Sheila in the snow

I am supposed to be doing homework but I decided to take a break to post a picture of my dog, Sheila. It isn't the best photo, but it is the best one I got. Anyway, I took this when we went to Big Bear a few weeks ago. She loved the snow, and will be going back next week. Last week we went to San Luis Obispo and we stopped at Pismo beach and I could have killed myself for not bringing her, because they let you bring your dog to the beach! I saw the cutest dachsunds. Everybody had their dog and I watched them play in the surf. Oh well, I will bring her next time. BTW, it is too hot here (85 degrees), and I wish I was back where you guys are. Bye for now!

No More Fish Breath

Grayson probably wondered what was up Monday morning when he didn't get any breakfast or even a drink of water. But he thought it was pretty cool that he got to go for a car ride instead of staying home with Sara...until we got to the vet's office.

When the vet tech came to get him for his dental, Grayson climbed up on a bench near the window in the waiting room and seemed to be trying to figure out how to make a getaway before I pulled him down. Poor guy. At least they spared him a little pain and gave him his vaccinations while he was still under anesthesia.

They had to pull three teeth and he's now on his second round of antibiotics, but his breath will no longer bowl you over. Now if they could only figure out how to fit him for braces...

Happy Howloween

The fearsome pirate Black Bellamy...



And Dorothy, who is most definitely not in Kansas (and hates her hair!)...



Hope everyone has a happy Halloween and no one OD's on candy!

I Has a Sweet Potato

This LiveJournal post of a "conversation" between an owner and a dog hell-bent on doing what it pleases sent me into hysterical laughter and to the point of tears. My coworkers thought I'd completely lost my mind, I'm sure.

Warning: Do not read while eating or drinking, or with a full bladder!

Racy!

We (Brian, Michelle, Brandon & I) went to an animal farm of sorts as well this weekend. SummerWind Farm, to be exact, where we attended an annual gathering of something like 300+ Greyhounds and their owners. It was a lot of fun, but tiring. Brian judged the Greyhound contests for the second year in a row, and was licked and hugged by numerous doggies while trying to determine the best kisser and hugger. And for the second year in a row, Sara had the second-longest tail and Grayson was the second-or third-tallest (I forget).

Probably the best thing we got to do is watch the dogs take off as fast as they could toward a stuffed bunny at the end of a training lure (what they use to teach Greyhounds to chase - they don't need much encouragement). Next to the person with the lure was another person with a squawker - a gadget that makes a generic prey-like sound (close to a squirrel, but not quite). It's a combination that makes the dogs so crazy they want to go get it. A third person was there with a radar gun, clocking the dogs. This year, both Sara and Grayson beat their times from last year, coming in at 46mph. Needless to say, they've spent most of the time since then laying around the house!

There was a big (for us) announcement about a special, secret fundraising effort that had been undertaken. Since it costs, on average, $475 to take a dog from the track, spay/neuter and house it before adoption, and we can only get $275 for an adoption fee, there would be a constant shortfall without fundraising and donations. So someone had the bright idea, after seeing the film Calendar Girls, to do a similar nude calendar using some of our members and their Greyhounds in shots with, shall we say, strategically placed props. It was really nicely done, and we hope to sell at least 1500 of them. Take a look (it's maybe PG-13 and there is very little actually revealed, so don't panic!) - www.greymates.org. Please, please pass it along to anyone you think would get a kick out of it. Even if they don't buy a calendar they may pass it along to someone who will. Surprisingly, women - straight ones - have been the most enthusiastic supporters so far.

No, I'm not in it. I seriously considered it, though! But I did do the design and coding for the web site : )

Smart Dog, Lucky Owner

Pam Davis, one of our Southeastern Greyhound Adoption and Greyhound Club members down in Florida and the main person responsible for getting us dogs to be adopted out, posted this to our group message board yesterday:

"A couple of years ago, Greyhound Crossroads asked us for a BIG male and he didn't have to be cat tolerant. We sent them a dog named "Get Noticed". His adopter, Nancy McPhee, named him Stryker.

Today, I got this message from Joanne:

One of your dog's saved someone's life. Nancy McPhee adopted Get Noticed now Stryker from us. He was a special order that you picked out for her from her description of what she wanted. The other night he woke her up about midnight and whined and poked her with his nose. She though he needed to go out even though he had just been out an hour and a half before. She got up and took him out. He didn't need to go and kept whining and bothering her and wouldn't let her go back to sleep. He never does that. Finally she realized her heart was beating VERY fast and strangely- she has had heart problems before. Her husband raced her to the emergency room. They had to stop her heart and restart it and I think shocked her heart at least once. Sounded like she barely got there in time. Stryker definitely saved her life by not letting her go back to sleep:)

How cool is that???"

Indeed - how cool IS that? Sometimes our dogs are smarter than us.

Amanda's Cute Doggie Pictures

Amanda's Doggie Pictures

Amanda, Buttons, Zipper and Neko hung out with Sara and Grayson while Brian and I went to visit his grandparents in Kentucky last weekend. I still need to post about that adventure, but only had a quick sec and wanted to share the cute pictures Amanda took (I stole them from her camera phone!) while we were away. Click on the picture to start the slideshow.

Rambling, Rocking

David headed back to Iraq on Monday after a couple of weeks of leave. I'm still waiting on blog posts about his & Liubinka's new four-legged family member, as well as seeing some of the video he shot with his new toy (a digital video camera). I hear he had a lot of catching up to do while on leave, so he'll get a pass...but only a temporary one!

Amanda is going to dog sit here for the weekend while I head to Kentucky with Brian & Co. to visit his grandma. Grandma hasn't been doing too well lately. I hear she's stubborn, independent and did what she felt like doing instead of what doctors told her she had to do (sound familiar?) to get/stay healthy. So after falling for something like the 57th time she has been in some sort of extended care facility and has been less than thrilled about being there and losing her independence.

I think Amanda will bring some or all of her puppies, making for a big ol' doggie sleepover. She will have to try to tame this pack into submission on her own - Steve has to work all weekend and will not accompany her. I don't think the dogs will give her too much trouble once they realize who is in charge of the treats.

The cold weather is making my skin dry out to the point of being itchy and painful. I never thought I'd say that given that I have battled a greasy face and varying degrees of acne all my life. Stuff changes as you age.

Lastly, on a note that's completely, absolutely unrelated to anything I just wrote, I have to share this video of KT Tunstall performing Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. The song was released last year, I believe, so you may have heard it. I bought it from the iTunes store a while back without knowing anything about the amazing way the artist put it together, because it just rocks. Even if you don't like this genre you have to give her props.

Pet Me!

Janet was petting Grayson (for some time, as I recall) and when she stopped he put his paw on her leg to get her attention and - hopefully - more pets!