his chance, but only AFTER I get a snap sewn on the "vanilla" jacket. We really need some snoods! The snow is coming down again...we may have 5 inches by the time we're done, and that's A LOT for "Sunny South Carolina!"
2 January 2002
Nancy here. I'm finally getting back into the swing of being at work again, with the holidays over and all. We have snow coming down outside now, which should make my work interesting in the next few days. It will also be interesting to see how the hounds react to the snow. This time last year we only had Hunk and Jeany, and Bo was still four days away from becoming a permanent resident. Profile was still living in home #2 and Liz was still in her crate at the farm. How strange that is to think about...only having 3 hounds! It's also strange how much our lives (and our pack structure) changed over the past year. September may have been an unpleasant month in many ways, but for me September of 2001 will forever be my "Old Bat's" gotcha month. I'm anxious to see her in the snow, she's so finicky! It's funny that I just ordered her boots yesterday for protecting her toes that have corns...and now she'll get to use them for real in the snow.
This the greatest picture from last year of Hunk in the snow, standing very still, looking like a deer...I love that picture, because it conveys to me all the simple, still beauty that greyhounds possess, while at the same time reminding me that just after Scott snapped the shutter on that photo Hunk was off and running again. How on earth did I ever live without hounds in my life?
1 January 2002
Hunk here. I don't know what happened last night, but there's something new in the air. Mommy took down the tree last weekend, and Profile's mad b/c now he has to go outside to potty again. I don't know why he's got such an attitude. It's not hard to figure out that if you do what the people tell you, you get treats, and if you pee on the tree you get in trouble. I think he does it for spite.Anyway, this is a new part of our page as the Greyhounds of Clan Donald...a journal, Mommy calls it. She says it will help her remember what happens in our lives...I don't know why she needs this, though, b/c she and Daddy take enough pictures of us for that purpose. Sometimes Daddy just sits still and takes four or five snaps of me in a row, with me doing nothing more exciting than lying in the grass! But maybe you, the reader, will enjoy this look into the lives of people that are owned by us greyhounds. Who knows.
|
|
|
