Dusty and me

Handsome after his Monday visit with Dr. Ansara ---------- Our new buddy Handsome has had his vet workup -- he's been neutered, he has all his shots and bloodwork is done. And he's hanging out at the Friends of Greyhounds kennels waiting for someone to take him home. Dr. Ansara's crew at Animal Hospital of University Drive  also took an X-ray of Handsome's injured right hind leg while he was there Monday. FoG matriarch Michelle has sent the picture to an orthopedic surgeon to have a look. But she thinks the injury happened several months ago and there's probably nothing to do to fix it at this point. Handsome's a tall 3-year-old brindle boy who landed at FoG last week through a back door. Michelle will tell you his story if you ask her. He's really friendly and loves hanging out in the FoG backyard with the resident dogs and humans. He gets around pretty well on that gimp leg. He'll walk a couple of steps on it now and then, but for the most...

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 ...

Pharoah taking in the sunset ---------- Pharoah, the young white greyhound formerly known as Taylor, hasn't allowed his gimpy leg to slow him down. The boy has mastered the long, steep stairwell in his new Coconut Creek townhouse and is settling in perfectly, Crystal told me in an email. To review, Pharoah landed in the Friends of Greyhounds kennels in the spring with a badly injured right hind that wasn't treated properly. The injury healed, but because it wasn't properly set, the ankle/foot area became malformed to the point where it can't bear weight. Pharoah can use the leg for balance, but he essentially walks and does most things with only three legs. Michelle's orthopedic vet examined the leg -- she said Pharoah feels no pain from the injury and has adjusted perfectly. The vet said he will have no short- or long-term problems with the leg and that expensive surgery would only fix the appearance of the leg. That said, when Michelle and I delivered P...

Taylor with Crystal and his new canine sibling, Bailey ---------- I usually write up news like this as it happens. But it's been a crazy couple of days in Dusty Land, so apologies for being late. We'll start with news about Taylor. The beautiful white hound with the gimpy leg found himself a family Tuesday -- Crystal delivered her adoption application to Friends of Greyhounds  shortly after Michelle and I returned from delivering Kango to his family. Crystal had her eye on three hounds, but Taylor was her first choice. He made the choice easy for Crystal when he was the only one of the three to pass an impromptu cat-tolerance test. Michelle and I delivered Taylor to Crystal's townhouse in Coconut Creek on Thursday. He will need to navigate a long, steep but straight and carpeted stairway to get in and out of his new home. He did pretty well going up and then down for the first time with human assistance. It'll be a challenge for him for a few days, ...

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...

From left: Annie (3 years old July 3), Taylor (3 on June 25), Maggie (7 on July 3), Casey (2 on July 20), Kango (4 on July 1) ---------- Five guests at Friends of Greyhounds have birthdays coming up. Larry Warsh of Larry Warsh Photography in Fort Lauderdale put together this photo/graphic to help celebrate. Contact FoG if you'd like to come by and celebrate. Michelle says she'll give you a deal on adoption fees for one of these hounds. Act now, though -- one of them (Maggie) just went to her new home, and another one (Kango) is spoken for. But the other three are still looking for homes.

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 ...

Dusty was feeling a little restless this morning. Here she is not-so-patiently waiting for me to finish my coffee: We had been hunkered down for a couple of days waiting out some nasty thunderstorms and flooded streets. We finally dried out today, so I put her in the Kia Koach to take her for a play date with her Friends of Greyhounds buddies. Dusty and Annie getting re-acquainted ---------- We got to see an old friend when we got there. Annie, a beautiful little fawn girl a couple weeks short of 3 years old, came back to FoG a couple days ago. She went to a home in Coral Springs earlier this year, but she had some issues with the family's other dog that couldn't be resolved. So she's back looking for another family to take her in. Casey's still shy outside. ---------- Annie is on an antibiotic treatment fighting a urinary infection, and she should be fine in a week or so. I'm guessing her illness was probably the reason she's been cranky. S...

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...

Buford enjoys some neck rubs. ---------- Dusty and I headed over to Friends of Greyhounds this morning to help with the noon turnout of all the dogs -- when I let them out a few at a time into the backyard while I freshen up their kennels. Once that 30-minute routine is finished, I'll sometimes give a couple of the dogs some one-on-one time to let them stretch their legs and so I can get to know them a little better. I usually always spend a couple of minutes with Casey to see if I can somehow bring him out of his shell -- which seems to be going pretty well. For awhile, he was happy to greet me and snuggle my hand if I put it through the opening of his gate. But as soon as that gate would come open, he would freeze in uncertainty, not knowing what was to become of him. It was a challenge every day to get him to leave his kennel and go outside. He's gotten a lot better. Though he's still tentative about it, now he doesn't mind stepping forward and trotti...

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...