My mother in-law has a nasty Pomeranian. I only say she is nasty because she barks a lot and bites. In fact she bit my father in-law and the ensueing infection sent him to the hospital. Sassy has more notches in her collar than I can count. She is 10 pounds and 8 of that is teeth! I am one of the few she hasn't nipped. So I think she has earned her nasty title. About a month ago I was asked if I would take the little monster home to groom. Feeling like I needed to do something good for someone in the family I loaded up little Ms Sassy Snapping Turtle and headed home. She was pretty matted and unmentionables were clumped in her bloomers....yuck. I put her up on the grooming table and tried to get a handle on the mats. I have some wonderful spray that helps de-mat but for many of these mats the only answer was scissors. It was slow going since some of the mats were right to the skin. Once I had her mostly brushed out I bathed her. After her bath more hair had come loose and again I had matting. In the back of my mind I remember my mother in-law saying I could clean up this pup any way I pleased and what pleased me right now was to take that stinky coat off her. After a good 4 hours of grooming I stepped back and beamed at my little project. Not only had I gotten rid of the mats I had done it without getting bitten or nicking Sassy and she looked adorable. About then the door of the kennel swung open and Darrin spouted "HOLY COW!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? SHE LOOKS RIDICULOUS!!" In fact he almost refused to deliver the dog back to his mother. He tried to get me to call his mother and "warn her" but I would not "spoil the surprise"...besides if she never asked me to groom her little dog again I was OK with that. The next morning Darrin dropped off the dog and immediately called me to report that his mom love the little dog's new do. Best of all Sassy liked it and was prancing all around the house like she had just been crowned queen. Come on you think she is cute don't ya?

When you get behind on the blog it is hard to know where to start to catch up. The biggest event that has happened in the last month or so has been the loss of my dear friend my aussie, Izzy. I want to write a sort of obit for her but not today. It is enough to say that this adjustment has been one of my hardest. I have journaled a lot as a way of therapy, random thoughts that no one will ever read...or will ever want to read. But some day when I am cried out and feel brave I will tell you all about my girl.
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The picnic preparations got off to a start about a week before the actual picnic. My nephew and niece came over from Choteau to help me get things ready. There are always 101 things that need doing from weed whacking to dragging out tables and wiping them down. Wednesday night after my shower, my nephew was showering. I kept hearing him splashing, I figured he had dropped the wash cloth and it was over the drain. When I walked into my bathroom I heard running water. As the lights came on I saw the dreaded sight of a toilet over flowing, thankfully it was just water. It was almost midnight but I did the only thing I knew to do when faced with a over flowing toilet....I woke up Darrin. Not that he could do much more than I could, but it made me feel better. As I tried to go to sleep my mind was whirring. I hadn't ordered a port-a-potty because it was looking like the turn out for the picnic was going to be small and I thought I could cut that expense by opening up the house. Now with so little time I worried there wouldn't be one available. After evaluating the situation the next morning it was clear it was time to call the professionals. I called our trusty sewer people, Eickerts. When I told her of my distress she calmed my nerves by saying "You have just taken the express route to the top of the list with an over flowing toilet". She went on to tell me they would be out this afternoon. They did have a port-a-potty available for the week end and she could have it delivered by NOON. I am not a terribly demonstrative person (unless you happen to be a dog) but I could have kissed this woman. True to her word about a hour later a truck pulled up and dropped off a nice blue outhouse....which was a really good thing because the kids didn't seem to understand that I was serious when I said not to flush the toilets or run any water. A few hours later the big truck pulled up in my yard. All I had to do was write the check. These capable men knew exactly what to do and before long we were back in business. Again I had the urge to kiss a total stranger but after smelling these two it was easy to hold back.

Trish showed up Friday evening with a whole car load of treats and auction items. She does a excellent job of soliciting donations from Billings businesses and in making arrangements to transport auction items for anyone not attending. I like to think Trish stops by to see me but when she nearly pushed me to the side and ran for the greyhounds I knew the truth. She was out there cooing in their ears and making a fuss over them. Saturday morning we were ready. People started rolling in with arms full of auction items and food for the picnic. It was really fun to see old friends again and to meet new friends. Sadly Brent was feeling a bit under the weather so he declined when we begged him to be our auctioneer. Sherri G. stepped up to the plate and did an excellent job of milking the generous. Greyhound friend Terri and her cute red headed son came and did pictures of everyone this year. Even Darrin and I submitted for the first time and had pictures done with our four brindle girls. Irene came and set up a really nice display for Collar Crazy....BTW when you see our foster dogs wearing some great collar it was probably donated to us by Collar Crazy so our fosters can look their best. I got to meet Sharon whose name I learned only after calling her Jack (Redsmoke Jack) and Nikki's (Wild Nikki) mom. I had to learn her name when she kept out bidding me...dang her!! I am sure being the auctioneer was really exciting for Sherri but her real excitement happened when she confessed her adoration of foster greyhound Mel and ended up adopting him. Mel wasn't the only one heading home that day. Adriane decided little Nitro Kristen was a perfect addition to her pack and her duo of greyhound girls became a trio. Camaro headed north and although she ended up not being a match for her intended family Elaine G. is fostering her and reports that Cami is the perfect dog and claims that she doesn't care if Cami ever is placed. Bach went out to be fostered but came back because he just couldn't overcome his fear of the slick wood floors. He is back at Tripps. Bach has settled right back into the routine. There is a temporary hold on him. He has moved a lot in the last month and now needs to just relax. Bouncing around can really throw a dog for a loop. Foster dogs Corbin and my little Tosha were picked up early Sunday morning and headed to Billings where they would wait for their families to come for them. Both are home now and look like they are perfect matches. The food at the picnic was great. If you didn't come you missed out. Carol makes the best potato salad known to man and Sharon made the cutest sugar cookies. She even made some greyhound shaped and frosted them in brindle!! I loved it!! She also showed up with bags of homemade dog treats which I am regretting not stealing. Glen and Wendy came with some grilled mushrooms that I saw Brent trying to get thirds of...unfortunately for him the mushrooms had already been discovered and went pretty fast. Big thanks to all who donated items and who took the time to come and participate. After the picnic we counted up just under 30 people and as many greyhounds were loping in the paddocks. The picnic wasn't as well attended as it has been in past years but it was every bit as FUN!! I hope next year will be bigger and even better. We are always looking for people who want to help out. If you have ideas to make it better or want to help organize the picnic for next year speak up!!

NEED PICNIC INFO?
http://www.gparockymountain.org/Picnic%20announcement.html

NEED DIRECTIONS?
www.hotchakennels.com
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THE PICNIC IS THIS SATURDAY!!! We always have a great time and there is always something fun to buy from Collar Crazy and some kind of must have to bid on at the auction. There have been several people who emailed and said they are not going to make it this year so I hope there are a few people who ARE going to make it. Either way we will have fun and will enjoy spending the day together and talking about the hounds. A couple of hounds will be hitching a ride back to Billings on their way to new homes. Tosha will be heading to Lindy in eastern Montana and Corbin is heading out of state. Both dogs are joining greyhound savvy homes. One of the highlights is meeting the available dogs. Tripps are going to try to bring most if not all of their fosters and I of course will have my foster Mix, here to meet people. The auction always is full of fun and and little friendly competition for the good stuff. Some of my favorite greyhound things have come from this auction. Hope to see many of you Saturday. There is lots of free camping at my place....it isn't fancy but the price is right. Give me a yell if you need a place to stay and we will get you set up.

Judy and I took some new pictures of my foster dogs. I have Tosha and Mix. As often happens there was a beauty and a dork. Tosha struck a pose and everything she did was calendar worthy. She is really a cute girl. The best part of Tosh is her fun personality. Here is a picture of Judy doing what Tosha does best...be a hug-muffin. When I am walking in the kennel I will feel nibbles on my left hand....I turn to look only to get little nibbles on my right hand. When you get eye contact with her she just beams. She is going to be so great in a home!! Talk about a dog born to be some one's princess. She is easy to spoil and she loves it! Mix on the other hand is a bit of a dork...lovable but a dork. While taking pictures his ears were never pointing the same direction. Despite his long race career he doesn't have that look of eagles. His has more the look of....well....maybe Big Bird. He has never been special yet...I think once he is in a home he will really change. I see him changing already. The days have been long and hot, when I go out to bring him in from the paddocks he is leaping about in greeting and snapping his jaws with joy. Hard to pick a favorite between them. It is like choosing between pretty Sandra Bullock and adorable Gomer Pyle.