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...

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 ...

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...

Savvy with little sis Riley, big sis Hayley, mom Kim and grandmom Debbie ---------- Without a doubt, my favorite task as a volunteer with Friends of Greyhounds is accompanying Michelle on her home deliveries. I got another chance to do it today as we drove the FoG greyhound bus a few miles northeast to Coconut Creek. This time, we had two guys in the van -- Savvy and Posey. Debbie, Kim and the two young girls, Riley and Hayley, met those two dogs last weekend at the FoG adoption event in Boca Raton and decided they wanted to adopt both. The plan was to leave one of the dogs there today, return to Sunrise with the second one and then to come back to Coconut Creek with the second dog a couple of weeks later, after the women adjusted to having the first one in the home. Posey ---------- When we arrived, Michelle thought it a good idea to take the dogs into the house one at a time. Savvy was the first, greeted at the front door by an excited Michelle, followed by Debbie and R...

"Those guys better not even think about taking one of these toys." ---------- We ended up with a nice gathering of humans and hounds Sunday afternoon for the Friends of Greyhounds meet and greet at Pet Supermarket in western Boca Raton. Amazed by a greyhound pretzel ---------- Posey and Savvy were the big attractions -- the two FoG guests auditioning for a family and a permanent home. Both of them were up to the task, making their case by body-leaning every passing customer who stopped to say hello. Savvy especially was a big hit with a family whose two young girls spent quite a long while fawning over him. They were fascinated and infatuated. Mom seemed seriously interested, so Michelle might be getting an application on the big lover in the next day or two. Several other customers stopped for some involved greyhound conversation, with seven other humans and six more hounds helping Michelle with her adoption pitch. Mike and his boy, Andy. were the first to a...

Posey making all kinds of friends ---------- Michelle and longtime Friends of Greyhounds jack-of-all-trades volunteer Jerry B took a drive to Miami on Wednesday to introduce some elementary-school kids to the joys of greyhounds. Posey, one of the FoG guests, and Slinky, one of Jerry B's dogs, did the honors at Riverside Elementary Community School in Little Havana. A great time was had by all the kids and both dogs, Michelle told me. Jerry sent along some photos for me to share. Michelle, FoG honcho Jerry D and I did some cat-testing this afternoon with six of the eight FoG kennel dogs, and most of them passed with flying colors. Casey, Savvy, Taylor and Posey all showed us they would be quite happy to share a home with feline siblings. Herman and Stormy, though, weren't too keen on the cat idea. Kango and Domino previously failed the cat test. Don't forget to join Dusty and me at the Pet Supermarket at 9798 Glades Road in Boca Raton on Sunday. Michelle...

A lot of comings and goings at Friends of Greyhounds right now with new guests coming into the kennels and several greyhounds leaving for permanent homes. New FoG guest Stormy ---------- The flurry started with Ralph and Nadine going to new homes and Kango going out on an audition in Cutler Bay earlier in the week. Ralph returned to the Sunrise kennels today to get a microchip and to make his adoption official. A short time later, former guest Molly appeared at the permanent residence, where she'll be staying for a few days while her family takes a vacation. Dusty and I showed up a couple of minutes behind Molly for our volunteer shift giving noontime walks to the guests -- and to meet a couple of new arrivals Michelle picked up Friday in Hialeah. And that's when Dusty met her match -- Stormy, a shiny 3-year-old black female who could pass as Dusty's twin sister. Look closely: You can tell them apart by noting that Stormy has very little white on th...