All posts in Living with Greyhounds

Update post.

The furnace just kicked on blasting warm, dry air. It’s Cold outside. Currently -16 F and dropping. It’s hibernation time.

Greyhound sculpture and Greyhound dog copyright Sarah Regan SnavelyHard to believe I took this photo a couple of weeks ago – most of the snow had melted off the deck behind the house and Frank dog sculpture needed his -her?- photo taken. Nearly impossible to get a resident Greyhound to sit like Frank for the photo. We got close…

Rabit rabbit sculpture Sarah Regan Snavely

Also during those weeks I began a nasty rabbit sculpture. Grumpy and it comes out in the art. Hard to find photos of snarling rabbits even with Google images. Not pictured is the nice, but overly eager Greyhound she’s snarling at.

Winchester Greyhound dog in snow with tongue sticking out

The past weeks have been dog park-less and the hounds have had to be satisfied with occasional leash walks and romps in the backyard. I’ve tried to capture them in the snow in the yard with the camera, but the results have been less than satisfying. Dogs probably feel that way about the quality of the exercise. So much snow, but nothing like last year… yet.

Greyhound dog sculpture Sarah Regan Snavely

Also worked on a new piece tentatively titled, Faith in my Lucky Rabbit’s Foot. This is a piece that I’ve wanted to make for a long while. I’ll find those original sketches in an old sketchbook and post them. This is another piece I hope will be ready for the exhibition at Dickinson State University in March. Going to be close.

Greyhound looking out the window

Sage waits for the weather to break. He is a tough dog and tolerates the weather more than any other Greyhound I’ve owned.

But we all want the weather to warm up.

Three years old!

On tuesday, Sage and Annie will be three years old!

What wonderful hounds they have grown up into.

Seems like they were just babies a second ago. I’d do it again in a second (but with all the knowledge I’ve gained with raising these two). What a wonderful ride it has been.

A break in the weather

After days of cold and snow, the weather warmed enough for a trip to the dog park. By warmed, I mean around 28 degrees F.

20 degrees seems to be the tipping point as far as weather warm enough for the dog park – if we get weather warmer than that with NO wind – whoo hoo! Dog park we go.

Winchester Greyhound running in the snow

The Greyhounds love to run. They know where there going as soon as we turn north on the road to the dog park.

Sage Greyhound rolling in the snow

Sage, especially, loves the snow. Winchester and Annie pretend it doesn’t exist, but Sage rolls and rubs himself in it.

Sage Winchester and Annie running in the snow

The snow doesn’t hamper their running and playing as long as it is soft and powdery. When it thaws a bit, then freezes again it gets a coat of ice on the top. The ice, not the temperature, will hamper our dog park trips. Ice slices Greyhound feet.

Annie Greyhound running in the snow

But till then, they run.

Winchester Greyhound gets hot

Until they are panting.

Annie and Winchester Greyhound play bowing in the snow

Then play some more.

Sage Greyhound running through the snow

Best part of the day!

Annie Sage and Winchester smiling in the snow

A frosty morning

Winter has descended on North Dakota. Most of October and most of November were beautiful, fall-filled. The more fall, the less winter. Hurray!

Annie Greyhound sniffing the winter air

Sunday morning was frosty as ever. The Greyhounds are getting used to the cold again and Annie was happy to be outside as I unloaded the smoke firing cans. The air is crisp and cold. I was happy to get this photo of her sniffing the slight breeze.

Frosty tree branches against a blue sky

Everything was covered with frost and the sky was foggy and cold… till the sun came out. Sunday was a beautiful winter day.

Winchester Greyhound sleeping in a sunbeam

Winchester, on the other hand, is happy to stay inside. Sage had the choice sunbeam next to the glass door, but Winchester found an able substitute.

Sage Greyhound looking through deck railingWhen Sage did come outside, he played with Annie till it was ready to go in. He peeked through the deck railing as I unloaded the smoke cans.

Smoke fired Greyhound dogHere’s one of the smoke-fired small sculptures from this weekend’s firing. More photos on Facebook.

Needs.

Ceramic Greyhound sculpture Sarah Regan Snavely The memory boxes need to be on etsy before the end of the weekend. Both kilns need to be unloaded. Sculptures need to be finished. Small pieces need to be smoke fired.

Annie on sheepskin Annie has needs also. Running is one. She watches me as I work, looking for evidence that a trip to the dog park is on the horizon.

Of course we went to the dog park…

Torture.

As small towns go, Bowman is okay. It has its share of rumors and people talking and goldfish-bowl living. That’s the way it goes. With that comes people helping when your tire goes flat, showing up for funerals, bringing casseroles (hotdish!) at important times, waving as they pass you on the street. But people talk and it will come around eventually. Still strange when it is your turn in the rumor mill.

“Someone in town has really tall dogs and they are SO skinny – she’s not feeding them!” Ah. Yeah. What Greyhound owner hasn’t heard this one? These hounds eat just fine, thank you. Nope, they are supposed to be thin. Greyhounds. Nope, not Great Danes. Perfectly normal. Built for Speed. Yes, aerodynamic. Thanks for your concern.

If they only knew how I torture my dogs…

Poor Sage. I’m slightly obsessed with putting things on my dogs’ heads. So when he tore off a chunk of his new sheepskin bed I thought, “Chinese Crested Greyhound”.

And put the chunk on his head.

And photographed him with an I’m not impressed look on his face.

And posted it on the internets for all the world to see.

I’m a good doggy Mom. Honest.

Modeling.

front view standing brindle greyhound dog All three of my Greyhounds are working dogs. Not working as in “fill the soup pot” but working as in model. Be Greyhoundy. Be cooperative with inspection. With being measured and looked at. They all love to model and are very willing to let me poke and prod them, move them around, or measure their parts with calipers or a tape measure.

standing brindle greyhound profile

Winchester, being seven years old, has the most experience. Plus Annie and Sage are still into running and playing hard. They know the dog park is running. Winchester has other ideas. When the camera comes out, Winchester poses.

Standing brindle Greyhound dog profile

And poses. “Look At ME!” He’ll walk in front of other dog’s shots, butting in on others attention. Which is why today was so unique…

Standing brindle greyhound with white dog in background

Because someone else is beginning to horn into Winchester’s shot.

More than enough SD cards to go around guys…

I’ve been remiss.

Out of the blue, this book, Keefer : The People’s Choice by Leslie A. Wootten, arrived in my mailbox. Trouble is… this happened awhile ago… and I’m just getting around to thanking Nick and Debbie Hunseder for this wonderful gift for my Greyhound library. Thank you so much! I must apologize for my tardiness…

Read it cover to cover when it arrived. As the title implies, the book follows the rise of Keefer’s career. Well written book. Like you’re right there. Plus Keefer was my late Kelly’s grand-sire – so that was cool too!

Thanks again, Nick and Debbie! Ear scritches and belly rubs to your pack of lucky sundogs.

Smokin’ new ride

New bicycle I have a new bicycle. For the dogs. So they can trot next to it. Varying up the exercise a bit.

The greyhounds are loving it! I’ve been working up the distance – watching those Greyhound feet for signs of wear – riding that line between providing a workout, but not over doing it. Let the hound set the pace. Sage, especially, is loving this new activity.

Yes I wear a helmet, Mom.

New bicycle

It isn’t so clear in this photo – I have a Springer attached to this bike. It allows me to keep both hands on the handle bars while still obeying the leash law. All three greyhounds picked up on what to do right away. I want them to sustain a trot and after a bit of encouragement they figured this out quickly.

And how about this bike? It’s smokin! Feel like I should be wearing a poodle skirt and horned rimmed glasses as I ride. But it’s got the two things that I wanted in a bike for this endeavor: foot brakes and short enough frame that I can put my feet down and touch nearly flatfooted. Oh, and the Springer thing had to fit on it.

Haven’t owned a Huffy since 1982. Cool.

What are they thinking?

I take a bunch of photos, and while I enjoy it immensely, I don’t know much beyond the basic photography class I took in college. I would like to learn more. Mostly my method is take a lot and delete many.

I keep a file for strange expressions on dog faces. Like this one:

Brindle Greyhound running with teeth exposedGo, Winchester, Go! My favorite part? The exposed pink inside his ears. So Vicious! So Pretty!

How about this one?Greyhounds and Poodle playingAnnie bouncing for joy. The Spoo mouthing Sage’s neck – trying to get him to run so the Spoo can chase. And Sage with one eye open, one closed?

Here’s another from that same dog park session:

Poodle and greyhound share intimate momentSpoo checking Sage’s breath? A romantic moment between Spoo and Sage with a jealous Winchester looking on?

Probably dogs playing – Spoo barking to get Sage to run. I love the strange story shots.

We came and went.

A couple of months ago, I began to make plans to attend the Greyhound Club of America’s National Specialty show in Lompoc, California. This is the big Greyhound exhibition in the US for the year. And the plan was to take Annie and Sage along.

Normally, the end of July is full-on, Dewey Beach-Greyhounds Reach the beach preparation-mode. By August I’m a demon – pretty much need my food and water slid through a hole in the studio door – who takes the time to eat? Really, I’m not fit for human companionship until the half of the “to do” list has been completed. By that time, the summer is gone and I’m left wondering where it went. Off I go making the annual pilgrimage to Delaware over Columbus day. And then it”s November. Just like that.

I wanted to try something a little different. Could I get all my work done to prepare for Dewey Beach AND make a trip to California? I’m happy to report the “To do” list is looking pretty good. The stress level is holding to a minimum… even though it’s a mere 62 days to Greyhounds Reach the Beach. 62 days! Eeek!

The California trip was wonderful. And hard. But really good. Met fabulous and generous people including the couple from whom I got Annie and Sage and Gus’s Mom (Annie and Sage’s brother) – better people can’t be found. Put faces with names. Watched Sage as strutted his stuff around the dog show ring. Tried to bring out the best of my sweet Annie girl when she did the same. Laughed as Annie realized that those fast plastic bags would be fun to chase – and as Annie and Sage jumped from bed to bed in the motel room.

The hounds were great in the car and handled the long trip with all the new stimuli nicely. I also realized that my Greyhounds are very, very spoiled – and that I’m not always doing them any favors by making their lives so easy. As I was lamenting this on the drive home, my Mom told me emphatically, “See raising kids isn’t so easy!” :)

It’s good to be home. Tired. The summer cold I picked up along the way is leaving and the routine is going back to normal. Now to plan the trip to the other coast…