Dusty and me

Stormy cleans up pretty well, doesn't she? (Thanks to Carolina for the photo.) ---------- Congratulations to Stormy. The 3-year-old black girl who had been in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels since April has found her way into her first family home. FoG Veep Michelle delivered Stormy this morning to Carolina and Jorge in Miami. The young couple submitted an adoption application on Stormy a couple of days ago, pending a home visit to see if she would get along with the family's Italian greyhound. The two hounds hit it off just fine this morning, and Stormy became an official family member. Jagger taking a snooze ---------- Stormy was the only female in the FoG kennels -- leaving the roster with six boys. Mercury -- the sculpted, athletic fawn -- has been spoken for by a returning FoG adopter and is expected to be delivered later this week. FoG hasn't heard from the Boca Raton couple who visited last week to look at Jagger. They have not submitted an applicati...

Kal at his whimsical best ---------- It's always playtime for Kal. Kal is a big, strong black dog born March 2, 2014. He wrapped up his 66-race career as Turbo Kal in May and landed in the  Friends of Greyhounds  kennels in July. And he's been collecting every squeaky toy he can get his jaws around ever since. In the time I've known Kal, he seems to always be chewing on some pliable squeaky thing. Wait. Let me revise that: He always seems to be chewing on some pliable squeaky thing only if he's not reaching into his neighboring kennels trying to get at the other dog's pliable squeaky things. When we do turnouts, Kal usually always gets distracted on his way out the door by a toy that might be lying on the open floor -- or by one that might be sticking out of one of the other kennels calling Kal's name. This boy does love his toys. This is how he spends most of his waking moments: Kal, simply put, is a 75-pound bundle of joyful exuberance....

Stormy kicking back in her FoG kennel ---------- If you like a little bit of spunk in your greyhounds, Stormy might be the one for you. This solidly built black beauty showed up at the Friends of Greyhounds kennels in late April, making her the veteran of the shelter's current roster of adoptables. She became an instant favorite of mine because she looks so much like Dusty. She has a little less white trim than Dusty does, and she's not quite as slim as Dusty. But they could easily pass as twins. Stormy was born Jan. 7, 2014 -- making her two days older than Dusty.  Stormy in April, just after her arrival at FoG ---------- As I soon learned, though, their close age and similar appearance shouldn't lead you to believe Stormy and Dusty are cut from the same cloth. Whereas Dusty generally is cool as a cucumber, pulling you into her orbit, Stormy is a go-getter. She comes to you to get your attention. Stormy guards her corner of the FoG kennels fiercely. ...

Jagger and Dusty on a leisurely stroll ---------- Hurricane Irma has been gone for about three weeks now, but we still have reminders of her lying in piles all over the place here in South Florida. Everywhere you look, you see missing sections of fencing and heaps of brown leaves and dead tree branches strewn about. For the most part, at least what I see in central and western Broward County, everyday life has returned to normal. People are going to work, restaurants and stores are open, gasoline is flowing plentiful again. But beneath the surface, many of us are still dealing with and paying for cleanup and repairs and working furiously to get our businesses back on track. All of which doesn't leave a lot of time to think about adding a greyhound to our families. Thinking back, I don't believe I know of one person who has visited the Friends of Greyhounds kennels this month to window-shop the available hounds -- and this month will be over in a couple of days. Wh...

Hawk, one of the new arrivals at Friends of Greyhounds ---------- Friends of Greyhounds has delivered a few hounds to new homes the past few days. But as quickly as they're going out, more are coming in. Dusty and I drove over to Sunrise this morning to meet this week's new arrivals -- three of them from the Florida Kennels compound in Hialeah. Thanks, Chris, for keeping those retired hounds coming as quickly as Michelle can make room for them. Kelly was the week's first arrival -- a sleek, muscular black female who arrived Sunday with a broken leg. Kelly then spent the day Monday at Animal Hospital of University Drive . Kelly will spend her upcoming second birthday hobbling and healing in the FoG kennels. But Dr. Ansara told Michelle that he expects a full recovery for the youngster with no long-term issues. Dusty's injury last summer was much worse, and she's perfectly fine now. So we can vouch from experience that Kelly will be good as new in a few ...

Dee Dee, the 11-year-old brindle who landed in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels for the third time, didn't have to wait long for a new home. Shawn with Charlie (left) and new family member Dee Dee ---------- She was at FoG for only about 10 days before she found herself a new home. Michelle and I delivered her today to Shawn, a Miami-Dade County firefighter who lives in Davie. Dee Dee is at least the third greyhound Shawn has adopted from FoG. Shawn lost her older hound a couple weeks ago and had decided she needed to fill the empty space in her home with another. She called Michelle on Sunday, and they quickly agreed that Dee Dee would be a good fit in Shawn's home. Dee Dee had been spending her days in the FoG permanent residence with Michelle and Jerry D.'s house dogs, sleeping overnights in the guest kennels. Michelle had planned to get Dee Dee's vet work done this week but decided to get her Shawn immediately. Dee Dee will get a few days to get accus...

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...

Joan, Zoe, Smidgen and Cassie (new arrival Maggie didn't want to leave the couch) ---------- It's official: Maggie is now part of Smidgen's harem in Delray Beach. Maggie, you'll recall, is the little brindle girl who landed with Friends of Greyhounds several days ago after her adoptive human mother passed away. She arrived at the Sunrise shelter noticeably underweight and shaking in fright. Maggie on her second day at FoG ---------- But things only got better for Maggie from that point. She began eating vigorously almost right away and got over her insecurities within a day or two. She was only in her kennel for about a week when longtime FoG friend Joan agreed to take her in, sight unseen. Michelle and I drove Maggie to Delray Beach a few days ago to meet her new family and see her new home -- and sealed the adoption commitment with Joan. Maggie got all her veterinarian work done on Thursday, and we took her home for good this morning -- just in time to ...

Maggie out in the yard for a little exercise at Friends of Greyhounds ---------- Apparently, it's reunion season at Friends of Greyhounds . For the third time in a little more than a week, FoG has welcomed back an old friend looking for a new family. This time it's Maggie, a small brindle girl who will be 7 years old in July. Maggie had been in her home for 4 1/2 years. But her primary caretaker passed away and she was returned to the FoG kennels Sunday morning. Maggie is pretty stressed out. She hasn't eaten much in the past few days and has lost a few pounds. Michelle said she was really scared and confused her first day in the kennel. Dusty and I went to Sunrise this morning for a visit. We found her shivering noticeably from fright. But she did eat a meal this morning and happily devoured a second helping when it was offered. Michelle and I went out to the yard for her turnout with the kennel's other girls, Stormy and Annie. She showed us that she is healt...

One of these hounds is chill and one is not. ---------- Dusty and I drove to Boca Raton today to hang out and provide some assistance for another Friends of Greyhounds adoption event at Pet Supermarket. Michelle was happy to see us walk through the door. She had just picked up her phone to call me for some help. Stormy was in the house, and the rambunctious 3-year-old girl was giving Michelle all she could handle. Stormy was not being shy. This is a female with a big personality, and she was showing off every bit of it. She was jumping and twisting and exploring and commanding attention pretty much the entire time. Michelle told me she had to tighten up the martingale collar on her because Stormy pulled herself free at one point. Here's a quick look at the black tornado: And she didn't slow down for most of the two hours I was there. Annie, though, might end up being the winner of the day. The little red fawn who was returned to FoG a couple of days ago with ...

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 ...

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...

Dusty and I were back in Sunrise today for a scheduled volunteer shift at Friends of Greyhounds. The day was overcast and breezy ahead of some incoming thunderstorms -- a nice breath of pleasant fresh air. So I took the opportunity to spend some time out in the yard with a few of the hounds. Nothing of note to report today, but I got a couple of photos and videos to share. Enjoy. Whatever I said, Stormy thought it was funny. Check Dusty's Videos for a quick vid I got of this beauty. ---------- It took some work, but I got Casey to go outside with me. He tentatively followed me out to the back of the L-shaped yard -- all the while staying several feet behind me and freezing as soon as I would turn around and look for him. In the end, all he really wanted was to go back inside to his safe spot in his kennel. ---------- Calendar reminder: Dusty and I plan to join Michelle and a couple of FoG adoptables Sunday at Pet Supermarket in Boca Raton. Check Dusty's Cale...

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...