It has been a busy week of getting dogs vetted and ready for homes. Tomorrow I take the last dogs to be vetted...then Judy and I will transport the first group of 5 half way to Billings. Big thanks to Zipper's owner Brian for meeting us.

It is hard to pick a favorite in this group. Of my girls here Elsie is darling with her sweet want to be loved ways. Jewel is a jewel....she loves to play with stuffies. Run is smart as a whip and a bit intense and Hannah is a real beauty and so sweet. Today Hannah had her spay and we decided to have her old injury x-rayed. We were hoping to send the x-ray with her into her new home. But the vets are funny about letting go of them. So I took out my camera phone and took a picture of the x-ray. Everything looks fine and she should enjoy many pain free years. Shultz (Gable Schist) is here. He was banging his tail and injuring it at the kennel so now he is in a plastic crate which we hope will prevent big tail wags which cause bandages to go flying. So far the bandage has stayed on for about 10 hours...that is pretty good for a greyhound tail wrap!! Due to his injury he got bumped from the transport tomorrow. But hopefully he can go soon!! Thursday Elsie, Hannah, Ami, Spark and Herc will head out. Friday there is a ride lined up for Hot Shot and maybe Schultz.

Here are the Italian Greyhound kids. They are probably around 12 pounds. Both will be looking for homes soon. Nice dogs although a bit nervous at the moment. The female in the foreground is at Tripps and she is yet un-named. Racer the male in the background is here with me. Good little pups who will get their second chance at a forever home here in our greyhound community. IGs are interesting because they are actually true Greyhounds which were bred down in size to be lap dogs...where the whippet was sprouted from many breeds. IGs are a very old breed, some say over 2,000 years old!!

Today the new pups all got to enjoy a romp and lots of sun. We got new pictures of everyone which will soon be on the web page. They arrived a little early which was really NICE!!! We loaded them up and headed to Rods and Dogs which is a do it yourself car and dog wash. I couldn't envision how it would work but it actually works much like car wash where you pay for the water and can select what kind of shampoo, conditioner, de-skunker or even blower you want to use. Great idea really. Then home for a light dinner and lights out. Today we combed through their vet records and figured out which dogs needed shots, wormed everyone and gave everyone the once over. We checked teeth, did cat testing and got a general feel for them. There will be lots to do to get them ready for homes. It will be a busy week!!

Turbo is now home in Glendive. He is settling in and learning about home life. Audrey is in Billings and should be settling in soon. The new greyhounds should be here TONIGHT around 10 PM. If you can help bathe and greet dogs please contact Judy to get on the "call" list. Already at least one of the extra girls may be spoken for. Hurray!! We will be getting pictures tomorrow so stay tuned to both the web site and here for news.

Tomorrow we will also be getting a different kind of delivery. Two Italian Greyhounds who will be looking for homes. They will not technically be part of our group but since they are cousins some of our greyhound family have offered to help them. Tripps will foster one and I will foster the other. They were found running the streets of Great Falls. They have been described as fearful so may be special needs. We will get them here and evaluate them and hopefully find them nice warm laps.

Ever get up feeling like this will be a great day? Today is that day. Not only is Turbo (Brurree) meeting his family but Audrey is tagging along and catching a ride to Billings. I will really miss the little black cutie pies!! The other things that makes today special is that it is

JUDY PFAFF SCHLAPPY's

BIRTHDAY!!!!

It is interesting when family members of the greyhound community reunite. Often they seem excited but only for a few seconds. With Turbo and Arlo there was some tail wagging and sniffing and then it was if they said "Oh it is my brother no big deal" There was no leaping in the air or whining just a subtle greeting. However we did notice through the evening they stood by each other most of the time. It was clear there was a connection even if it wasn't the crazy reunion we envisioned. Sad to say it seems taking your family members for granted is not exclusive to the human race.

Brace yourselves greyhound friends we have incoming this weekend!!! Are you prepared to foster, bathe or even adopt? We have some super nice dogs coming in and this is the last big load coming this year. As most of you have heard the Wichita track closed and in doing so many dogs who were on the verge of retiring or whose owners decided not to move them to other tracks were left homeless. We have been able to find spots for several but there are still more waiting and our foster homes are over extended so if you are thinking of fostering and helping some nice greyhound get a jump start into pet life please call PDQ....if we can find foster space we can get more dogs safe. I do a lot of fostering and for the most part it is really fun. It can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to months but our favorite people flunk fostering. Some foster dogs are EASY and others are a little more work. But all are worth it!! Check out the web page "available hounds" to see who is coming. We have not yet received an estimate for arrival in Missoula. But I will post it here. We will be doing a bathing party so stay tuned.

Judy brought Arlo over to see his brother, Turbo, last night we took some photos. I will post later this eve.

Tonight feels like winter....it is wet and cold. I am not looking forward to the upcoming months of cold. Today Bruree arrived in town!!!! He was transported by a woman who has greyhounds. She had attended the recent Dewey Beach reunion and happened to offer transport for one dog west. We were the lucky ones chosen. Big thanks to Linda who brought him to Missoula. Bruree is the son of Glengar Eileen (now Allie of Great Falls) and the Brother to Crystal Arklow (now Judy and Brent's Arlo). He certainly seems to live up to his heritage. He is happy and friendly as they come. I will try to get some pictures of him tomorrow.

My greyhound girl, Tigger, will turn 15 next spring. She has developed a new trick that is making us all nuts. When ever she needs something she simply stands up and barks until her little minions come running to wait on her. The scene goes something like this....
Tigger barks a couple of times....I go make sure she is OK then go back to whatever I am doing.
Tigger barks more....I ignore her but Darrin goes to check on her.
Tigger barks more Darrin tells her to be quiet.
Tigger barks more...I go see if another dog has her bed and tell her to go lay down.
Tigger barks more I make sure she isn't too hot or cold.
Tigger barks more...Darrin starts barking (yelling) at me to make her stop.
Tigger barks more....I check her bed again is it fluffy enough and empty.
Tigger barks more I check her water.
Tigger barks more and Darrin barks more.
Tigger barks more...is she hungry or just messing with us?
It has taken us a couple of weeks to catch on to her game. I feel like a bully when I tell her to "PLEASE SHUT UP!!" She has a sweet expectant face.
Tigger just blinks her big eyes at me and barks more.
Tonight I was complaining to Judy about the barking in jest I said "Well she is just too bony to spank". Judy's answer wasn't an answer at all....she said "Isn't it nice that she feels so loved and comfortable to bark after all these years?" SIGH....I better go the princess is barking at me...and I thought I was in charge.

Falcon

Amongst the joy and buzz of the arrival and homing of the new greyhounds there has been some heartbreaking farewells. This week Falcon who was placed earlier this year lost his battle with bone cancer. Interestingly he passes his riches to his litter sister. In the last load of dogs that came up from OK was his full sister, Sexy Individual. Renamed Tessa she joined Falcon in his home during his last few weeks. She will remain to ease the sorrow of the loss and to bask in the love of his home. Falcon started a small legacy. Because of his wonderful spirit his family have opened their home and hearts to other homeless greyhounds. First there was Falcon...then Lilly ( was Ivy), then Betty (was MTV) and now Tessa....and it all started with one beautiful and sweet greyhound boy. Although it would be easy to lament the fact he only got to be in a home a short while, we must focus on that he got to enjoy a real home and in fact opened the door to others. That will make him live on in memory. How many of us will offer our home and hearts to other greyhounds because of the love of one great greyhound?

We also had to bid farewell to Neal who just arrived in the last load. His story was brief but he will be missed and never forgotten. Run free and without pain our grey-boys.

Neal

The whole world seems to be letting out a content sigh today. The Billings transport and the crazy week of fostering and vet appointments is done. The dogs all trickling into their new homes. We only have two little foster girls left in this area. Barcardi and Audrey....both are super sweet girls with no baggage. I am sure they will find homes soon. Even Roman my god-dog Afghan Hound boy is back here with me after several weeks away.

Chester the birthday boy!!

The icing on the cake is today we celebrate 13 years of life with Chester. He is the cherished companion of Trish in Billings. Remember when we were little we counted every day of our life. We were not just 5 years old we were 5 and a HALF years....because that 6 months made us so much more mature. As dogs age something similar happens. After a dog hits about 12 years we stop counting in whole years. Those 6 month markers some how become as important as back when we were 5. We begin to feel the importance of those cherished months. So today while Chester celebrates 13 years with ice cream....I will celebrate with him and my whole pack will get a dollop of rich creamy yogurt....after all it is Tigger's 14 year and 7 month birthday too.