Computers make me CRAZY!!! I have spent the last hour and a half trying to pay my stupid credit card bill on line. It has always been an easy thing but today my card company decided to spice it up a little and make it nearly impossible. UGH!!! On the other hand computers off set the pure frustration with the joy of being in touch with far away friends and family. I joined Face book finally and in the past month I have found several people I longed to find. It was such a thrill to find my collage pal whom I have looked for many times over the past years. So I guess I deep down love my computer despite the moments of wanting to kick it to the curb.

Most of you have probably heard that the dogs that were going to come in this week end had to wait an extra week while the hauler was repaired. Unfortunately for me the delay means I can't be there to greet them. I have a dog show that weekend which I have committed to go to. Hmmm maybe I only need to go to one day of the dog show. I hate to miss the greyhound fun.

Tilly the pup is growing and really leggy right now. She is a smarty pants and I love it. I honestly can not believe what Darrin and I let her get away with. Who knew a old hardened dog person like me could let all the rules slide. When she comes tearing back into the bedroom after her morning potty break and leaps on me....do I bounce her fuzzy little butt off the bed? No I grab her and snuggle in with her in my arms. When she sits between Darrin and I on the couch it is like neither of us even remember that dogs are not allowed on the furniture. In some weird way it pleases me when Darrin greets me with a "hi" and looks at the little princess and thrills "TILLY!!!" Yep we have gone soft.

Dusk had another chest x-ray yesterday. There is slight improvement...although the mass is still there all the secondary inflammation is gone. So we will keep him on meds another month or so and check him again. My 9 year old aussie girl Sage had to go in too. She has started peeing her bed and I noticed her straining to pee. I worried she might have bladder stones but on her x-ray nothing showed up and her urine is free of crystals. For now we are treating her for a UTI....hopefully that is all it is. It is a good thing my vet gives me a bit of a frequent flier discount!!

We have been enjoying some of the warmest days in April history. I have been able to make good use of my clothes line. I answered my own question of if sheets dried on the line are really that much better. The answer is YES!!! They are indeed worth the extra work.

The Spring Fling at the mall was fun. I was there about 3 hours and handed out at least a million brand new brochures. I figure anyone who pets the dogs for more than 30 seconds needs one. Huge thanks to the Grabbers for printing these up and having them ready for the spring events. Also thanks to Laura for putting the Spring Fling together and to all who took time out of their day to show off their hounds. I shared my time at the booth with first Laura and greyhound Abby and Mark, Melissa and greyhounds Rotini and Zeke. Then later with Vicki and greyhound Mamma Ducky and Hank, Katherine and greyhound Lemon. I took 3 of my 4 girls in. Iris was good but was ready for a nap after an hour. Tava was pretty nervous, I tired to let Darrin take her back out to the van but she was NOT leaving the other hounds, so she stayed. Run wore one of the donation coats and was great at getting top dollar. The girl knows how to work a crowd! I saw more than one person put a twenty in her coat. After about an hour we actually had to empty her pockets. A very good problem!! When ever Run saw serious petting going on she was on her way to horn in on it. At the end of my shift I decided my life would not be complete without a picture of the gang with the Easter bunny. Tilly was in the van so Darrin brought her in we trooped over to give the poor guy in the bunny suit a thrill. Actually it was pretty clear he wasn't a dog person, all he really wanted was not to be touched. ICKY dog germs. Once I got the pictures I laughed out loud at how his friendly bunny face translated to a look of horror. His little mouth looks like he could be letting out a little scream. So now the hounds and I are ready to crash and Tilly...well she is still running full tilt. I have got to go take that stupid squeak toy away from her!! "SQUEAKAH SQUEAKAH SQUEAK!!" I need Advil.

Another of Ducky's pups is heading our way. Nitro Velocity who is a litter mate to Nitro Tiny Tim (now Rudy of SD). Carol managed to wrangle a spot for him on the next haul in April!! Cleo is visiting Billings and a potential home. Cross your fingers that cupid is flying low.

Everything here is pretty peaceful. Dusk is doing well, but looks like he will be on antibiotics for a very long time....perhaps the rest of his life. Tilly is growing and still a DELIGHT. The new cat, Malarkey is settling in. He goes outside some and thankfully he sticks around...especially since I just spent money to have him neutered.

The Spring Fling at Southgate Mall is this SATURDAY in Missoula.
PLEASE consider sharing your hounds with others. Sign up by going to http://www.gparockymountain.org/ The schedule is looking awfully blank. While on our web site be sure to check out the great photo of Elaine and Doris looking like fashion models...what a great shot!
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Poor Iris. She lays in one dog bed and is quickly followed by puppy Tilly who has a super squeaky rubber toy in her mouth. Tilly happily squeaks her toy time after time...at least 10 squeaks per second. Iris gets up and goes to the other bed. Tilly happily follows "squeak squeak squeak" Iris sighs and lays down and Tilly give the toy a little toss, it lands just under Iris' nose. Tilly takes the toy and rolls around in the bed next to Iris. Iris gets up and goes back to the other bed. It takes just a moment for Tilly to realize she is being left. Iris stands in the bed looking hopeless as Tilly lolls around on her back kicking her legs in the air and twisting. Iris is determine now to get this bed to her self. She waits until the pup is distracted then wedges her whole body into a bed that was meant for a 20 pound dog. No room for puppy to share that bed....of course Iris getting out of that bed may require someone to pull the bed off her rump. Before you feel too sorry for Iris I should tell you she has her own version of playing with the puppy. She plays that greyhound favorite "You run so I can catch you and make you stop". Tilly thinks it is a stupid game but if Iris will play with her she will play whatever Iris wants to play.

Dusk had another scare last week. More than a week ago on Saturday he went from feeling pretty good to feeling crummy. I could see him wilting almost before my eyes. Once again his temperature spiked. I called the vet and we started him on big doses of antibiotics again. I was in contact with the vet all week end and Monday I took Dusk in first thing to be checked. Another x-ray showed that the mass in his chest is still growing. I spent the next several days staying with him as much as possible. I canceled some classes and made every effort to be there when he needed me. I nearly made the appointment to let him go more than once. Thursday evening he was breathing labored and seemed to be fading. I was certain we would be taking him into the vet first thing in the morning. I got up during the night to check him and he seemed like he was sleeping comfortably. I got up early to evaluate him so Darrin knew if he was going in to work or calling in late. But Dusk seemed like he was actually feeling better and Darrin headed off to work. From then on Dusk seems like he has been actually doing well again. He packs his toys around, barks at the neighbors dog and has a good appetite. I don't know exactly what is happening in that chest of his but I am thankful he is again feeling like himself. Today he even did his favorite move....a somersault in my lap.

Other than annoying the other dogs, Tilly is doing super. She is so smart and learns so quick. She already has a list of things she knows. Darrin and I both are really enjoying her. The weather has been nice and I have been able to get my pony out for a drive or two. Apple seems to like the drives as much as I do. It is fun to watch him moving right along with his ears up and a prance in his step. The doves have been able to go out to the flight cage during the day which is so nice after the long cold months. And the cat....well Sigh has a brother now....although he doesn't know it yet. We were up in Ronan yesterday looking at an armoire I decided not to buy. The woman's porch was covered in cats. She said they were feral strays. She told us many of them showed up after a house in the neighborhood burned down. She had been trying to tame them in hopes of finding them homes but said she hadn't had much luck. I had noticed this cream colored cat when we pulled up. He actually walked towards us when we approached the house. When he came right up to me and I scooped him up...so much for feral. The lady raised her eye brows in surprise and said "Please take him". I looked at Darrin and asked "Well?" Darrin said "He seems to like us". The lady ran for a box before we changed our minds. The cat was far from relaxed but he let me hold him and then stuff him in a box. Next thing we knew we were heading home with a stinky, dirty feral cat in a box behind the drivers seat. Thankfully the box stayed closed. The cat has been dubbed Malarkey and will head to the vet on Wednesday for his rites of passage into pethood (neutering and shots). He isn't super friendly but hopefully with the help of a smallish cage for a few days and good stinky food I can win him over. For now I am happy he used his litter box and hasn't tired to scratch my eyes out. Hopefully he will blossom now that he has a name and belongs somewhere.

Yesterday I was out in short sleeve scrubbing out crates with all the doors wide open and the sun streaming in...today we got snow. I kind of love the fickle ways of spring.

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I have gotten to meet some of the new greyhounds. I helped take them to the vet this past Saturday and get the girls spayed and ready for adoption. Ringer is a sweet and silly dark brindle girl who caught my eye right away. Thankfully she is spoken for. April is a very pretty black as she can be, dainty but fun loving girl. She has those fun fly away ears that never seem to be in sync. Little Ann is so pretty she takes your breath away with her shiny eyes and black mask on her fawn coat. Since they all had healthy teeth we were able to take them to the low cost spay clinic. We can get all 3 done for about the same cost as for one girl at other vets. The catch is of course that you have to be your dogs nurse. You monitor them during and after the surgery. We take advantage of them being knocked out and clip toenails and clean up teeth a little before they really come around. After the girls were done we loaded them up in Tripps truck and headed home with them. Peeking into the back of the truck it looked like some sort of slumber party gone wrong. The greyhound girls raise their bobbing heads and peer with half open eyes. They recovered nicely and are now waiting to be spoken for. I also got to meet Buster...I could have fallen in love with him. He is very pretty and has a sweet way about him. He is a smaller boy and seems like he will grow up to be laid back and have that easy to love greyhound temperament. He is another great dog from Nitro kennels.

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Perhaps the prize of all the available dogs is Pokey. He is a nine year old black boy who was handed over to us when his owner had a life style change and moved east. He had great care during the 6 years she had him. I am sure it was heartbreaking to let him go. Carol brought him over and we took some pictures of him. While playing with him he showed us that he knows some obedience. He walks on a loose lead. You ask "sit?" and her parks it. You say "down" and he plops down eyes bright. You say "treat" and he almost bursts with excitement. This boy is a GEM!! Here is a picture of him "working" for a treat.
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My pup Tilly is becoming the darling of Hot Cha. It amazes me that such a young soul can work such wonders with my old broken heart. She has brought back a lot of joy that has been on hold since Izzy died. What is better is everyone seems to adore her almost as much as I do. Dusk doesn't always like other dogs, but he has been quick to become the pup nanny. He plays with her and lets her climb all over him and chew on him. She uses the dog door and if she goes out Dusk follows her to keep an eye on her. Even Darrin seems smitten by her. I took Tilly for her first herding lesson. We put her on ducks. You start pups with ducks because they move easily away from the dog and because they won't try to intimidate a youngster. At this point we are just checking to see if she has any natural desire to herd. Tilly did really well for her 9 weeks of age. When one duck went the wrong way she surprised us by going back for it and putting it with the others. It is so cool to watch a dog do what it was bred for.

It is funny how things seem to happen in some sort of cycle. Just when I finally had been able to start to write about Izzy and my years with her there was a mass discovered in Dusk's chest. That was 4 weeks ago and things looked bleak for him. Of course I was frantic to make him comfortable and let him know how treasured he is. During this I got word through a round about source of a pup available up north of me. I was not looking for a pup but I was curious. Her picture revealed an usual similarity between her and Dusk. But the breeder told me that she was probably spoken for. I tried to put her out of my mind. Then things started to shift. A 2 week x-ray showed unexpected improvement in Dusk's mass. He actually seemed to be feeling better. On the heels of that I got word the pup was available and she could be mine. I was surprised by the wave of emotion that hit me with this news. I had decided logically I could live without her BUT somehow she had wiggled into my heart. I knew she was my family. I was pretty sure Darrin would have me committed somewhere when I broke the news I was looking at a pup. Not just any pup either this one was not a rescue...my first non-rescue ever. She has a performance pedigree. Bred to be versatile and willing to work with her owner. Much to my amazement Darrin gave me the nod and a few days later we were on our way north to meet her. It took a couple of days to decide on her name but of course it was the first one I thought of, Tilly. She is smart as a whip and bold as she can be. Today I took her up to herd ducks for the first time. I am in a stage of exposing her to all the things we may want her to know during her life. It is not training it is simply exposure. I have not gotten many of my dogs as pups so this is has been really fun to watch her learn and see her enthusiasm for life...that enthusiasm is contagious. I feel like someone turned the light back on in my world. Today would have been Izzy's 16th birthday...and although there will never be a dog like Izzy for me. I can find love in new ways and it is satisfying in a new way.

I know it is a little nutty but I do hope we get at least one more snow storm. Most of the Montana snow has been east of the divide. I usually get in one good walk with the pups on a snowy day and so far this winter I have mostly missed out. There were a couple of short ones with small flakes but I want lots of snow and flakes so fat you almost have to call them snowballs. When the air is thick and sound buffering as a quilt and no one else is out.

Monday I took Dusk to the vet. We did a x-ray and Dusk has a mass in his chest which looks pretty bad. If you didn't know Dusk he wouldn't have even looked sick. I was telling Judy, about discovering Dusk had a temp on Saturday and I started him on baytril right away. She wanted to know why I took his temperature at all. If my dogs seem a bit off I put them on the grooming table and give them the once over. I run my hands all over them, look them in the face, smell their breath, and look for anything that feels wrong. To my hands he felt hot...in particular I put my fingers in his ears and a hand on his inner thigh. If your hands are sensitive you will be able to get a sense for if they seem hot. Of course if you don't know what your dog feels like when they are normal it will be hard to tell when they feel hot. If they feel questionable, I break out the thermometer. I often check temp just to be sure anyway. If the dog has been outside his ears can be cool and there still be a problem. Dry nose is no more a indication of fever than chapped lips for us...it means nothing. Every dog owner should have a thermometer for the dogs. Nothing special just a good digital thermometer from Wal-mart. I like digital because it is easier to read, won't break if I drop it and tells me when it is done. Yes, you have to take a dog's temperature rectally. I really wanted one of those nice ear thermometers BUT unfortunately because of the shape of a dogs ear canal they are inaccurate...so why bother. Once you have a thermometer write on it in big letters "DOG" on one side and normal dog temp on the other (101.5 give or take a degree either way). Taking a temp is not hard. You get your thermometer, a paper towel and a dab of Vaseline and act like you know what you are doing. It is normal for there to be some resistance but don't shove. Often you have to kind of hold it in there. When it beeps take it out, with paper towel ready, wipe and read. I follow up with a wipe down of peroxide. If your dog is a little high, write down the temp with the time and check it again in a hour or so. If it keeps moving away from normal call your vet. Anything under 100 degrees, over 103 degrees or that is changing is worth a call right away. But again if you don't know what is normal for your dog it is going to be hard to tell exactly how elevated it is. Take your dog's temp a few times for two reasons, so you learn how and so you know what is normal. If you are nervous about how to do it have your vet or a vet tech show you.

Dusk seems to be holding his own. He is eating well and responding to the medicine. So maybe some of the mass was inflammation. My vet wasn't too hopeful but my Aussies have beaten the odds before...and Dusk is a master at beating the odds.