Happy Halloween

The requisite Halloween pictures...we were pumpkins this year.

And we went to the park today. BEAUTIFUL fall day. The sun didn't fully break until after lunch, so I'm glad we held off & didn't go to the park until later. I had them dressed in their coats, which promptly came off as it was way too warm for them - even though it was in the low-mid 50s.



The DAP collar we are using with Flash also seems to be helping a LOT. Combined with the DAP diffuser [like a little glade plug-in] and his thundershirt, I think we have a winning combination. Well, the disclaimer being that he's not 100% cured of his anxieties, but his anxiety level has decreased from 100 to about 50 - which is significant. I'm also trying to note what his "triggers" may be - and narrow it down so we can learn things to work around them or overcome them if possible. His biggest trigger seems to be men. How to get over that fear?

Baby Steps

Here we were at the vet getting our microchip after only a few days at home. He did *aces* at the vet - a bit of trembling - and we're hoping the scale was somewhat accurate since he was trembling so hard :) The longer we were there, the more he calmed down & started/attempted to relax. Even when that gigantic microchip needle was inserted, not even a peep...

Other adventures have to be downloaded off the camera, but we've been to the dog park twice. Good results both times. A large amount of trembling & the longer we're there, the more the tail comes unpinned from his tummy and relaxes. And this Sunday, he ACTUALLY CHASED A SQUIRREL!!! And he got 3 other greys to join him in the chase! Yeah Flash!

We're also wearing the thundershirt almost all the time. We aren't sure if it's helping or not - but for $37 and a 45 day money back guarantee - what can it hurt???

More pictures to come!

He's Home...

We picked up Flash in Broomfield/Westminster CO on Friday morning. Headed to the dog park to let him stretch his legs and take in some scenery - and get to know Evie a bit better. The car ride home was perfect too.

He and Evie slept in the back perfectly the entire time. They were both muzzled - though Evie was quite unhappy about that. He's still a bit shy and unsure of himself but he's following Evie around the yard and starting to get the lay of the house.

Two favorite places - his crate and his bed in the corner of the bedroom. He won't eat in the kitchen - only in his crate or bed. Typical since he was likely fed in his crate at the kennels, but how to get this to stop???

He's also super white and pink - translucent - with one patch of red above his left eye. And parti ears!



We're still deciding if his name will be changed. His full name is CTW Flash Gordon.

Pedigree Adoption Drive

• This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated.
• Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.
• Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19, the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers will host a Blog Hop, to help raise awareness for the “Write a post, help a dog” effort.
  ___________________________________________
  
  At the end of the day, there's nothing worse than watching an animal go hungry. Look at little greyhound Sweetheart - and look what some food has done for her! So, I was at the DoggieStock event sponsored by Valley Animal Partners & got tons of samples of food. Went to Starbucks. Leaving & there was this guy there with a sign on the corner & his dog. No dog [or cat] should go hungry. I'm a shmuck - here I am with a sack full of sample foods & Evie in the back seat. I do NOT give money to homeless people for a wide variety of reasons - but this guy had his dog with him. I pulled up, asked him if he needed food for his dog, and proceeded to unload a ton of samples [ok, I kept 3 and 1 can of food]. Again, no dog [or cat] should go hungry.

Almost Home!

One more week and the new kid will be home. I've been trying to get Evie excited about him coming. She's quite ambivalent. Sent his harness [a No-Pull Harness from Wiggles Wags & Whiskers] so he can get used to wearing it before his trip. Got his matching collar as well - and ordered a fancy kangaroo leather tag collar from Hi Tide Creations. Holding off on a coat till he gets here.



[And for people not familiar with greyhounds, no Flash isn't wearing a muzzle because he's dangerous. Greyhounds have notoriously thin skin and playing with friends can turn what would seem like a tiny cut on most dogs into a huge wound on a greyhound.]


I'm also a big fat liar. I complained well over a year ago "what's the point of twitter?" Well, Evie has had a twitter account for awhile now. She's made lots of friends all around the world! Not very exciting about what a greyhound does all day, but it's fun :)


And a quick "thank you" to Jennifer and her dogs over at NeversayNeverGreyhounds as she's writing a little story on her site about Evie! Greyhounds excel in all sorts of sports - Evie was good at lure coursing and open field coursing. Stay tuned...

Meet the New Guy...

Here's Flash! He's coming up next month [finally]! His full name is CTW Flash Gordon and he just turned 3yrs old :)

Flying him up on the new PetAirways & we're taking a road trip to pick him up. So excited!

Sorry, I don't know how to make the picture bigger!

More Firsts...

first blackberries of the season picked the other day from the wild & crazy shrubbery growing across the street.




And the first sunflower in the front yard.

Annoying?

Not sure if I like the fact that people have been posting comments in foreign Asian languages on my blog. The Chinese/Japanese or whatever language characters are a bit disarming from the standpoint that I have no idea if what these people posted is insulting or obscene or something! No offense to anyone but...apologies if the comments are rude in any way!

I'm Domestic

Evie was a bit disappointed I left her at home [she really needs a pal, but that's a whole other saga right now]. So I went and did this for about an hour or so before it got too hot...

And then, one packet of some new Ball pectin mix & some sugar later, I did this...

Extra chunky raspberry jam. Yum!

Garden

Hens & chicks are some of my favorite garden "flowers" - ok yes, I know they're succulents. Anyway...what is going on with this hen? Note the pic of the normal ones in the garden [above], then the mutant alien one [below]. Do they flower? I've never seen one flower. This is odd...

It's Been 7yrs and Then Some

Evie came home 7yrs ago as of July 4th! It's hard to believe it's been that long. So many things have changed. I never saw Evie as "my" pup. She's turned out to be a good little kid though - a bit quirky - but she's mine. Excentricities and all!

Her siblings Cherry & Gizmo just turned 7yrs on July 4th as well. I hope they're doing well. It's been almost 2yrs since I've seen them but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them. I doubt I'll ever stop thinking about them.

This past June was an odd month as well. So many memories. June 1st was the 3yr anniversary of Oliver's death; June 12th was the "gotcha day" anniversary of when Newell came home - it would've been 8yrs we had him had he not died back in February; June 21st was Boone's birthday & the 23rd was his "gotcha day." I wonder if the memories will ever start to fade?

Ack - It's April!

A picture from back in early March. How did it get to be April already? Hearing from friends back east & they're having a miniature heat-wave. Here, it's more soggy rain and lower 50s. I'm so waiting for spring/summer to actually begin. Still waiting...

Evie's chugging along fine! Back on her thyroid medicine so we're hoping that helps with her weight again. She appears to have dropped about 2 lbs so far! [Keep in perspective that 2 lbs on a little GH is a LOT.] She's at doggy day care 1x/week. Learning to socialize with dogs that aren't GH is a challenge - but confident she's up to the task. They even come pick her up in the little white bus which is totally cute.

Evie's also been to the dog park and we had some luck meeting some other GH that she got along swimmingly with. We also made a trek back to the dog park where it all began with my dear dear Newell.

Speaking of Newell...



Coldwater Newell [3/13/1997 - 2/14/2010] - sadly Newell died back in February. I hadn't seen him in the longest time due to issues beyond my control [namely my ex husband refused to let me see him - and the only thing I can say to that is *selfish*]. Oddly too, just about 2 weeks before he died, I had talked to the ex and begged him to let me see Newell to no avail.

He was beyond the best dog ever. He was everything. He was the reason I have Evie and why we got all the other GH over the years; he and the other dogs allowed me to meet some great people all over the country [and world]; he is the reason I travelled to some pretty odd places that without him in my life - I never would have gone. He is why I will always be a GH person! While I love Evie, no GH will ever compare to Newell.

The only bit of comfort is knowing that so many other great GH like Oliver, Tara, Tigger, Crusader, Joser, and were there waiting to greet him at the bridge when he arrived

Evie's been on Twitter for awhile now [to my chagrin since I was complaining about it on this blog not too long ago]...and some of her Twitter friends were greyhounds that left their people too soon - prayers to the owners of Sheba greyhound and Tahoe greyhound who recently died.

Nothing Changes

well, I'm still here writing this and avoiding studying. So I guess nothing has changed...

Acutally, I spent a week in DC [Virginia to be exact] for work at the end of January for some training. Nice to be back. I used to live there so it all felt very familiar.


The Carlyle House in Alexandria - a short walk from my hotel.


A nice row of restored 18th century houses along N. Fairfax St in Alexandria.


A view from my hotel window across the Potomac River towards Washington DC - you can *barely* see the dome of the Capitol [to the very left]...if I had a 10000x zoom on my cell phone maybe!

It also gave me the chance to reconnect with a friend from law school. I'm decidedly bad about keeping in touch with friends over the years. I move around too much and it was always easy to lose touch. Shouldn't be an excuse in this day and age with all the technology out there. She believes I should join facebook. Uh, no.

I do admit though - Evie has had a Twitter account for several months now [some of you who read here have found her on Twitter]. Despite my rant months ago about why join Twitter, Evie broke down & convinced me to sign her up. So I did. She has lots of greyhound friends now all over the US, England and Australia. Plus a few cat friends too. Fun to have her chat with GH around the world though! It would be better if we could meet in person at some point!

Ok, back to studying [procrastination needs to stop...]

Ides of January

The new year has been uneventful so far. I've been holed up studying [hopefully for the last time] so BF has been out and about in the evenings. He's getting space to do his own thing while I'm "attempting" a valliant effort...



I will say it's quite the setup here - nice little mood candle for ambiance [really?], music, hot cup of tea...and it's nasty outside pouring cats & dogs!

Evie is doing much better than expected being a solo pup. She gets sad pretty easy though - at least I think it's sadness - when she's left alone too long though. Helping me upstairs while chewing on her xmas gift...



I also have a new - well new to me - recipe to post later...

It's Almost Christmas

Just got back from Las Vegas and had early holiday with the parents. SUNNY which was nice but not as warm as I would've like. An overabundance of food. My stomach still hurts!

We are volunteering to help greyhounds in the local adoption kennel!! Fun! Work gave me an extra day off [Christmas Eve] so Evie and I will help care for the dogs that just came from Phoenix - then Christmas day we're all going down to help! Very exciting. That should also convince the BF that Evie is in need of her new pal sooner rather than later!

Lazy as we haven't set up a tree yet [blame Vegas]. Here's a picture from last year's tree which was SO pretty...

Greyhound Charity for the Holidays

There are so many greyhound charities out there - if you can't think of what to get that greyhound person in your life, or if you'd like to make a donation in memory of a greyhound [or person] for the holidays, these are the charities Evie recommends:

Royal Hounds - in memory of Tara and her brother Tigger, who both came through this group. In the Seattle WA area...

Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust - fabulous if you're in England! They've adopted over 120 greyhounds this year!

Guam Greyhounds - helping greyhounds from a track that closed with no warning get back to the US and into homes!

McGregor Greyhound Welfare Center - homing dogs from the Birmingham AL track in the southern US.

Evie doesn't need another coat or collar for the holidays this year. Giving that same amount of money to a group that can help another greyhound find a family is a great gift! Even giving up your Starbucks money for a week could put a homeless greyhound in a new coat/collar, give him a vaccine, or buy him a bag of kibbles for a month until he finds a new family. Think about it...

Sandy Sales - aka Tara

July 3, 1999 - November 5, 2009

She was my friend and I will miss her terribly - love Evie





[this picture was right after Tara was diagnosed with chylothorax in early August 2009]

Spooky Halloween

Somewhat belated but here's Evie in her Halloween "costume." She was being somewhat coy about having her picture taken.



Last year, tons of candy = 1 kid. This year, one small bag of candy = 2 kids. Ok, getting the hint that there aren't any kids in my neighborhood. But the new walk-way at the house all lit up made it nice!

Busy September

I can't believe an entire month has passed by already! BF and I spent the first two weeks of the month in Italy. Yep.

We primarily went for the Formula 1 race in Monza [a fabulous sport that I'm totally getting hooked on]. It confirms that NASCAR is just a bunch of rednecks. Yep - I said that too. I have *never* experienced anything as LOUD as F1. And the mix of nationalities was great!

We met people from Finland, Sweden, England, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, a handful of Americans from Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco, and Italy of course. So fun! We're going again next year to Belgium and probably Canada too. Weather was great and we did a bit of sightseeing too around Milan and Lake Como.



[Picture is of Rubens Barichello in the white hat - BrawnGP - right before the driver parade. He won the race that day!]



[Picture of Kimmi Raikkonen in the red hat - Ferrari - on his way to get ready for the race.]

Tara is doing suprisingly well. Been tracking her coughing and she didn't cough a single time while we were gone. Since we've been home, she's done it 3 times. Just tracking and keeping an eye out to determine if/when we have to drain her chest again. Her weight seems to be fluxuating a bit though. Some days she eats and some she doesn't. Picky pup.

Tara update

Sorry I haven't updated about Tara in awhile.

Well, no heart disease. She was officially diagnosed with chylothorax. Underlying cause is likely cancer. We opted not to have the thoracotomy to open up her chest and see how much cancer there is. Aside from the cost, we mainly opted against it because we didn't want to have to come to the decision to not wake her up from the surgery if it was that bad. We also didn't necessarily want to know she only had "2 weeks" or "6 months" or whatever the case may be.

So, what are we doing? Just managing it. Talked with my bestest favorite vet [who helped deliver Cherry's puppies almost 2yrs ago now] and even he said that was a good option. Let her live her life and when the time comes, it comes. We just have to have the fluid drained from her chest every week or so. Ugh.

Tara's going to the vet tonight to have that done. It's been 10 days - and 20 days from the initial draining. We should have it done again right before our big trip so my dad doesn't have anything to worry about when he watches the girls. She's been eating sporadically [though the weather's been hot] and her energy level is fairly consistent. In the evenings, she loves laying the back of BF's car. Doesn't like going anywhere - just laying in his car. Silly.

And she has no problems eating cookies to her heart's desire! Picture is after she just gorged herself on 3 HUGE Trader Joe's organic peanut butter cookies [the ones with the greyhounds on the box].