Crystal and Timber

Borzoi v. Greyhound

Crystal and Timber

That worried look you have on your face Timber is justified. If didn’t know Crystal better, I’d say she has something up her paw.

I can only say, Timber… beware.

Crystal

It's me, Timber

I realize that the blog has been overwhelmed by greyhounds as of late and thought I had better make a showing lest you forget me.

Perhaps you would like to join me in a rousing game of tug ‘o war with this soggy wet toy that has been left out in the Oregon rain.

Just in case you are wondering. These are horns. They aren’t halo holders and they certainly aren’t antlers. Mom wonders if I am currently going through the terrible twos or if I am a teenager.

Whatever, I have four words for you. “Talk to the tail.”

Slinky, Jillian and Skirvee

I was so excited when I found out that Paul and Nancy were sending the twins our direction, I could hardly stand myself. I always thought a litter mates would be so much fun, and I was so right. The twins are so much alike and yet so very different.

Slinky

Slinky is very much a lady. Not reserved or shy, but very gentle and calm. Every day I see Buddy when I look at her. She’s also very much like her grandmother Cinnamon.

Jillian

Jillian is the party girl of the two. She’s a wild and crazy girl. She always reminds me of her momma, Jill.

Slinky

Slinky always tends to hang back and watch the action. Maybe wanting to be part of it, but really happy just to wander around the acre. However, in the evenings when we are just hanging out, Slinky has definite ideas of how it should be. She has her favorite bed and if it isn’t available, she stomps her feet, she paces, she makes us move who ever is in her bed.

She’s also the one that runs right up to me with extra kisses.

Jillian

Jillian is the action. Jillian is the couch potato. If she can get to the couch first, she can take up all three cushions. She’ll share if she has to. Jillian loves her babies. She has gathered quite a collection in her kennel. When the red head came home, he made it game to steal them. I had to laugh one night when I discovered she had tucked everyone of them under her cushion for safe keeping.

Yup, having twins is like doubling the fun.

Cinderella

That look of innocence you see, it ain’t so much.

Cinderella was a one-year old pup preparing for life as a racer when we met her. Yup, another Nancy and Paul hound. We were helping with the greyhound round-up and this little one wanted nothing to do with it. Quite elusive she was.

I literally crawled on my hands and knees through a blackberry tunnel so that the person at the other end could catch her. That shoulda been my first clue.

Karen took one look at her adorable face with her underbite and told her she was coming back to the gardens. When she made it clear at the track she was nothing but a party girl, Nancy called to say she was retiring and Karen took the next flight out to Florida to fly her home.

Party animal is really an understatement. She is the life of the party, in fact in some circles I suspect that Cinderella would be known as the “bad girl.” The girl that all of the other mommies would discourage their perfect daughters from hanging out with.

Yes, this one leaps into trouble, I mean action, at every turn. She used to harass Roxy unmercifully. Which alone isn’t bad, but the pack mentality can kick in so quickly it becomes not a good thing.

I came home to work at noon because I had a big project due on an extremely tight turn-around time. Timber was hanging out on a cushion in the living room minding his own business when she came flying in from outside. According to Timber that was his invite to play.

This little whippersnapper is fast, really fast and she had her front legs wrapped around his belly before I could get through the room and was doing the humpa dumpa doo. Now Timber has this amazing side jump body slam thing going like I have never seen on a dog. Keep in mind, Timber is probably 8 inches taller at the hips than she is and he was having none of that.

Cinderella is holding on like it’s the greatest game of tug o’ war ever and Timber is doing his side jump body slam thing when all of a sudden, everyone else thinks “dog pile” and they want to play.

I’m just thinking “oh shit” ’cause I know it could get ugly real fast if I don’t get it broken apart.

I did and they stopped, but for a few minutes in time afterwards I was checking out the prices for a slow boat ride to China for the whole crew.

Bottom line, when you have more than two dogs, it’s a pack and the alpha better remain on their toes.

The little fathead is back to being a sweet princess again tonight. It’s a good thing dog’s live in the moment ’cause ya never know when one of them is going to walk by and whisper in their buddy’s ear “bet you can’t catch me” and the games will begin again.

And we’re live with the Saturday Pet Blog Hop.

Skirvee

In 2002, Karen and I thought we wanted a greyhound puppy. So we added it to ours hopes and dreams out there in the universe.

We clearly have friends in high places because with in a week, we got a call saying a five month old puppy was coming into the adoption kennel. Oh, let me tell you the excitement built as waited for our little cuddle buddy to come to the gardens.

Oh, the joke was clearly on us. The cute little puppy we anticipated was nearly the size of a horse.

Skirvee was as big as most of our greyhounds and grew up to be the biggest greyhound we had. That is until the redhead came home.

We didn’t know it at the time, but Skirvee was also a Paul and Nancy dog. Come to think of it, way back then we didn’t even know Paul and Nancy.

Skirvee had a bad leg and when it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to run, they released him into the adoption kennel. I suspect that he would have been a great racer the way he tears around the acre now.

Skirvee and Jillian

In addition to his wife, Paul had a couple of girlfriends. Two little red fawn girlies that loved him as much as he loved them.

On my first trip down to Florida to bring Minnie home, I met the twins, Slinky and Jillian. Talk about cute, cute, cute. I also connected the dots and realized that they were Skirvee’s litter mates.

Whenever we talked on the phone, I always had to know how the twins were doing and one thing led to another.

Slinky, Jillian, Skirvee

Then we got the call. More important that anything else, Paul wanted his girls to remain together and he was certain he could count on us to make that happen.

Everyone ought have litter mates. What a hoot.

Timber

Pillars of Strength

There is a blog that I follow called Romping and Rolling in the Rockies. It is a beautiful blog about a pair of labs and their human and their life in the Rocky Mountains. The photography is beautiful and their stories are wonderful.

Not to long ago, K the chocolate lab was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. I know all to well the heartbreak that KB is experiencing every day. But her strength is amazing as she and K enjoy every day to the fullest.

We have lost far too many dogs to this evil disease and the hounds of Greyhound Gardens send white light and strength to K and KB.

Bentley

Bentley left us first. Osteosarcoma in the right hind leg just above the hock. He had bounced from his first home and it was thanks to he and Murphy that I met Karen. This boy was a true testament to spirit and dignity.

Phoebe

Phoebe was 11 years old when we brought her home. She was found roaming the county roads. A spirited old lady to the end, she had chondrosarcoma,

a tumor on her ribs.

Gracie

Gracie broke our hearts. We adopted her at 10 years old and I can’t even begin to describe what a wonderful hound she was. Our friend described her as a classy dog. We only had her for 14 months before osteosarcoma of the right shoulder swept her away from us.

Barbie

Barbie was turned into the Humane Society to be euthanized at 10 years old. They knew we did greyhound adoption and called to see if we would take her because they felt she was much to sweet. A tumor just above the right eye took her much to soon.

Cleo

Cleo was a hoot and a half. She was 10 years old when she bounced from her home and came to the gardens belonging here from day 1. One day she just quit eating, so completely abnormal because everyday thirty minutes before meal time she would announce it was time. There was never any peace in the house until I fed them.

We gave it the 24 hour rule and took her into the vets. An ultrasound revealed a belly full of tumors. We had just a few days after diagnosis.

Fonzi

Fonzi was my very first greyhound. I adopted him when he was two years old and he is responsible for changing my life forever. At 10 years old he developed a tumor on his spine. A few days after diagnosis I had to say good-bye.

Duncan

Duncan was six when he was bounced and came to the gardens for being aggressive. OK, he did have a grumpy side but he was also a very sweet and oh so beautiful. We lost him at 11 years old to osteosarcoma of the shoulder.

Sadly, these are only about 1/2 of our bridge babies. Most of the rest of them all made it to be glorious seniors.

An end to cancer would be a gift to all of us.

Talley

When we woke up (5 am) there was blood every where. Cushions, floor, rugs, even the top of my computer desk. Talley was bleeding from her mouth. We could either dash her to the evets or wait until 7:30 when we could see our vet. Since the evet would charge us at least $200 to send us to our own vet when they opened, we tucked her away in a kennel, took care of everyone else and cried. Of course our minds went to the worst possible place. Talley settled down and started sleeping on her back.

15 minutes before we were going to leave, my co-worker called and said he just gotten a text saying the campus was closed due to police activity and since he has a journalism background, he just wanted to confirm. I hadn’t heard anything but said I would leave right then and swing by the campus to check on the way to the clinic. Sure enough. Campus was closed because of a bomb threat.

Seriously, who sends a bomb threat to a community college in Salem, OR? It wasn’t until I got home and relaxed for awhile that I really thought about the seriousness of a potential bomb.

We arrived at the vet clinic, only to find that the office was closed because of a staff meeting. Well, staff meeting or not, Karen went in and told them what was going on. Three techs and Dr Mills came right out to the car. Have I said recently how much I love my vet at Companion Pet Clinic? We took her in, he checked over and couldn’t find the source of her bleeding. PCV was 58.  We x-rayed her from stem to stern (Love, love love digital xrays), and everything was clear.

She has always been shy and Dr. Mills felt that being home with me would be much less stressful than hanging out at the clinic waiting to see if she would bleed again. Just as we were leaving the room Dr. Mills looked down and there was blood pouring out of her mouth again. He thought it was a tooth and they scheduled her for surgery today.

Timber

Get home to buckets of blood every where and tuned into Facebook as a diversion to begin the clean-up only to find out that Aidan, Timber’s daddy won Best of Breed at the Westminster Dog Show.

Now we are dealing with Timber’s even bigger “I am beautiful” head.

Before I get serious with the cleaning there is a knock on door. A very attractive young woman looks at me and says “Karen?” Ummm, no. Can I help you?

“I’m her niece, I live in Portland.” Karen has never met her and since they are both from Boston, it was quite a surprise.

Timber’s head has decreased in size enough so that he can fit through the door again. Talley’s surgery went very well, they pulled the offending tooth plus a couple of more and she has a clean bill of health. She is resting peacefully (probably still under the influence of drugs).

Sheesh, I’m pooped.