Now that the Irma unpleasantness is behind us ...

Hello again, everyone. It has been awhile since we've talked, hasn't it? The dog days of summer just wore us down, nothing of note really happened for a couple of weeks, so we just decided to lie low.

And then came Irma to shake us awake. And fortunately, there went Irma leaving most everyone I've heard from in our little community almost completely whole. A few of us lost power for a time, some of us lost cell service, Friends of Greyhounds lost part of their backyard fence. But none whom I have talked with lost life, limb or home. So we're in great shape.

While we were sweating it out in Florida with Irma raging around us, old friend Buford was playing it cool at his other home in New Jersey. Travis, hope to see you guys soon. Come join us at some of our gatherings this fall when you're in town.
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Dusty and I were probably the luckiest of them all. Neither of us, nor the Kia Koach nor the townhouse sustained a scratch from Irma. Worst thing that happened to us was that Dusty had to hold it in for about 20 hours because she really didn't care to go outside in that awful weather. We maintained our Internet connection for the duration. And we only lost power for about 45 minutes, shortly after the storm died down early Sunday evening.

This is how she passed the time:

Well, at least that's how she passed the time when she wasn't using an aluminum poker-chip case for a pillow:

Everyone I heard from throughout and after the storm reported minor property damage at most. That included:

• Beth and David and their girl, Molly.
• Mike and his hound, Andy.
• Rick, Janine and their girls along with Bullet and Kango.
• Maurice and his hound, Hermes (Maurice was on his way today to Naples to check on his business there, so please wish him the best).
• Steve H. and his brood.
• Jerry B. and his two hounds, Slinky and Wendy.
• Joy and her hounds, David, Honey and Turtle.
• Deb and all her girls along with Savvy and their new hound, Reasey; 
• And, of course, the gang at FoG.

LET'S HAVE SOME BBQ: The gathering at One Last Cast BBQ, on the grounds of Flamingo Road Nursery, is still on for Saturday. Michelle and Jerry D. drove over there this afternoon to confirm, and management there said they're open for business and are so looking forward to having us. The greyt lord knows all of us can't wait for it -- what great timing for our first respite of the season.

We hope to see all the regulars. If you're not a regular, We hope to see you, too. These meetups are always a blast. We'll get to exchange Irma stories with all our old and new friends. And the best part of these things is seeing everyone's hounds. An extra bonus is a chance to chow down at one of the best barbecue stands in South Florida.

If you haven't been there, the address is 1655 S. Flamingo Road in Davie -- south of the Interstate 595 overpass on the west side of the street. Come on out. Dusty and I will be there. Michelle and Jerry D. will be there with black 4-year-old Kelly, fawn 6-year-old Logan and brindle 8-year-old Jagger. What more reason to come out than to meet these three great home-experienced boys?

We'll be there at 11 a.m., about the time the barbecue stand is opening, and stay until around 2 p.m.

FoG also has an event scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 24, at Dog Dude Ranch in Miami, where the hounds can get in some off-leash fun.

FoG WEBSITE DOWN: We found out yesterday that the Friends of Greyhounds website is out of operation. We don't think it's an Irma issue. We checked with a couple friends and relatives across the country, and they can't get to it, either. Michelle and Jerry B. are trying to reach their domain host to try to track down the problem. In the meantime, I will drop any FoG notes and news here and also on my Facebook page. Lelys also will keep the Friends of Greyhounds Facebook page updated.

In the meantime, the FoG kennels are open for business. As always, call Michelle or Jerry D. at 954-578-0072 to arrange a visit with the dogs.