Dusty and me

Fufu (yellow collar) and Dusty ---------- Looking for a beautiful black female hound like Dusty to grace your home? If so, Friends of Greyhounds has the dog for you. Frozen ---------- Michelle came back from Sanford Orlando Kennel Club earlier this week with two more sleek girls to join Stormy in the kennels in Sunrise. Both of the new hounds, Frozen and Fufu, are gorgeous. Of course, how can they not be? Dusty and I drove to Sunrise this morning to meet the two new arrivals. As soon as I saw both of the new ones were black girls, I decided I had to get a group photo of them, Dusty and Stormy. But Michelle and I couldn't make it happen. We took the four of them out to the backyard and tried several times to get them all together, but they wouldn't cooperate. It really was like trying to herd cats. Too many dogs, not enough handlers to pull this one off. So I turned on the video camera and got what I could of them milling about. Here's one. Check Dusty

Boogie (formerly Oshkosh Pumped) ---------- Friends of Greyhounds has had a busy couple of days: Two hounds came in from Florida Kennels in Hialeah on Sunday, and three were delivered to new homes Monday night. Turtle ---------- New to the Sunrise kennels are a sleek dark brindle boy, Oshkosh Pumped, and another big fawn male whose name I don't yet know. Meanwhile, Casey, Stormy and Annie were delivered to new homes Monday. That leaves FoG with five male guests at the moment -- the two new guys, Kango, Logan and Taylor. I missed Michelle's trips the past couple of days because I was finishing up my weeklong job driving to Plantation to walk Joy's dogs -- Honey, Turtle and David. I had a great time bonding with those three -- and got to meet felines Sugar and Jasper as a bonus.  David ---------- Having breakfast with Michelle and Jerry B. in a few minutes. I'll get caught up with all the FoG details then. UPDATES:  Oshkosh's new na

From left: Annie (3 years old July 3), Taylor (3 on June 25), Maggie (7 on July 3), Casey (2 on July 20), Kango (4 on July 1) ---------- Five guests at Friends of Greyhounds have birthdays coming up. Larry Warsh of Larry Warsh Photography in Fort Lauderdale put together this photo/graphic to help celebrate. Contact FoG if you'd like to come by and celebrate. Michelle says she'll give you a deal on adoption fees for one of these hounds. Act now, though -- one of them (Maggie) just went to her new home, and another one (Kango) is spoken for. But the other three are still looking for homes.

Joan, Zoe, Smidgen and Cassie (new arrival Maggie didn't want to leave the couch) ---------- It's official: Maggie is now part of Smidgen's harem in Delray Beach. Maggie, you'll recall, is the little brindle girl who landed with Friends of Greyhounds several days ago after her adoptive human mother passed away. She arrived at the Sunrise shelter noticeably underweight and shaking in fright. Maggie on her second day at FoG ---------- But things only got better for Maggie from that point. She began eating vigorously almost right away and got over her insecurities within a day or two. She was only in her kennel for about a week when longtime FoG friend Joan agreed to take her in, sight unseen. Michelle and I drove Maggie to Delray Beach a few days ago to meet her new family and see her new home -- and sealed the adoption commitment with Joan. Maggie got all her veterinarian work done on Thursday, and we took her home for good this morning -- just in time to

That's one glorious hound, that Savvy. ---------- Debbie and Hayley stopped by the townhouse about an hour ago to pick up Savvy and take him back to his Coconut Creek home. Savvy was here with Dusty and me for four days, and we loved having him here. That big fawn fella is nothing but a big hunk of joy. With the possible exception of devouring his big bowl of kibble twice a day, all Savvy cared about was his hosts. For the entire four days, all he wanted was to be wherever I was at any given moment -- especially if I had a leash in my hand. The boy loves that leash. All I had to do was reach for it, and he would become a whirling dervish. He'd start spinning, jumping, pirouetting and steamrolling any other dog (Dusty) that might get in his way. Sorry I didn't get a video record of it, but I had to use every bit of concentration and dexterity I could muster to protect life and limb. Savvy and Dusty loved their walks together. I got them out several times each day

Dusty took the spare bed so her guest could be comfy. ... Nah, that's not how it went down. ---------- It's a good week to be an amateur hound sitter in South Florida -- Dusty and I have been hired to look after seven hounds over the next few days while their families are taking a vacation, on a business trip and working long overnight shifts. The day started with Debbie dropping off Savvy at the townhouse this morning. Debbie and the family are going on a short vacation that was planned before they adopted Savvy a little more than three weeks ago. Dusty and I have plenty of room to share with a big fawn greyhound, so we happily agreed to take him in for a few days. Dusty was excited about having a visitor: Savvy and Dusty both are asleep next to me now. The two hounds get along great. Floyd the fawn and Ace ---------- Savvy has shown me so far that two things he loves -- his leash and to be wherever I am. Dusty will follow me from room to room, upstai

Joan welcomes her new couch-mate, Maggie ---------- Maggie, the older girl who came back to Friends of Greyhounds last week after her primary caretaker passed away, is off to a great new home. Dusty stayed home to catch up on her sleep for a couple of hours this morning as Michelle picked me up in the FoG van for the ride north to introduce Maggie to her new mom and siblings in Delray Beach. Joan is a longtime supporter of Friends of Greyhounds, having adopted two hounds previously. Michelle called her a couple of days ago to tell her about Maggie's plight, and Joan happily agreed to take in the grieving girl. But before they made it official, Michelle wanted to bring Maggie for a visit to make sure the rest of Joan's family would have no problem with her. Cassie and Smidgen ---------- Maggie passed the audition with flying colors. Just as Michelle, Maggie and I got out of the van, Joan took 6-year-old Maggie and 4-year-old Zoe for a quick leash walk up the b

Maggie out in the yard for a little exercise at Friends of Greyhounds ---------- Apparently, it's reunion season at Friends of Greyhounds . For the third time in a little more than a week, FoG has welcomed back an old friend looking for a new family. This time it's Maggie, a small brindle girl who will be 7 years old in July. Maggie had been in her home for 4 1/2 years. But her primary caretaker passed away and she was returned to the FoG kennels Sunday morning. Maggie is pretty stressed out. She hasn't eaten much in the past few days and has lost a few pounds. Michelle said she was really scared and confused her first day in the kennel. Dusty and I went to Sunrise this morning for a visit. We found her shivering noticeably from fright. But she did eat a meal this morning and happily devoured a second helping when it was offered. Michelle and I went out to the yard for her turnout with the kennel's other girls, Stormy and Annie. She showed us that she is healt

One of these hounds is chill and one is not. ---------- Dusty and I drove to Boca Raton today to hang out and provide some assistance for another Friends of Greyhounds adoption event at Pet Supermarket. Michelle was happy to see us walk through the door. She had just picked up her phone to call me for some help. Stormy was in the house, and the rambunctious 3-year-old girl was giving Michelle all she could handle. Stormy was not being shy. This is a female with a big personality, and she was showing off every bit of it. She was jumping and twisting and exploring and commanding attention pretty much the entire time. Michelle told me she had to tighten up the martingale collar on her because Stormy pulled herself free at one point. Here's a quick look at the black tornado: And she didn't slow down for most of the two hours I was there. Annie, though, might end up being the winner of the day. The little red fawn who was returned to FoG a couple of days ago with

Dusty was feeling a little restless this morning. Here she is not-so-patiently waiting for me to finish my coffee: We had been hunkered down for a couple of days waiting out some nasty thunderstorms and flooded streets. We finally dried out today, so I put her in the Kia Koach to take her for a play date with her Friends of Greyhounds buddies. Dusty and Annie getting re-acquainted ---------- We got to see an old friend when we got there. Annie, a beautiful little fawn girl a couple weeks short of 3 years old, came back to FoG a couple days ago. She went to a home in Coral Springs earlier this year, but she had some issues with the family's other dog that couldn't be resolved. So she's back looking for another family to take her in. Casey's still shy outside. ---------- Annie is on an antibiotic treatment fighting a urinary infection, and she should be fine in a week or so. I'm guessing her illness was probably the reason she's been cranky. S

What else is a greyhound supposed to do on these rainy pre-summer days? ---------- It's the dawn of summer here in South Florida -- which means all-day steady rains mixed with some lightning and thunder here and there and 30-minute power outages. A perfect day for us retired guys to just hang out in front of the TV and watch for the torrential rain to slow to a drizzle so you can get your energetic hound outside for couple minutes and a little relief. This is the first time I've endured this kind of day since Dusty became part of my home in November. She's handling it like a champ. I've been able to get her outside for a couple of minutes twice today, and she took advantage of her opportunity both times. I guess I should relax a little. She seems less nervous about having to get outside to take care of business than I am. In the meantime, she's doing what greyhounds do best in idle hours -- snoozing the day away. Our dedicated DHL driver did show up

Kango, on the red leash, with Rick and Bullet during a home visit in April. ---------- Here's some great news for everyone concerned about Kango: He's found a home. Rick and Janine along with their daughters, Kat and Samm, told Michelle this morning that they've decided to give the boy a home. Kango will be the second greyhound in the family, joining Bullet, who has been in the Cutler Bay home since March 2016. Kango is the Friends of Greyhounds guest suffering from macular degeneration. He's a friendly, lively but sometimes confused boy whose eyesight is deteriorating. His veterinarian opthalmologist expects that he will be blind within a few months. As she does with any special-needs dog, FoG is waiving its adoption fee for Kango and will provide his new family with prescribed medications. Rick and the girls have a couple of vacation trips planned, so the timing and logistics of Kango's delivery to his new home are to be worked out. But

Spreading the word that today's scheduled Friends of Greyhounds event at Dog Dude Ranch has been cancelled. The weather in Miami has been horrible this morning and isn't expected to get any better for awhile. Michelle is trying to find a suitable venue for a gathering indoors. Please contact her through friendsofgreyhounds.org or drop Dusty and me a note at scott@dustyandme.com or in the comments section below if you can provide a lead. See you when we see you.

Marvin the Moose and her new collar from Happy Hound Designs give comfort on another morning indoors. ---------- It's been a slow week for Dusty and I. Summer's onset in South Florida has made us kind of lazy -- we're not getting out as much as we used to when the weather was so pleasant. Kango enjoying a few minutes of free time ---------- But we did get a chance today to get to Friends of Greyhounds. Dusty got a few minutes to run in the yard with her Sunrise buddies before the rains came, and I was able to spend some time with the four guests at the kennels. As expected, old FoG friend Daniel appeared at the kennels Monday and went home with Domino, the big black hound who stole his heart Saturday at the One Last BBQ gathering. Daniel was ready to adopt a new companion after Jeff crossed the bridge a few weeks ago. Domino's big personality won him over Saturday and pretty much sealed the deal when he planted a big kiss on Daniel late in the day. And