Dusty and me

Deb and Kim confirmed what I observed Saturday night, that Reasey really has come out of her shell in the past several months. Savvy, meanwhile, is the same big hunk of fawn lover boy. ---------- Dusty and I joined several regulars and a couple of new faces and hounds Saturday night for the first Friends of Greyhounds gathering of the new season. Michelle got us a new spot, the Panera Bread patio at the Plantation Promenade shopping center. I always love seeing Rosie and Luna. ---------- It was the culmination of an eventful few days for Dusty. Except for a couple of short bathroom breaks, she has been curled up nearly unconscious for about 14 hours now after a few days of visits from grandparents Ma and Pa Sharp, a distressing rescue of a family of ducklings Saturday morning and her meetup with old and new friends Saturday night. A couple of wounded warriors were among the group in Plantation. It was the first time we saw Mike since he went down several months ago wi...

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...

It was sunny but cold for the FoG gathering at Flamingo Road Nursery. Hounds and humans alike were bundled up and preferred the sun to the shade of the usual hangout under the canopy. ---------- The hounds and their humans were bundled up Sunday for their gathering at One Last Stand BBQ at Flamingo Road Nursery. The sun was bright, but temperatures stayed in the low 60s as a stiff breeze made it feel even cooler. Considering, the turnout was pretty good at the monthly Friends of Greyhounds event. Joy's hound David sporting his football jammies ---------- Michelle handed out a few more kennel collars and had some hound jackets and jammies to sell. And Lynne turned up with a nice spread of martingale collars to sell. Dusty picked out a nice holiday-themed collar she plans to wear for her Christmas visits to the FoG folks and the grandparents. The day featured Andy's first public appearance since his scary heat-stroke incident about a month ago. Andy appeared in gr...

Dusty and Kelly at the Parkland adoption event Saturday morning ---------- That's two black greyhounds in two days for Friends of Greyhounds. Four-year-old Kelly will be delivered Sunday evening to Sam and his family in Palmetto Bay, a day after Michelle took Kal to his new home in Coral Gables. Kelly isn't officially adopted yet -- he's going to spend a few days with Sam's family on a home trial. But I would be very surprised if Kelly came back to Sunrise after visiting with Sam and his young son Saturday afternoon in Parkland at the Homes For Dogs Project event. Sam and his family lost their hound to cancer a few weeks ago, and they are ready for another one. Their previous grey came from FoG several years ago, when Jerry D. and Michelle were operating in Hialeah. Sam keeps an eye on FoG's website  as well as Dusty and Me, and he and his son got interested in Kelly. He called Michelle when we were at the Parkland event and decided to make the drive all...

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 ...

That's one glorious hound, that Savvy. ---------- Debbie and Hayley stopped by the townhouse about an hour ago to pick up Savvy and take him back to his Coconut Creek home. Savvy was here with Dusty and me for four days, and we loved having him here. That big fawn fella is nothing but a big hunk of joy. With the possible exception of devouring his big bowl of kibble twice a day, all Savvy cared about was his hosts. For the entire four days, all he wanted was to be wherever I was at any given moment -- especially if I had a leash in my hand. The boy loves that leash. All I had to do was reach for it, and he would become a whirling dervish. He'd start spinning, jumping, pirouetting and steamrolling any other dog (Dusty) that might get in his way. Sorry I didn't get a video record of it, but I had to use every bit of concentration and dexterity I could muster to protect life and limb. Savvy and Dusty loved their walks together. I got them out several times each day ...

Dusty took the spare bed so her guest could be comfy. ... Nah, that's not how it went down. ---------- It's a good week to be an amateur hound sitter in South Florida -- Dusty and I have been hired to look after seven hounds over the next few days while their families are taking a vacation, on a business trip and working long overnight shifts. The day started with Debbie dropping off Savvy at the townhouse this morning. Debbie and the family are going on a short vacation that was planned before they adopted Savvy a little more than three weeks ago. Dusty and I have plenty of room to share with a big fawn greyhound, so we happily agreed to take him in for a few days. Dusty was excited about having a visitor: Savvy and Dusty both are asleep next to me now. The two hounds get along great. Floyd the fawn and Ace ---------- Savvy has shown me so far that two things he loves -- his leash and to be wherever I am. Dusty will follow me from room to room, upstai...

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...

Today was flea and tick and heartworm prevention day at Friends of Greyhounds, that monthly ritual when all of the guests and permanent residents get nasty liquids squirted into their mouths and spread across their backs. Savvy enjoying a little kennel-free time ---------- All the dogs take to it pretty well -- it's more a time-consuming ritual than a difficult one with 13 dogs to treat. Spent a little bit of time with a couple of the dogs. Casey is getting braver by the day. Today was the first time he instinctively moved toward me when I opened his gate, and he didn't think too long before running out the door into the yard. He's feeling more at home by the day.  Savvy, one of the newest guests in the kennel, is a big, curious guy who had to check everything out before hanging with me for a couple of minutes for some playful attention. Michelle has firmed up dates for a couple of events coming up. I've created a page, Dusty's Calendar , to...

No, Jerry, really, don't worry. Dusty's OK. She decided to get in some impromptu sunbathing on our way out to the car after our Monday morning visit to Friends of Greyhounds. I was walking her across the front yard to the Kia Koach when she decided to take a break. And I couldn't persuade her to get up. Michelle and Jerry walked over to laugh about it, and I grabbed my camera. Jerry's prayerful pose, which I saw only after I looked through the shots when I got home, is a happy accident. ---------- Dusty and I got back home last night after five days sitting with Holly and the cats. Holly was as happy and excited as I've ever seen her when Frank and Janice walked through the door. My, she was happy to have mom and dad back home. Dusty gets really comfy shortly after arriving back home. ---------- And Dusty was thrilled to death to be able to crawl into her own bed, as you can see here. It didn't take her long at all to get comfortable. We drove over...