It is nice to settle in dogs who are loved and who have been here before and know the routine. Already Ivy is making herself right at home. Ivy played well with Eileen and Roman (Afghan boy) We are having wonderful weather and the crew got to stay out in the paddocks until 10:30 PM. I was late getting them out due to needing to be in Missoula most of the day. My Aussie boy, Dusk has been limping the last week. With all the bad news with dog's bones lately I was feeling pretty scared and took him to be checked and x-rayed. The GOOD news is his bones and joints look fine. WHEW!!! Looks like he has a sprain in his hock...which under the circumstances is a relief. The berner girl who I am working with had a field trip to the vet. Last time she went there she was a bad girl and would not let them handle her. It took 3 of them to pin her so the vet could draw blood and she was snapping at them. I am glad to say everyone was impressed with how well she is doing. She was a happy girl accepting pets and treats from everyone. It was fun to be with her today and see her work it out. Dogs are so wonderful!!

It has been a week of playing catch up. Lots of dogs in the boarding kennel...filled to the max. I am glad not to have many foster dogs the last week or so. Today we did have a return. DB Ivy League who just turned 3 years is back with us due to family changes and no fault of her own. She has had great care and looks wonderful. Sleek and shiny! Ivy is sweet as pie!! Great with kids and likes everyone. We will cat test her this week. It is sad when things don't work out as planned but we are grateful when people call and ask for help before things go bad.



On a sad note. Last week brought some tears. We had to say good bye to my friend's sweet Afghan boy, Casey. He was just a little over a year but succumbed to an aggressive bone tumor. Casey was a gorgeous dark brindle boy with a wise old soul despite his young years. He will be missed. Cinco my little goose friend also trekked over the rainbow bridge. Cinco has left a goose sized hole here at Hot Cha. Dumb animals you would think we would learn not to love them so deeply.

The last few days have been a blur of dogs coming and going...but mostly coming as the kennel is filling up for the holiday. I did get in a couple of really interesting dogs for training and I am having a lot of fun with them. The weather has been moody. Yesterday it looked like rain so I hurried out to start getting dogs in. Just as the last dog was crated and the goose was caught and locked up the gumball hail started. Today the dogs were in most of the day as it was threatening to rain. It will be a high priority to get them out tomorrow even if it is wet.

We are starting to gear up and plan for the haul in the end of June. Anyone thinking of fostering or adopting speak up!!

Hurray the trail is over and this juror is D-O-N-E!!! This morning the dogs are enjoying a long romp in the paddocks. Eileen and Afghan Hound Roman ran loops for 15 minutes. Eileen has such a fun sense of play. Sometimes we get older dogs who just want to hang out. Eileen is very young at heart. She likes to be in the middle of things and is very people oriented. She would be t he kind of dog that would do very well as a therapy dog. She loves to meet people.

Dusk is now named Dougal...here is a update on him
DOUGAL HAS MASTERED THE STAIRS TO THE BASEMENT. .....WHAT A GUY............ HE CAN NOW GO TO SLEEP IN CODY AND KATH'S BEDROOM AT NIGHT, WHICH MAKES DOUGAL VERY HAPPY.

BTW...I keep forgetting to brag. My greyhound girl Tava passed her Canine Good Citizenship test last week end!! What a girl!!!

If you hear a dull buzz polluting the air....it may be my brain suffering from being cooped up the last couple weeks doing jury duty. Hopefully it will be wrapping up today (Friday). I am looking forward to getting my regular life back. I have learned a few life lessons this week. For example....If you use lotion in a pump bottle is it a good idea not to leave it by your alarm clock if you are prone, as I am, to use the snooze button. My bed side table will never have the worry of dry chapped skin. Our doves hatched a pair of babies. This happened because when I was going to pull the eggs I made the mistake of handing the warm eggs to my friend. She swore she felt a flicker of life and looked like she was going to cry....so the eggs went back under the mama dove. They look like wierd bugs. How can one baby bird (Cinco, the goose) be so cute and other baby birds be so UGLY? I wonder if that question ever is asked at a hospital....

Waldo...IS ADOPTED!!!! YEE HAW!!!! Eileen is officially our lone available dog and she is a DOLL. I can't imagine she won't be snapped up soon. She has a way of looking right into your eyes and sending the message, 'Life is grand!!" I promise a detailed update on her soon.

My long lost cousin whom I have not seen for 20+ years stopped by as she was traveling through the area this evening. We are getting back in touch because of her interest in adopting a greyhound. As she was leaving she said before her visit she was pretty sure she wanted to adopt but after spending a couple hours with my girls and talking about greyhounds she is sure she will soon have a pair soon. I can't wait!

Whew what a long week end!! Between dogs coming and going at the kennel, a 3-day weight pull competition here at my place, house painting, house guests and yard work it is ALMOST a relief to go back to jury duty this morning.

Dusk went home and is settling in His new mom reports....
Things are going good here. Duky Doo has evolved to Dusky Doogle and he is doing really well. He has a few issues with one of the cats but minor so far. We went for our first walk today and a little white dog ran out and scared our boy so I scolded the white dog-This big guy is settling in like he has always been here.

Waldo is out of the Prison Paws program which he passed with flying colors. He is now in his foster home which is looking like it may be the part of the "Foster to Keep" program. His new "foster" mom reports...
Everything is going better than I could have expected. Waldo is very house trained and besides a little curiosity, I haven't seen him put his nose on the counter or on my coffee tables or anything like that. He and Mocha (dog) are getting along great--they are even lying on the floor next to each other!! It's so cute! I'll get some pictures.
Mocha and Waldo are playing together in a much less rough-house way now. He went up to the bedroom to lie in his crate and both cats were under the bed but he didn't even see them or try to get under the bed. We'll see what happens in the morning when the cats go out for breakfast!
Please let everyone know what a wonderful dog Waldo is; he is following me around everywhere I go!

This has been a week of tight routine. My life has been swept away by the legal system while I serve jury duty. It is my first time serving. I have always been curious about the inner workings of the court. I now have new appreciation for the phrase "curiosity killed the cat". It can be pretty tedious. At the end of the day I feel like I have fuzz on my brain. I have to getting up extra early to put dogs out for a run in the morning. and then get them back out as soon as someone is home. I look forward to being able to get them out longer and spend more time with them. The first dogs to really hate my absence is my Aussies. They start barking and pacing more and generally tell me they are bored and anxious...and I am in a position to totally understand. I feel like I have been locked up all week too.

Talked to the gal from FL last night. She has a 8 year old black boy and a 4 year old black and white female picked out for us. They should arrive the first week of June. Dusk is ready to pack his little bags and head for home tomorrow. Eileen is darling as ever!! I'll miss her smiling face. Cinco the goose is getting big. Still yellow fuzz but lots of bumps where the feathers are coming.

Navy Blue Angel - Kay with her new family.

We got a call today from a man traveling to Montana from FL in a few weeks and he offered to bring us a couple of dogs. With our recent rash of placements we are going to take him up on it. I can't wait to hear what he finds for us.

My cousin called today. I haven't talked to her in years....she wanted to know about greyhounds. She will be traveling this way soon and I am anxious to have her meet my crew. I am sending her a care box of all the info I can find. Maybe after all these years it will be greyhounds that put Paula and I back in touch with each other. I think she will be a great home....maybe I can even help her pick out a pup.

One quick reminder....the e-bay fund raising quilt auction is coming to a close....don't wait or you will lose out!!! This quilt is really FUN...the picture does not do it justice!!
Search for Item # 330114438392

It rained and rained and rained....the grass really needs it though so no complaints here. Today I bathed all the foster greyhounds and a couple of extras. Later in the day I took both Eileen and Dusk to be cat tested. Dusk passed and Eileen is borderline. I don't think Dusk has ever really seen a cat he was curious but didn't try to chase. Eileen was more interested...not completely obsessed but very interested. Then they came back here and had a couple of hours out in the paddocks playing. Tonight's game was clearly the old playground favorite of girls gang up and chase the boy until he cries. All are resting well tonight. With the passing of the cat test Dusk has been officially spoken for. He will soon head to Great Falls. In the morning Kay will be leaving for her placement in the Three Forks area. When we ordered dogs we really thought we ordered a lot. We were only going to order 3 and ended up ordering 6....the way things are going we should have ordered 10! We got a really nice note from the race owner of Peachy/Kiki detailing her history. It is clear her owner cares a great deal for her...LUCKY GIRL!! Kiki has some litter mates that will be racing and trying to qualify for some big races...namely The Great American Greyhound Futurity. They start the qualifying races this week end....we wish them safe and successful races.

This is Cinco....my little goose who is treated like a dog...which is pretty good around here.

Today was a beautiful spring day. The dogs all got outside for hours. It stayed so warm this eve that I let them stay out until almost 10 PM. Arrangements for Kay to leave on Friday morning are set. Dusk has a serious nibble and is pending home visit and cat test. Eileen may continue to be fostered on this side of the state due to the recent flurry of adoptions. Moving her would completely deplete the foster dogs here at Hot Cha. A month ago we felt like we were ordering LOTS of dogs...and now a month later we wished we had ordered a couple more. Maybe we can get a waiting list going for the next load....that would be heaven!