Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The greyhound foster scene has been pretty slow. Tildy is still in the kennel at Tripps and Jack is still being fostered by Bek...but there is a home that is firming up for him. There is a possibility of a greyhound being given up by someone who recently moved to our state. First order of business is to make sure it really is a greyhound.
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Over the years I have learned never to commit to a dog sight unseen. There was the time I was transporting a dog for another rescue. It was supposed to be an Aussie. I was picking it up in Missoula and taking it to Portland where it would meet up with someone who had agreed to foster him and find him a new home. When I first laid eyes on the dog I thought "No way!!" This dog was huge! Average Aussie boys weighs 50-60 pounds and this boy was easily 90+. In a time before cell phones I really didn't have a way to call the person in Portland and my husband was chomping at the bit to begin our 15 hour drive to the southern Oregon coast where we lived at the time. So we crammed BIG DOG Baxter in the back seat and took off. He was a really good boy. Traveled well, walked perfectly, sweet and really no problem other than he was obviously NOT a purebred Aussie...likely not an Aussie at all. In ten or so hours we pulled up to the home of the Aussie foster mom. One look at this BIG DOG and she pretty much refused to take him. She was furious at the sender for sending a dog so clearly not an Aussie...I felt awful for the dog. You could see the confusion on this big lunk of a dog's face. It never occurred to any of us he would be met with anger and rejection. Predictably, I loaded him up and he came home with us. In time I found a fantastic home for him. He spent time training as a Search And Rescue dog. They proved to be a gifted team. He sailed through his basic training and was on to very advanced skills within the year. In fact one of the last times I heard from his owner they were getting ready for a big test and would be required to jump out of a plane and repel from a helicopter. My immediate thought was they would probably both be killed trying this. My memory was of this BIG BIG DOG in our tiny back seat. Once in shape he tipped the scales at only 70+ pounds. Seventy pounds still seems huge to strap to you and jump out of a plane. You know I don't remember hearing from them after that....you don't suppose?....NAH I would have heard if a dog had died sky diving.

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