What a day!!! I am so dang tired I can't even swear...those of you who know me know very well never thought you would see the day. The morning started with a crummy breakfast at the motel. You know rejected day old rolls and weird OJ that never came from fruit. The day got drastically better and better from there. We started at the San Tan Farm with kennel manager Jim. We got what Jim called the "nickle tour". This is where the farm pups are born and raised until they are 6-7 months when they then move to the training farm in OK. After we met the resident labadors we met a pup under a week old. A singleton still in the potato stage of being a pup, eyes shut tight and ears fat little flaps. We beamed while first time mom, who looked a bit like my Tava basked in the warmth of the heat lamp. Next we met pups who were just weaned at about 8 weeks of age. Judy scooped up one little brindle girl who just melted into her. Carol had two or three clamoring for her attention and I had the undivided attention of a rascal Jim called Scarface. Mom had disciplined him before he was even weaned causing a small owie on the side of his face. Judging for the way he was yanking at my shoelaces I am sure he needed a little direction. Mom (San Tan Deciple) was a few doors down enjoying her newly recovered single life . We met several batches of pups in the 5-7 month ranges including a funny little guy who seemed not to be the brightest bulb which was affectionately named Forrest Gump...littermates Bubba and Jenny. I fell for one they had named Floyd. A dark brindle long legged beauty. In one pen I was turning to leave when a little black brat boy made a leap for my pony tail and I got a hard yank backwards. Judy of course thought this was hysterical. One of the farm stud dogs was home, San Tan Fang. I am anxious to check out his pedigree soon. We swung by the training track but all training had been canceled due to the recent snow. We were assured that training would resume tomorrow at 4:30 AM. Next we went to the Riggin's farm, home of all the Iruska dogs. At this farm the brood girls come to relax without pups and between adoption or further motherhood duties. The girls enjoy large indoor runs all with connected outdoor runs. This farm was well designed and well thought out. Owners Marena and Bob were so welcoming and answered our many questions. We met Sydney who is a pretty tall red girl who is available for adoption NOW. She is adorable with her extra lean face and soft doe eyes. I think we did well keeping our hearts in check here...well except Carol who fell hard for a smiling little red brindle named Fancy. She isn't ready for adoption right now but Carol made it clear when she was a available she would have a warm soft bed in Montana.
The afternoon was spent at the Greyhound Hall of Fame. Some of you may have read in the recent Celebrating Greyhounds about the greeter dogs, Talentedmrripley and Jade. In the article we learn of an addiction Ripley has for Twinkies. Before we went to the Hall of Fame I ran into the nearest 7-11 and bought the 3 packages of twinkies that had. When we walked in with them the host laughed out loud. I got permission to share a twinkie with Ripley which earned me his adoration. Much to the astonishment of the host he jumped up on me and placed his feet on my shoulders. She scolded him and Ripley hopped down but Ripley knew I loved it and soon he jumped back up to look me in the eye. Later after we toured the whole museum and were spending every spare penny in the gift shop she said she had never seen Ripley jump up on anyone but his owners. She was a little horrified by his actions and I was honored. Jade raced under the name of San Tan Go For It. She is a little white and black imp with a well developed sense of humor. She was always trying to steal toys from prince Ripley's throne. The rest of the daylight hours we spent driving around and rubber necking. There are greyhound farms everywhere and we got good at spotting turn out pens from a distance. We drove by several famous farms including Flying Eagles and Ryan Farms home of Molotov. As evening was setting in we turned on our GPS and headed to Wichita. We are hoping to visit the Nitro Kennel in the morning but the snow knocked down their power lines and have flooded part of their kennel and some of the roads to them. I am hoping the power will be back on and we can visit I brought Tava's first lure course ribbon (Best of Breed) to give to them. Well Judy and Carol have sacked out and I need to do the same. This trip has been incredible so far....and it is going so fast. I have been taking pictures but didn't bring my cord to upload them. Darrin told me what I need to buy to do it so I will try to find one tomorrow.

We made it to Abilene,KS!!!!! The roads have been great. Still traveling under blue skies. The first day we made it to Casper and stayed in the deep freeze they called Motel 6. Seriously when you walk in the door of a motel and the water in the toilet is frozen it is time to check out. It wasn't that bad but with the 3 of us and two beds EVERYONE wanted to share a bed. We cranked the heat and still by morning we could see our breath. Just as well because I could barely sleep. Last time I was this excited was when I was 6 years old on Christmas Eve. We did lights out at 10...I thought I was tired but then I was wide awake thinking of the dogs we would meet the next day. I couldn't stand it!! It was such a relief when I heard Judy stirring in the morning. We had to stop for breakfast and stumbled on a great place in Douglas, WY it was called the Plains Trading Post. Weird old building made from over 30 different buildings and over a thousand old doors. We arrived at Heather's about 2-ish. First order of business was to get our grubby little hands on GREYHOUNDS. I knew I would chose a foster dog for myself. I was surprised it took me less than a minute to find my girl. A dark brindle named Beverly. Every time I turned around she was within arms reach and looking right in my eyes. Heather had 64 dogs in house and we fell in love at least 100 times. After meeting hounds in every corner of the place we settled into doing some work. Heather is too polite to ask but we insisted and soon found ourselves armed with brooms and mops. We mopped every room we could. At dusk we settled ourselves into our trailer and found something to eat. Conversations were all about dogs...."did you see that one dog?" "Didn't you love Greta?" "Wasn't that brindle boy handsome?" We were so excited we couldn't stay away from the kennel long. In about a hour we headed back to help with feeding and then later turn outs. Being in that kennel with 30-40 loose dogs is a little like swimming with dolphins and for me it was more therapeutic. Sleep came about mid-night. Before 6 AM my alarm rang I was pulling on my shoes by the time Judy wandered sleepy eyed into the hall and started harassing Carol to get up. Carol staggered out with her witch hair and pillow wrinkled face BUT she was vertical. By now I was packing my bag and singing...Judy grumbled and said "HEY I thought you weren't a morning person" I stated in a haughty way "I am NOT a morning person I AM a dog person!" This was met with a eye roll. We helped with turn outs and fell in love over and over again. When we left Heather's we had 3 dogs confirmed for us. Beverly of course. Reagan a youngish red brindle girl. She stood out when she pressed herself against the crate door like a cat to try to get you to touch her. And a dog Heather calls Messi (Messy). A drop dead gorgeous white with red brindle patches boy. We already renamed him Mesa. We were still within 100 miles of Heather's when we called to request 2 more. We have 4 farms to visit tomorrow and the Greyhound Hall of Fame. So all of you out there taking wagers on how many dogs we would return with...it isn't over yet....

We are packing our bags and getting ready for an adventure. "Who?" "What?" you ask. Judy, Carol and I are heading out on a greyhound inspired trip. We will be gone 10 days and hit 6 states. First stop will be in Billings for late lunch with Trish then off to Nunn, CO to see Heather Weir and the greyhounds at Almost Home for Hounds http://www.almosthomeforhounds.org/ Saturday morning we head to Kansas where we hope to visit the Greyhound Hall of Fame and some greyhound farms. One highlight for me is a visit to the Nitro farm where my own Tava came from. Many of you may remember Tava's mother Ducky came from them last year and my cousin's handsome boy Nitro Scratchy. We have gotten several nice dogs from the Nitro Kennel. From there we plan to go to Tulsa, OK and stop in at Halfway Home Greyhound Adoption http://halfwayhomegreyhounds.com/ we get a couple of loads of dogs from them a year. We then plan to loop back over to see Greyhound Support in Kansas City and then through Nebraska and home. With the last stop being Greyhound Play in Billings on April 5th. Whew!!! My husband is sacrificing his laptop so I can take it and update the blog as we go. I am almost fearful of how many dogs we will fall in love with on the journey. We may end up wishing we had taken a smaller car than the big Bear Creek Express.

Today's agenda included figuring out how to transfer all of my old blog entries from the old blog to this one. I was able to do it without too much frustration. Actually it was so easy even I figured it out...OK Darrin had to help me a little.

The dogs all had some play time outside. They say we are expecting wet weather so I am glad they all got out today. The big lurcher girl Kati who I have been babysitting will be moving back to her home group in Seattle next week end. I will miss her but I hope there is a wonderful spot waiting just for her. My gang are all doing well. On March 1st My aussie girl Izzy celebrated her 15th birthday. She is in good health, is active and silly as ever but her naps are more frequent and deeper. I always joked that Izzy promised me she would live to be at least 18 years...because she wants to vote. Now seeing it just 3 years away it seems too close. Dogs are funny that way....they promise us years but we long for decades...I'd be happiest with eons.

"Come on Iris" I say to her highness as she lays snuggled in her bed this morning. Everyone has been up for two hours and the chores are all done. Time to make Iris go outside and yet she plays dead. "Come on Iris, I saw your ears move I know you hear me." She continues to ignore me. I approach her bed which causes her to roll over and wiggle deeper into her bed. I understand where she is coming from. This morning is threatening snow and the temp has dropped. I pull the blanket off her head and despite her sweet smile I take her by the collar and pull her up. S-l-o-w-l-y she gets up and stretches. She is hoping I will forget what I am doing and let her lay...fat chance. Finally she stands and starts to move towards the door. I let go of her collar and trust her to make the rest of the trip. Nearly to the door she takes a hard turn and leaps onto my unmade bed where she immediately melts into a puddle of warm and sleepy hound. She smiles at me and snuggles into my pillows. OK I give up. Accepting her invitation I leap into bed after her and melt into an adjoining puddle of laziness. It only lasts 5 minutes or so. Snuggled face to face then spooning with her head draped across my neck. I absorb her warmth, her smell, her adoration. Those 5 minutes have made my day. I will be warmer all day knowing a hound awaits me.

Greyhounds greyhounds get your greyhounds!!! It won't be long before we are able to get some new greyhounds in the area. So if any of you have friends who have talked about adding a greyhound to the family have them get that application in. We can start looking for the right match for them or YOU. The more time we have to look the easier it is to hand pick the dog...and there may be some real handpicking going on soon...but more on that later. By way of announcement there will be a greyhound meet and greet in Hamilton on Friday March 6th at the feed store. If you would like to join us please contact Judy or Carol for details. Billings is planning a Saint Pat's hoopla...contact Trish for details. Don't be left out of these opportunities to show off your hounds.

Dogs are so wonderful!!! This week bought me another interesting case. A handsome but nervous Airedale. This woman had been told by the local hotshot trainer that her dog was hopeless and that he needed medication. The owner turned to her vet who sent her directly to me. There really is nothing wrong with the dog other than he somehow got stuck in a cycle of nervous behavior. We worked to help him relax, in 15 minutes we made some progress but nothing impressive. I decided to use my secret weapon...TAVA. I let Tava loose with him. It was interesting to watch them interact. At first he was so nervous he couldn't even focus on her. Tava would bump him with her nose if he ignored her. It was clear she wanted to reach out to him. She has such a kind and nursing way about her. In 5 minutes the dog stopped drooling and shaking....in another 10 minutes his brain had relaxed and turned on enough he could think. We started with hula hoop work and trust building. At the end of class I brought Iris to the training room to meet the owner. Iris' life with me started with her stuck in a simular nervous cycle. Seeing happy well adjusted Iris gave the owner a lot of hope. It will be a few weeks before we make big progress but he is started on the right path. Tava reached him in a way no person could and Iris helped soothe the owners fears. Those girls earned extra cookies. Dogs amaze me with their ability to sense and help with problems. Greyhounds have an usual gift for this.

We have been enjoying wonderful spring weather the past few days. The dogs all have been able to get out often. I have loved the chance to spend even more time with them. Trish sent me a copy of an article out of a recent Family Dog magazine. It was the story of a retired racer who was very fearful but over came her fears through learning tracking and agility. It inspired me to work harder with my own crew and brought into focus the value of being active with your dogs. I love doing things with my dogs. I love to watch them grow and change with each new thing they conquer. I love competing with dogs BUT it is by no means is the reason I have dogs. I have my dogs because I feel an overwhelming connection to them. Seriously I know my dogs better than I know my own family. I can tell which one is nosing me from behind or whose ear my hand finds to fondle without glancing down. I know their birthdays, their favorite cookies and although I have never tried I bet I would know them by scent alone. Last fall I received some heavy criticism from some folks when I did weight pull with one of my greyhounds. Of course my dog was absolutely safe in doing this. Since then I have chatted with greyhound specialist about this and the general consensus was that although greyhounds probably would not excel at pulling, a healthy normal greyhound should be able to pull lower weights without any harm...and might even have fun doing it. I am proud of doing things with my dogs. I personally believe activity and training is beneficial on many levels....mind, body and relationship. It humbles me to have my dogs trust me when I ask them to overcome a fear or a challenge. This trust is something I cherish and I work hard to keep that trust.
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This spring I have had the opportunity to work with some very interesting clients and their dogs. One team is a young girl and her Tibetan mastiff. The relationship between them was dying. The dog would balk and refuse to do even the simplest tasks. If the girl demanded something of the dog she received a nip. On the way here the dog pushed the girl to one corner and took up most of the back seat. If a serious re-balancing did not happen this dog would be homeless and this girl would likely never have another dog. So we began...not with strict commands but rather with massages and touches. Once we had the dog's mind relaxed we moved to simple tasks like the dog moving out of the girl's way and the girl guiding the dog over hula hoops on the ground. As they were preparing to leave I told the girl to load the dog in the far back of the car. The mother grimaced and started to express her belief that it couldn't be done. I shot her a look that kept her quiet. The girl took the dog out to the car opened the back and asked the dog to hop in. The dog refused, the girl asked again and the dog refused. From where we were watching I called to the girl to hop in the car first and show the dog what she wanted. The girl hopped in and said "Come on" and the dog hopped in. Soon the girl could get the dog to hop in without her. The mother was astonished!! Another example of when love and communication co-exist everyone wins. So I will continue to do things with my dogs....obedience, weight pull, lure coursing, tracking or whatever we can learn together. I will continue to be proud of my dog's accomplishments and I trust my dogs will continue to just be amazing. Either on the couch snuggled up or smiling at me from perfect heel position...either way...the relationship you share with your dog is where you find all that glitters