Dusty and me

John G. says hi to Bo, who we used to know as Boogie. In the background are Bruce (formerly Posey) and Knuckles. ---------- It was a glorious day for a gathering of greys. Midday temperatures got into the 80s and the sun was bright for much of the day. But One Last BBQ provided plenty of shade, and the tropical breezes made for a beautiful afternoon. Joy gets a family photo with Turtle, David and Honey. ---------- Friends of Greyhounds had a great turnout for its gathering today at the barbecue stand at Flamingo Road Nursery. The big attraction: Boxes and boxes of kennel collars Michelle and Jerry D. have collected over the years. FoG put out the word earlier in the week that adopters wishing to claim those mementos of their hounds' histories could pick them up at the BBQ gathering. And a lot of old friends showed up to do just that. The collars giveaway is looking like a hit. Michelle distributed dozens of them today and has heard from several other adopters who wer...

Mattie and Elena ---------- Dusty got to spend the afternoon with Uncle Jerry and her cousins in Sunrise today -- and I rode along on a long, circuitous round trip with Michelle to Coral Gables and then Pembroke Pines to put two more greyhounds in new homes. Mattie and Boogie both found their families Friday at the Friends of Greyhounds kennels -- each within a month after being retired from their racing careers. Coral Gables homeowner Elena visited Sunrise the day after she lost her beloved black beauty, Mocha. She called Michelle on Thursday to tell her the sad news and also to say she didn't want to waste any time -- she wanted another hound right away. Mattie immediately claimed Elena, who told us today that Mattie has the same name as a favorite aunt. The brindle-spotted white girl is going to live a life of greyhound luxury with a nice fenced yard and a beautiful neighborhood in the Gables to explore with her new mom. Here's Mattie getting her first look at p...

Dusty and Bailey with Girl Scouts Liana (left) and Viranda ---------- There were Girl Scouts and there were greyhounds, there were buffets for humans and hounds. And there were cakes and cookies -- lots and lots of cakes and cookies. Anyone have a need for a spare cake or two? I know where you might find a few. Friends of Greyhounds and the Girl Scouts of Hollywood, FL, had a pretty good turnout for their Scouts & Hounds Pot Luck Dinner at the Hollywood Jaycees Hall last night. Temptations Catering  owner Maurice provided the main courses, and a host of greyhounds and their humans brought the sides and salads -- and a couple boatloads of desserts. Maurice spreading some doggie buffet love ---------- And FoG spread a table with goodies for the hounds -- pigs in a blanket, cubes of cheeses and Spam, a variety of dog biscuits, peanut butter and Ritz hors d'oeuvres, marshmallows, jerky treats. And Deb contributed a plate of peanut butter-and-carrot cupcakes that were...

Clifford on his first walk with Jay, Corenna and Moncrief ---------- Clifford, the most recent big red dog to land in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels, got to see his new home in Parkland today for the first time. Clifford with Sebastian, left, and Elias ---------- Dusty got a chance to hang with her buddies in Sunrise for a couple of hours as Michelle and I made the drive north to deliver Clifford to his new family. Jay, Corenna, Sebastian and Elias were all outside in the hot sun standing in the driveway as we pulled up. Clifford got to meet his new canine brother, Moncrief, shortly after we arrived. Jay and Corenna took the two for a leash walk around the perimeter of the cul-de-sac for a few minutes, and they got along great. Clifford wasn't at FoG for very long. He and Boogie arrived from the Hialeah compound eight days ago, a couple of hours before Jay, Corenna and the boys visited the Sunrise shelter to window-shop the hounds. Clifford stayed in Sunrise as ...

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...