Dusty and me

Molly on her first full day at Friends of Greyhounds ---------- One fawn comes in as another one is on its way out at Friends of Greyhounds. Molly, racing name Molly Ringwald, came into the FoG kennels Sunday by way of the Florida Kennels compound in Hialeah. She's another 2-year-old who joins the gang after a short racing career. Molly is a friendly little girl. I met her for the first time Monday at the Sunrise kennels. She seemed happy to greet me and was thrilled when I walked out into the yard with her. But her first reaction seemed to be to retreat whenever I would move toward her with my phone as I tried to get a photo. After a couple of minutes, however, she decided to take a seat on the ground. Once she did that, she did let me approach for a photo, though she still wasn't quite sure what was happening. BJ ---------- It might have been more confusion than fear or timidity that was causing her to back away. In any case, she was happy to have my company

Einstein marveling at the view from his new home ---------- A couple of quick turnarounds in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels: Einstein has found his way into a beachside condo in Pompano Beach, and Gabby is on her way to Coral Gables to take up residence with our old friend Kal. Einstein, the 2-year-old white and brindle boy who retired earlier this month, landed in his first home yesterday. Cathleen claimed him about a week after he arrived at Friends of Greyhounds, but Einstein hung out in Sunrise for awhile waiting for his new mom to return home from a business trip. Gabby on her last full day at FoG ---------- Michelle and I delivered him to Cathleen on Friday afternoon. Einstein now has a breathtaking view from his condo on the 18th floor. Michelle was scheduled to deliver Gabby to Rhonda and Eddie on Saturday afternoon. The compact dark-brindle girl was in Sunrise for less than a week. Chris the Kennel Guy handed her over to FoG on Monday afternoon. Rhonda

Chumlee flirts with the new girl, Sly, as Yahtzee waits his turn. ---------- We have a new friend in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels. Sly, an 11-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, is now in Sunrise and ready to start over with a new family. FoG Veep Michelle drove to Miami on Tuesday evening to pick up Sly. This white and brindle girl is a beauty. Her longtime mom is moving out of the country because of family circumstances and did not want to put Sly through the trauma of such a drastic move. Sly had a short racing career and was adopted in the Northeast but has been in South Florida for several years. She has been spending a lot of time in a boarding kennel recently because of mom's frequent travels. Sly seems to have taken very well to her temporary move into the FoG kennels, where she's surrounded by other hounds and humans 24 hours a day. BJ ---------- Michelle is awaiting medical records to arrive in the mail. Soon as she gets those, she plans to get Sly t

Charlie and Shawn give a talk about his role in the department. ---------- Charlie knocked it out of the park in his first official task with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Shawn dropped an email and a few photos to tell us that Charlie was a big hit in a presentation to the department's Critical Incident Stress Management team. Team leader Mario designated Charlie as the group's official therapy dog and told Shawn that he will be featured on the cover of its new brochure. Charlie is kicking off a department pilot program for therapy dogs. Shawn promised to keep the updates coming. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue CISM team

Einstein hanging out in the FoG backyard ---------- Einstein, one of the 2-year-old boys who landed at Friends of Greyhounds last week, already has found a home. He plans to head to his condo in Miami-Dade County in a couple of weeks. Einstein will get his vet workup next week at Animal Hospital of University Drive and will start his domestic life when his new mom returns home from an out-of-town trip a few days later. BJ in the FoG backyard ---------- In the meantime, kennel mates BJ and Fella are taking a visit in the kennels Wednesday evening. While we're waiting to hear if that turns into anything, let's catch up on a couple of other friends we've heard from in the past few days. Happy birthday, Luna: She turned 5, so Dawn, Lily and Rose threw her a party in the backyard. ---------- Mark dropped us a video the other day from Ocala, where brothers Jagger and Facebook love running together in their backyard: Officer Rick dropped some more pho

Einstein has a look around at his new digs ---------- The Friends of Greyhounds kennels population has tripled with the arrival of a couple of 2-year-old boys from the Hialeah compound. Einstein (racing name Idris Elba) and BJ (Dutch Blackjack) arrived in Sunrise on Friday morning to begin their post-retirement lives. Chris the Kennel Guy told Michelle and I when we picked up the hounds that BJ is a laid-back lover. He's a small fawn fellow with beautiful piercing eyes and a curly-cue tail. Einstein, on the other hand, is a high-energy, excitable youngster, Chris said. I noticed a couple of times that you only need to look at Einstein and take a step in his direction to get his tail whipping in a thousand directions. Have a look at this video of the two guys exploring the FoG backyard for the first time. That's Uncle Jerry opening the window in the residence to meet them. The two join holdover Fella in the FoG adoption kennels. The three of them had a visitor

Shawn and Charlie show off his new service vest. Shawn said people generally ignore the "Do Not Pet" warning. Charlie, as a matter of fact, apparently thinks it says, "Please pet me." ---------- Friends of Greyhounds alum Charlie has earned his vest as a service dog. The 5-year-old, who lives in Davie with mom Shawn and older sister Dee Dee, recently graduated from a six-month course in PTSD and mobility service. One handsome devil ... ---------- Shawn, a captain in the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, said Charlie is the first service dog in a department pilot program. "Many departments are using therapy dogs to manage PTSD and other issues," Shawn explained in an email. "Charlie is being used on debriefings and more. He's touched many of my co-workers in touching ways, and more are now interested in the program." Shawn said the department is employing Charlie "on critical stress-team callouts and for firefighters in cri