Dusty and me

Luna finds some respite in a dirt bed originally constructed by Savvy with some help from Dusty. ---------- AccuWeather kept warning there would be rain, but the skies stayed dry all day for a greyt gathering at Dog Dude Ranch. The Friends of Greyhounds-coordinated event gave Dusty a chance to hang out off-leash with a few old friends. We saw a surprising number of hounds of the black variety -- Kal, Frozen, Rainey, Luna and Slinky among them. And we got a chance to see Savvy, my favorite boy hound in the world. I have a short video that shows everyone who was there a couple of hours in. It was easy to get everyone in the shot -- there wasn't much energy being expended at this point.  We always have a great time at these gatherings. Come on out to the next one. Nothing is set on the calendar at this point. I'll let you know when we get something scheduled. There's some new signage at the former barbecue stand at Flamingo Road Nursery that suggests it...

Cheyenne meets Dakota, her new next-door neighbor. Click here for a video. ---------- A former Friends of Greyhounds volunteer has given Cheyenne her first home. The 2-year-old was adopted Saturday, less than two weeks after the end of her racing career. Fella ---------- Michelle and I delivered Cheyenne to the Sunrise home of longtime FoG friend Kim and her boyfriend, Mike. Cheyenne will share a nice backyard with her big brother, Reno. Kim had been on the lookout for a small female hound to add to the family. She stopped by the FoG kennels earlier in the week to meet Cheyenne and immediately decided to adopt the young beauty. Cheyenne's departure leaves Fella all alone in the FoG kennels. The affectionate 4-year-old brindle dynamo has been looking for a family since his racing career ended in August. He plans to be at the Sunday play date at Dog Dude Ranch, so come out and meet him. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The address is 6305 SW 120th Ave., ...

Luna with Dawn and Rosie at Ruby Falls in Tennessee ---------- Luna just got home from a winter vacation to points north. Mom Dawn sent along some photos to share with everyone. It's never too cold to have fun with sisters Rosie and Lily. ---------- Dawn, Lily and Rosie took their hound on a four-state expedition over the holidays. Dawn said Luna (known as Lulu when she was in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels) was a great travel companion. Luna got to visit dog parks in four different states -- Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky -- and went everywhere with Dawn and the girls. She had no problem with the frigid weather, Dawn said. Luna's faux sheepskin coat and hound tee helped her cope with temperatures in the single digits. Dawn said Luna got a bit spoiled on the trip. "Re-entry has been a little tough for her," Dawn wrote. "Each time I reach for the car keys, she is halfway in the car -- and I have to break it to her gently that she can...

Apollo would love to be in a new home for the holidays. ---------- Friends of Greyhounds has a new guest in the Sunrise kennels. Meet Apollo, an 8-year-old fawn boy who is looking for a new home after a family breakup. Apollo landed at FoG on Friday, and he's already adjusted to his new temporary life. I stopped by to visit him this morning, and he seems like a happy, healthy, friendly, well-adjusted guy. He's eating well, he was excited to get attention and affection from perfect strangers, and he got along great with his fellow senior adoptables during their turnouts today. Here he is (with the red collar) hanging out with black hound Kelly and fellow fawn Logan: Apollo was adopted in Virginia six years ago by a couple who eventually moved to South Florida. The family broke up, however, and Apollo landed in an apartment in Coconut Creek with his dad. But Apollo ended up spending long days by himself in his crate in the apartment as his dad works 10- and 12-hou...

Fella looks to me for help, but I was busy taking photos. ---------- Yahtzee bargaining with the devil ---------- Old friend Mike brought the Groom Waggin mobile doggie spa to Sunrise today to give Friends of Greyhounds ' 10 guest and resident hounds a little freshening up. All of them were getting a bit long in the toenails, and Mike, as always, stopped by the shelter to give pawdicures for all. Mike's a longtime supporter -- in fact, he and his wife have a couple of greyhounds adopted from FoG. He picked up his two dogs' kennel collars from Michelle while he was there. Groom Waggin has been giving pawdicures to FoG dogs off and on for a few years. Mike's visits have been sporadic, though, and always overdue by the time he arrives. Today, he told Michelle he would start putting her on his calendar and schedule regular visits. Casey trying his best to be brave ---------- The Davie-based Groom Waggin takes its mobile spa all over South Florida. Mike ...

Dusty having a word with new friend Reasey ---------- Ahhh, it was so good to get outside again to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine -- and, of course, the barbecue -- with all our hound buddies. We had a great turnout Saturday at One Last Cast BBQ on the grounds of Flamingo Road Nursery for the first Friends of Greyhounds gathering of the season. The weather was almost perfect. It got a little warm at times if you were out in the sun. But we had just enough clouds, some nice breezes and plenty of shade cover to make it a success. Of course, everyone exchanged their Irma war stories. Fortunately for us inland dwellers, no one had any real damage. Most of the Irma talk was about losing power for various lengths of time. Mike and Andy spent parts of one or two evenings sleeping in Mike's air-conditioned car to escape the still, humid heat of their house. Jerry D. arrived late to the gathering because he was making arrangements to have someone rebuild the fence at the FoG ...

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. ---------- 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 ...

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.

A black-hound convention: Molly, Dusty, Domino and Slinky ---------- It wasn't the biggest crowd for a Friends of Greyhounds gathering at One Last Cast BBQ. But it certainly was the hottest. At one point about halfway in, Jerry B checked the weather status on his brand-spanking-new smartphone, and he said the Feels Like was 99. It wasn't completely unbearable. We did have some nice shade cover out on the patio and we would catch a nice breeze now and then. But the hounds weren't very active, preferring to find a relatively cool spot to lie down. And not many of the humans stayed around for the entire four hours. Jerry B. and his lap dog, Slinky ---------- All that said, it still turned out to be a good afternoon. Old FoG friend Daniel, who lost Jeff to bone cancer a few months back, came to tell Jerry D. and Michelle that he is ready to adopt a new companion. He set up an appointment to stop by the Sunrise kennels Monday to check out the dogs on hand. He bonde...