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.

Chipping greyhounds

Billings had a extra event at Greyhound Play today. A vet showed up with a bag full of micro-chips and for a discounted rate chipped any greyhound whose owner wanted the added security of a micro-chip. I typically don't worry about chipping greyhounds since they have ear tattoos but you know many shelters will check for a chip and won't even think to look in the ears. Even if they did know to look in the ears they may not know where to track down the info on the dog. Thanks Trish for putting this together.

Bozeman had a little greyhound excitement of their own. The local paper ran a ad for Heart of the Valley Humane Assn. and it featured a homeless GREYHOUND right here in our back yard. This makes two that showed up at shelters this year!! There was a flurry of emails and phone calls and Bozeman rep Barb hopped in her car and hustled to the shelter. There she met the greyhound AND the family who had come to take her home. A home who already has a retired racer. Of course now we are curious who this mystery family is and we are hoping maybe they want to come play with us.

GREYHOUND PICNIC IS SATURDAY JUNE 14 !!

Discovering Gold

On April 5, 2008 the greyhound hauler rolled into Missoula. Tripps, Vicki K. and I were waiting at the meeting spot eager to meet our new charges and hoping more people would show up to help us walk, load and bathe the 11 new Montana greyhounds. I was especially excited because Nitro Ducky was on the load and I could not wait to meet her. The truck rolled to a stop and soon we were unloading. Since there was only 4 of us to walk dogs we could only unload part of the dogs. Carol and I quickly stuck two girls in my van so we could go back and unload a couple more. People started to arrive to help walk dogs. As we were unloading dogs, I was blocking the door and putting on collars and Carol was busy checking her list to make sure we got the right dogs. John, the driver said he had people helping him load and the load had gotten a little mixed. This sight delay while we looked for our dogs may be the reason that one dog lived another day.

As John was looking in the crates with a flashlight I was standing by the back door and started to check the crates that I could see. The crate on the left had a big male dog who was stretched out in a classic cockroach position. Then my brain registered something was not right. His breathing seemed wrong...in fact I wasn't sure I saw any breathing. I asked, "Is this dog OK?" John started heading my way asking "What is it?". It was then that I noticed the dog's paw wedged in the top of the door to the box he was in. His leg was stretched to the limit, he was on his back and he was absolutely stuck. I pointed to the foot in horror. John raced to the door, pulled the trailer door shut to prevent any escapes and started to work on getting the dog free. I stood by the back door straining my ears when I heard a shriek. The backdoor opened and John handed me a dog, his broken kennel muzzle hanging around his neck. One look at the mangled foot and the blood. I said, "I am taking him to the vet right now! He is staying here!" John nodded in agreement and relief. Tripp's friend Teri quickly handed off the dog she was walking and helped me unload the dogs from my van. I loaded up the hurt dog and the long awaited Ducky and tore out of the parking lot on two wheels while dialing the vet on my cell phone. Leaving behind a trail of blood in the parking lot. Traffic was horrible but it gave me time to talk to the vet and tell him I was on my way with a emergency. Someone from the Idaho group called to see if the truck had left and I was able to tell her what happened and which dog I had. She looked up who he was and where he was going. His name is MNs Gold and he was going to be unloaded in Idaho with the GPA Greater Northwest and then transferring to Chinook Winds in Canada. We agreed we would work out the details later and I would keep them posted. The drive to the vet seemed to take forever!! I could hear Gold moving and then for a bit he was awfully quiet. Of course I starting wondering if he was bleeding out....about the time I was going to pullover to check him I could hear him moving again.

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Dr. Joe was in the parking lot when I pulled in. We opened the back of the van and I was relieved to see a living dog in that crate. There was blood everywhere. The beds were soaked through and Gold was covered. Gold was shocky but bright eyed. We started to wash off the blood, finding amazingly few wounds for the amount of blood. The blood was coming from a vein in the bottom of his foot which was exposed and torn. Other injuries included a side tooth which was hanging from a thin thread of flesh, pressure sore on his rump no doubt from the miles he traveled hung up, He has a rather large wound on his stifle which we cut the flap off of so it could heal. The foot actually wasn't as bad as we feared. He did chip the corner of his knuckle. The bone chip was visible in the wound so Dr. Joe plucked it out. X-rays showed no other broken bones. We gave him fluids to stabilize him and got some pain meds on board. We wrapped his foot and stifle and Joe told me to change bandages in a couple of days. Gold was exhausted and physically drained. After a nice potty break and some water he settled into my largest crate to rest.

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When I unwrapped that foot it was clear the toe was dying. Gold went back at the vet to have the outside toe removed. It was the toe that suffered the brunt of the pinch in the door. While he was out he was neutered and completely checked out. I kept in contact with Cindy of Chinook Winds via email. We decided since Gold was going to her group to be fostered that he would stay here for fostering and placement. He is now well into recovery with just a few more days to go before his stitches can be removed. I am busy today trying to design some sort of boot to allow me to boot him up and protect the foot when he goes out for potty breaks and then remove it for crate rest. Greyhound feet are really hard to keep healthy under wraps. They are thin skinned and the feet are bony. Even with cotton between the toes they are very susceptible to pressure sores when wrapped. So the sooner I can leave him unwrapped the better.

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That is the whole story about how on April 5th we discovered Gold and were able to claim him as one of our own. It was a freak accident. Somewhere along the road he jumped against that door and pushed the top of it out far enough to get his toes in there. I am sure when it happened he struggled and made a fuss but by the time I saw him he was so still I thought he was dead. He was obviously in shock when he was caught because we walked by him a number of times getting dogs in and out and he never made a peep or moved. The next stop for the hauler was Coeur d'Alene....I don't know if he would have made the trip. Through all we did to him I have been so impressed with his temperament. I hope all our rescues are as good as GOLD!!

As good as GOLD

Mother Ducky

Mother Ducky with Daughter Tava

Usually when dog relations reunite it is anti-climactic. There is usually 3 seconds or less of excitement followed by several minutes of boredom and yawning as the dogs almost immediately lose interest in each other. This was not the case when Tava saw her mom again. She greeted her with bright eyes and tail going 100 miles a minute. Tava was thrilled to see her mom again. In the paddock Tava tends to hang out with her mom as much as possible. It is very sweet to see them together. Ducky isn't nearly as excited but doesn't seem to mind Tava's adoration. Ducky is a fun old girl!! Likes to get out and move and can usually be found leading the pack in some merry game of chase. Ducky is the kind of old brood I absolutely love. She is sweet without being needy, she is silly without being stupid and busy without being wild. I hope Tava grows up to be just like her mom!! Honestly I would love to keep Ducky here but with so many dogs already in the family I really want Ducky to have a couch and people of her very own. I do hope she stays close by and of course who ever adopts her will be REQUIRED to stay in touch!! Thanks to Tammy and Alan Piper the breeders of these two girls (and of all the Nitro dogs) for trusting me with your friend Ducky!! We will see to her happiness!!

Sis Finds Love

Solo headed home with his family on Sunday. Tender May tagged along as a foster dog :>)

I thought Sis was going to go into the Hardy home to be fostered. But she was adopted!!! Today Isis/Sis became Sissy who will join Kissy and Nuzzle in the Hardy home. Sis was having a hard time in the kennel and really needed a REAL home. Here is the happy duo as they headed for home. In this case a picture is worth more than a thousand words....two hearts finding each other...beating as one.

UPDATE - Tee hee hee hee sounds like BOTH Breezin' Easy AND RPM Lucky we selected by Joe and Linda to foster. They are as soft in the melon as the rest of us!!

This week has been busy getting dogs vetted and current on all shots and worming. Friday Dan and Carol Tripp and Judy took pups to a retirement home where they were a BIG hit. Today of course was the PetsMart meet and greet in Missoula. Chopin and Bella from Wyoming made a surprise stop to check it out. They said Irene, Amber, Kathy and Vicki were busy answering questions. We have really relied on that core group of 4-5 people to do the Petsmart Meet and Greets. We sure could use some more folks to come show off their hounds!! I was busy with the 4-H kids in Ravalli County. I twisted Tripps and Judy arms and asked them to come give a little talk to the kids about the race dogs. There were 20 or so 4-H kids. Some of the adults held the kid's dogs so the kids could come actually meet the greyhounds. They loved petting them and checking out their tattoos!! We even had a couple kids "try" to outrun the greyhound. Most of the kids couldn't even get the dogs past a trot. the adults were eager to turn the kids dogs back to them so they could get to touch the greyhounds too. Seems no matter where they go Greyhounds get a warm reception!!
BIG THANKS to EVERYONE who helps spread the word about these wonderful dogs!! If you take your greyhound into Lowes, Home Depot or Quality Supply be sure to take some fliers to hand out. If you need some fliers call and we will see that you get some!!! After the 4-H thing was over Joe and Linda from Wyoming arrived to meet the new kids and to pick up Uma to be transported back to Billings. It is always a treat to see them and of course to love on Bella and Chopin. They are thinking of fostering....we will see if they get out of here without a extra dog. Christine Hardy has also been out to "meet" foster dogs....we love shoppers...they turn into adopters!! I also have promised to write up the story about Gold the boy who was hurt in transit and stayed here. I went out to get pictures today but my camera needs to be charged...so soon.

We got in new dogs yesterday!!! Wonderful dogs!!!! If you are thinking of adopting I suggest you get your application in pronto or make the call. Foster homes welcome. We love the foster to keep program!! Here is the report from Carol

We were in the process of unloading the dogs out of the hauler when Joni notice that one of the crated dogs had a problem. His foot had somehow gotten caught in the crate door. When we got him out his foot looked mangled and he sure ws bleeding. Joni immediately put him in her van along with Nitro Ducky and flew with him to the vet. He is doing fine now...just needs some time to recover.

The rest of us took all the dogs to Rods and Dogs for their baths, and front line. A few we had to chased the flees and ticks to get them off the dogs. Then they came to our house where they were let out run then put up for there dinner and rest.

Oneco Bumpers had an injury to the end of his tail and cut front paw. We’ve got some vet wrap to stay on it until Mon when he goes into the vet and antibiotics. He’s a very happy go lucky boy and has a possible home.
Super Venture is a very nice boy beautiful dark brindle.
Lucky wants out of this kennel and to be with you. He has white legs
Terrible Trent (Chili) is a very energetic big boy with spots of hair missing, we’ll grow that back since we have no fleas in Montana. He is not Terrible at all.
Sugar free Merlin is a just all around nice boy
Hairspray thought her legs were broke because she did not want to use them. She crouched on the ground and lacked the confidence to move...she is getting over that. She had diarrhea last night the haul was a little hard on her but she is way better today no problem so far today.
Iruska Uma is a absolute doll wants to play with you and she play bows. (She’s my favorite) Solo Flight is a big brindle boy that is now in my house until his mom and dad come to pick him up. He’s a dream boy. Of course I got to meet him months ago and I liked him then.
Breezin Easy is easy. She is so sweet just wants to be loved or anything you want to do to her is ok....just touch her!!
Jr Tender May is a easy girl too...very pretty face.
Both of these girls are already fixed and ready to go to there forever home.

Their personalities will come out the more we are with them and they settle in.

If you want more details on one of the dogs call your nearest rep...or call Carol. Ducky is here and is a DOLL!!! We also have the injured dog who we pulled from the truck. I will do a update on him soon. He is supposed to head north to a group in Canada....for now he is resting and we will fugure that out later.

Dusk's Find

Last night I came in from teaching an obedience class and was ready to put my feet up. Darrin said, "Hey you had some phone calls and one of them sounded kind of important." So I drug myself off the couch and over to check messages. There were two frantic calls.

The first was from a friend who lives way up north by the Canadian border. She said, "Oh Joni, I am sick! I sent my cocker spaniel boy down to your area with a gal to breed her female. This afternoon he escaped and is on the run. I don't know if you can help or not but I was hoping you could maybe take one of your tracking dogs over and see." The next call was from Darlene, the gal who had lost the dog. I called her back but since it was already dark and nearly 10 PM we decided to get together to search in the morning. I had some reservations about trying to use my tracking dog. First he is not trained to track other dogs...in fact he is trained to ignore animal trails. Next problem is not having a definite start point for him to work from. My dogs are trained to ground track unlike a search and rescue dog who is trained to air scent and then ground track. What this means is my dogs aren't trained to search an area until they find the scent they need a starting point. Lastly I am hoping to enter him in a tracking test in June and don't want to totally confuse him by throwing a bunch of weird circumstances at him. But on the other hand if my dog was lost I would be so grateful if someone would at least try.

This morning after multiple delays I loaded up my trackers and headed down. I thought I would give it a whirl but I would not push them to track. If they could do it fine but I did not want to confuse or frustrate them. I picked up a very worried Darlene and we drove to the areas where the dog was last seen the night before. The first stop I got out Ivy who is not an experienced tracker but I can tell if she hits on a trail. We walked around for several minutes, she seemed to pick up a scent which she happily followed for a while but lost interest. In any case the dog didn't seem to be there. The next stop was a shack which the dog had been spotted at. I got out Dusk who is a great tracker. I scented him on the bed the lost dog had used. He seemed to track a bit but it was without commitment. The next stop was only a few feet off a busy road. I did see some dog tracks and Darlene felt those tracks could be the tracks of the lost dog. I set the stage by placing the dog bed on the paw prints. I brought Dusk to the spot in his tracking harness and asked him to down. I said "Find the puppy" Dusk looked up at me like I was nuts...this is not the routine. I again said "Dusk, find the puppy." Dusk smelled the bed them started to roll on it. I thought he was just messing around but then he got up and put his nose to the ground and started to track. He wasn't heavy on the line like he gets when we are tracking a person but he was committed and I followed his lead. We tracked down into the river bottom. There was some downed limbs and lots of long dead grass. We headed into a marsh area. Dusk was still tracking. I saw him track into a dead end and then follow the trail right past me again and he started picking his way through the mostly dried marsh. I fed out the tracking line to him. The marsh wasn't very wide....only about 50 feet or so, on the other side was a yard and then up the bank, a home and out buildings. With my gimp leg I didn't feel it would be wise to follow him into the marsh. I mentally marked the spot he was tracking then called Dusk back to me. We headed back to the van and without taking off his harness I loaded him up and we drove around the marsh and into the driveway. We got out and I put Dusk by the marsh in the area I expected the track would come out. I again asked him to "Find the puppy", with out missing a beat Dusk put his head down and we were tracking again. We crossed the lawn and went between the outbuildings. We headed into some long grass again. Dusk tracking and me studying him while I obediently followed. About 50 yards into the grass I heard a noise that sounded like birds being flushed up, when I looked up I saw a flash of buff color. Dusk had not seen the movement and kept tracking. Then I could actually see the dog. Much to my amazement there he was, standing, watching us and trying to decide if he should run. I spoke to him and he started to head my way. I called to Darlene that I could see him. She started moving forward and was squeaking a toy. The lost cocker started to circle and then fell back into the flight mode and took off. I hollered at her to stand still. Last time he had seen her she had made a desperate grab for him and I think he was suspicious of her. I pulled Dusk from the track and again was able to get eye contact with the cocker. I called him by name and he started to head my way. As he approached Dusk kind of ran at him then realized that this was the "PUPPY" he had FOUND HIM!!! When Dusk has his "find" he likes to roll around the ground kicking his legs in the air in glee. Dusk started goofing off and rolling. The cocker knew then that there was nothing to fear and although he was still trembling he came to me and I slip a lead on to him. There were a few minutes of rejoicing and tears while Dusk got praised, rolled around like a fool and ate all the treats we had. Tonight there is a little buff cocker safe and sound resting in his crate. There is an amazing blue merle aussie tracking dog laying on the floor behind my chair and all is right with the world.