Greyhounds
About living and loving Greyhounds -- meet my dogs and learn how they inspire my work.
In The Beginning.
In 1995 I called the 1-800 number for Greyhound Pets of America - Minnesota. And life was never the same.
Sterling was the first ex-racing Greyhound I had seen. When the adoption coordinator brought him into the room, I knew he was for me. Sterling, however, felt differently. He was not interested in me or the new world of being a "pet." He did not want to leave his crate and when he did come out, he would tremble if he encountered anything unfamiliar. I called him, "My Alien," and wondered what I done accepting responsibility for this strange dog.
I know now that much of Sterling's behavior was due to my inexperience. Here was dog that had all kinds of experiences, but few as the lone pet in a household. The best thing that I did for Sterling was to adopt Striker. Only then did Sterling's personality begin to shine.
And then there were two.
Just like Sterling's adoption, I knew I wanted Striker right from the start. He had a calm and easygoing temperament that complemented Sterling's anxious nature perfectly. His confidence rubbed off on Sterling. He joined the household on August 20th, 1996 at 3 1/2 years of age. His racing name was Wayhigh Striker (My Unruly Dan X Winfra Trip) and he raced at Wisconsin Dells.
Striker's favorite thing was reminding me about feeding time. He would "woof" his high pitched bark as I was preparing the dogs' meal.
Along comes a White Dog.
Apollo, known on the race track as BDK's Apollo (BDK's Airborn x I'm Honeycomb), was a beautiful white and fawn boy who weighed about 82 pounds at his best. Apollo was adopted shortly after his second birthday (that's code for: wasn't much of a racer!).
Apollo's unsuccessful racing career didn't hampered his desire to pursue a new "job"-- retrieving the tennis ball...the soccer ball...or anything else that can be thrown by a human and returned by a dog. He excelled at his job.
Like Potato Chips.
By now, I was hooked on Greyhounds. Three months after I adopted Apollo, I adopted Kelly.
People say these guys are like Potato chips--you can't have just one. I guess I prove that theory! Kelly raced as Lp's Wingman (Kelso's Hot Rod x Shelly Lou) until his fifth birthday. Til his death in July of 2007, Kelly was always a goofy and laid back hound. He was my "velcro dog" following me from room to room.
Adopted at nearly 11 1/2, Esther (knows as Esther Lynn during her brief racing career) was a wonderful girl. Except for her pretty gray face one would have never guessed she's was senior citizen from her energy level and zest for life.
The Next Chapter.
Esther and Striker were gone. Sterling was slowing down considerably. Apollo and Kelly were still going strong. And I found a big brindle Greyhound in Montana in need of new home. Will, now Winchester came to live with use in March of 2005. What a gift he is. Fifteen months old at the time, Winchester was a 98 pound puppy. Turns out he was just what I needed. Sterling died suddenly just two months after Winchester's arrival.
I was devastated. Sterling was my heart dog. My oxygen dog. My first Greyhound. I couldn't imagine life without him... and he was gone. Died in my arms from a stroke? heart attack? But Winchester needed exercise and so he and I walked my pain off... sort of.
Winchester has turned out to be an incredible dog. I'm so proud of him!
The new challenge is the two Greyhound puppies, Sage and Annie. Read all about them on the blog!