Are greyhounds good with cats? Well they can be! Check out Lance who is watching over the new arrivals of his cat/girlfriend. Lance continues to amaze us with his antics. I wonder who is going to break the news to him that he isn't the daddy or even the uncle.

Ahhhh summer!!!! I feel like we have finally reached the warm weather. It feels so good!!! The dogs are able to go out to play more and they all seem to love napping in the sun and taking a turn in the wading pool. Anyone who is thinking of getting a wading pool better do it right away. If this warm weather lasts very long they will be hard to find. The greyhounds have had more visitors. Jennifer and her two girls came out and spent an afternoon between Tripps and my house. They have had a greyhound in the past and are anxious to have another one. Jennifer went home and immediately filled out an application. I love it when that happens. She got in touch with us when she went to visit the greyhounds at PetsMart.

A couple of items for your calendar. June 14th is the picnic. We need volunteers to help plan and to get donations. I am offering lawn camping to anyone who wants to come up early and stay late. Years ago we had a camping greyhound picnic....it was a hoot!!!

This week end is some AKC lure coursing in Missoula. Sunday is a lure course fun match. I will be there with some of my gang. For directions go to http://www.fivevalleykennelclub.org/
find the link for the match premium. They are planning to start running dogs just after 9 AM. So bring a lawn chair and some lunch and enjoy the day. Might want to leave your hounds at home...it is only for AKC registered dogs and it may be hot. Want to know about lure coursing? Check this out http://www.akc.org/events/lure_coursing/getting_started.cfm
The one thing I love about attending a lure course is the chance to see other breeds of sight hounds running. I am not sure who will be there but I know there will be ridgebacks, borzoi, whippets, greyhounds, wolfhounds...might also be an Ibizan hound or two.

What a busy week it has been. Finally Gold has all of his stitches out. Hurray!!! He has been cleared to go out to play with the other greyhounds. He has been loving being able to stretch out in the sun to nap and racing around being his goofy self. More notably in Gold's life is that he has caught the interest of a family. They have been out to see him a couple of times this week already. Even if ultimately the decide to wait to adopt, Gold is benefiting from some extra attention.

Also this week I found a nice big wire crate on Craigslist for a decent price. Those things are like gold to us!! I made arrangements to have it picked up. When the sellers found out where the crate was going they refused payment and donated it to rescue. Thanks to Steve and Lindi and their pups for the donation!! It will be put to good use and will house many greyhounds in transition.

Yesterday Tripps called and invited Judy and I over for a picnic. Judy and I were both on our own for the day as our husbands were otherwise occupied. Carol packed up a lunch and we hiked across the pasture into a pretty cottonwood grove where Dan built a fire and cooked hamburgers. Tava got to go with me. She had so much fun hanging out with us and Tripps little "farm dog" Italian Greyhound, Gloria. The area was fenced so Tava got to be off lead and explore the trees and the dry creek bottom. She showed up in time to get the tail end of hamburgers and some watermelon and of course gummy berries. Tava loved the little gummies but Gloria thought they were awful and she would spit them out projectile fashion.

When we were finished Some folks from Missoula came out to meet the greyhounds up close. Nicole and her man whose name I didn't catch. Came out to see the foster dogs. They aren't ready to adopt but are very interested in the dogs and willing to become involved until they can adopt. As we were getting ready to head for home we noticed that Tripps pups weren't quite done with the party. Top to bottom they are Robbie, Sparky and Holly.

This is Merlin trying to will the tennis ball to him!! What Merlin lacks in magical powers with a tennis ball he makes up for in his sweet temperament. Merlin would be easy to overlook, he is into relaxing and spending quiet time getting loves. He likes attention but is not needy and won't be a pest. Merlin would be a ready made therapy dog. Merlin hates having a camera pointed at him, making getting a good picture pretty tough. He is absolutely gorgeous, with his deep rich buckskin color and dark soulful eyes. Merlin's magic will be found once he is in a loving home and he blossoms. He is going to be some lucky person's best friend.

If your greyhound likes balls they will LOVE these crazy toys made by Cuz. Trish sent out a email saying how much her dogs like these toys and then several of us confessed our own greyhounds have already discovered these weird wonderful tough rubber toys. She must have washed her toys before the picture. Mine always are covered with dog slobber. PetsMart carries them or you can find them in most catalog stores. Speaking of catalog stores. Since Montana is so big I know many of you shop from catalogs. One of my favorites is Ryan's in Phoenix. I have family we occasionally visit in that area and no trip to Phoenix is complete without at least one trip to Ryan's http://www.ryanspet.com/ They do carry the Cuz toys but when I was down there last I found this funky long limbed monkey which has been a hit with my crew. My crew also play with the Hol-ee-rollers and the DNA thingy. Another fun pet catalog is http://www.petedge.com/

Here is Gold saying "hi" to his new friend, Lynn. He likes to look you right in the eye. That is so he can aim better to kiss you on the lips. I took Gold to another vet appointment. His foot is finally well on its way to healed....FINALLY this morning he is out alone one of the paddocks for the first time. Hopefully in another week or so he can start going out with other dogs. Gold is a big clown, he is friendly and so silly. Gold likes to steal things and bring them to his "nest". Here he is adding a kennel muzzle to his loot. This dog keeps you laughing!! He is a gem!!! BIG THANKS to everyone who keeps the Belle Toll Fund alive and well. Gold's emergency care is being paid from this important fund.

The weather has turn to crap. Mixed rain and snow with COLD! So far this day is proving to be the kind of day that is better spent in the safety of one's bed. Last night I went to bed with what felt like pre-flu symptoms. This morning I got up feeling about the same way. So I pulled a sweatshirt over my jammies and shuffled out to the kennel to do turn outs. With my eyes mostly still shut and my head pounding out a drum rhythm, I opened the kennel door. My eyes flew open as my nostrils screamed "What is that SMELL?". This should have been the warning I needed to slither back to bed. Poor Ducky had diarrhea. I don't know what she ate but it must have been A LOT!! My immediate reaction was to get her out of her mess as soon as possible. So I open her door and she came trotting out happy to be out of there. With every jaunty step she tracked poop onto the carpet and floor in clumpy brown paw prints. My stomach heaved...good thing I felt too crummy to eat breakfast. Then Ducky shook and more poop flew off of her. I just stood there in some awful state of shock, eyes glassy and swallowing hard for control. "Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up!" I did have the sense to at least keep my mouth shut which was the only reason I wasn't swearing or getting anything flung into my mouth....that would have been the end of me! Poor Ducky. She seemed to feel fine except the mess. An hour later the dogs were back in their crates after turn outs, Ducky was shivering from her bath but was clean, she had a clean bed and some meds in her tummy. I smell of wet dog and mess but the laundry is going and it is looking like I am going to make it through another fine mess. Just to be sure I am going to soak in a hot tub of scented water and then have ice cream with honey for breakfast. Then it will be back to do another turn out. ....please please let the crates be clean.