Hug them

We often talk about 'phases' in life.  When I graduated college, EVERYONE was getting married.  I had a closet full of bridesmaid dresses.  Then everyone was having babies..seemingly at the same time.  Then suddenly I knew a bunch of people getting a divorce. It is just the age and the phase we happen to be in.  And it seems, I am now in the phase that I've been in greyhound adoption for long enough to start seeing important hounds pass away.  We seem to be in a phase.
So hugs to the families who have lost these hounds over the last few months.  There are more but these specific hounds I had a hand in adopting through fostering or boarded often..and they will be missed.
These are all old photos..
Maggie..one of my first fosters and first home visits..her family will miss her terribly

 Maggie's "Brother" Booyah and Lulu..I fostered them at the same time and had this photo of them laying together.  Petey still misses his greyhound sister.  And Booyah was a special boy.

 Macy..I boarded her a lot and she was a great girl

And Truman..I took this photo while boarding him..he and Henry almost blended.  Another photo of two hounds that will be missed dearly...

I'm ready for this phase to be over.  My "god children" are also having a rough go (check out Gyeong's blog for updates).  And with my senior pack I know only hard days are ahead but seriously..the divorce phase was better than this one...
But I don't want this to be a downer post..so a few photos to prove we are still having fun (we didn't take dogs to GiG so I didn't take photos. I helped Kristen with the VAGA vending booth..so it was a working weekend and we missed Grapehounds b/c Dante wasn't doing well, the Parks were having medical issues and it just didn't seem like the right time).
We boarded Doc and Dinah for a few days and it reminded me of the fun of young dogs!

 Doc is super handsome..

 And let's see..Beau, SHane, Dana, Sooie, Belle, Cali, Dante, Shiloh and Smokey..it's a hounds life!!!

OutRoo

A lot of things have been going on so I am a little late with the newest addition to our house..no, it isn't another greyhound!
Long ago..we were members of another cult.  I detailed it back in 2007..feels like a lifetime ago!  But I was woo'd by shiny objects and fancy upgrades a few years ago and Jason was woo'd by ..well a better option..last year.
We are both 'car people'..and I've always traded around.  But this time I came back to my 'roots'.  Welcome..the new Outback

 For those that are interested..she's a 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited with Eyesight/Nav.  So far so good. And yes..the dogs have been in it and fit very nicely! They have more room and it is lower..so easier for the old ones.

 Petey even came to visit and got to ride in it.  He approved...and then he went back to the sunshine.

We had our spring picnic last weekend.  The weather was great! Shane got to have his first ice cream. And to say he loved it..was an understatement. At one point, he dove his head in to the container.

 My friend Nancy was holding the bowl while Rocket gave her the "Can I have some?" Look.  Shane ended up  having 4 bowls..we figured why not?

I "stole with permission" this photo from Gyeong's blog (where you can also get more photos from Katy's visit).  Shiloh doesn't like when I give other dogs attention.  Even in her feeble and dreamy state..she made herself known.  But that is why she is so special!  She is definitely my dog and I am her human!  

I am going to Greyhounds in Gettysburg next weekend but I'm not taking any dogs.  Is anyone out in blog land going?  I'd love to meet up if anyone is going.

Who could hate Texas Toast?

Spring has sprung!!!  And before our guest could arrive, we had some fun outside. We were watching Beau and Belle for the weekend and their newest 'adopter sister' Sooie!
Cali just doesn't play well with others...

 But she was content with everyone chasing her. Sooie is bringing up the rear!

 Cali..well..being Cali

 Sooie in action. She is still very young and in 'race form'..

 And then...the proverbial wheels fell off.  We had a visitor arrive.  Many of you know her as Ihatetoast with her last post being about my Henry.  Some of you know her simply as Katy and she visited us once before from Australia.   But now, she has moved back to Texas and she tagged along with her mom on a road trip..to Virginia! so we enjoyed her company for two days but more importantly..we got to finally meet Omo and Fabian!!! I've followed her blog for over 5 years and have waited a long time for this snuggle!

We essentially had a greyhound party to welcome her to the states.  I think the final count was 16 dogs and 6 people.

Some of them enjoyed a romp in the yard.. Fabian says "Who says dogs with 3 legs can't run?"

 Dinah, Cali, Doc, Fabian, Omo and Finley

 Doc does love this toy

Cali gave up and found a more comfortable location

I call this sequence.."different objectives"
Doc loves running with a toy..Does Fab want the toy or Doc?

 Oh no!  Toy down!

Doc puts on the breaks for an emergency U-turn but Fab has no clue the toy is the objective

This is the "crap..abort!" stage.  I almost got completely nailed..after this photo.

 We had a good time..lots of wine, greyhounds and laughs.  Oh yeah..and Petey!  Katy's lap became his new location.  Thanks for visiting Katy!!!

Mini things

I actually have quite a few 'playing' shots of the kids but I think this post should be about really cute but very small things.
First, you may have read on Gyeong's blog that he got 'minis' done of his greyhounds by Dip-Dip and the Bridge.
My mom saw the blog and decided to get one for me (and her and my sister).  So Shiloh is now miniaturized!

She got her eyes perfectly!  Shiloh seems to be holding it together. No more seizures and she has gotten some coordination back.  Still has some neurological signs, but nothing drastic.

She also got  a mini Trufflz (who is 12).  I love the fuzzy ears

And one of my sister's JRT, Tucker, who is also 15

Another cute mini thing...baby goats.  Now baby goats as a whole are cute.  But my sister has Angora goats..so now you add in curly hair.  THEN make it a runt who has been bottle fed...recipe for cuteness overload!  Kristen and I went to visit this particular goat this weekend...
Warning...it is crazy cute.

He really just wanted a bottle..but we let him nuzzle.

He would stop for a bit. He was a twin and his mother abandoned him. So my sister has been bottled feeding him.  He was even in her house for a week.  His sister is about 3 times bigger than he is and the mother is doing great with her.

He was very dog-like.  Just loved to be pet on..my sister says this might be an issue when he is a big male with horns..and still thinks he is the size of a chihuahua.

It took everything we had not to put him in our pocket and bring him home...

I love this one..we were definitely slimmed by the time we got done with him.

 I willpost greyhound running photos soon enough.  We are getting a very special visitor this weekend!  I can't wait to meet Omo and Fabian who are FINALLY in the USA and coming to see us this weekend.

A Tart Turns Ten

Today is Cali's 10th Birthday.  She's had special treats, extra snuggles and everything a diva deserves.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  And now..everyone is double digits...

For her birthday...or for St. Patrick's Day...or because it was Saturday, we had Kristen and Gyeong over.  We both had quite a few boarders.  So we had 4 people and 15 dogs.  There are a few missing from this photo.

We had Doc, Dinah, Smokey and Coco this weekend.  So quite the houseful!  And Doc, Dinah and Coco are younger and still like to play.  I call this one Demon Doc

 Smokey joins in

Coco reminded me of Cali..

The season of festivals, vacations and greyhound activities is approaching! Once the weather warms up a bit!

Getting old sucks..

I remember wanting to get older..looking forward to that 'magical' birthday that meant something (driving, drinking..but not together of course).  I definitely make sure and live every day as full as possible..thinking as positively as I can and doing everything now.  So aging for me isn't a big deal..I love life and every minute of it is great.  But watching my dogs age has been hard. 
Two days before my birthday, my heart dog and best friend had a horrible seizure that lasted more than a minute.  I've had Shiloh since 2 days after I graduated college and she was 9 months old.  now she is 15 years and 7 months (we count months now..).  To say we've been through a lot together is an understatement.
The seizure definitely took a toll on her.  For the first 12 hours she was mostly blind and barely able to walk.  We took her to the evet b/c I needed something to calm her.  They gave me Xanax which has helped.  The next day she had regained sight and can walk relatively well. She is very unstable and her right side shows significant weakness.  She still has bouts of manic excitement but not like before Sunday.  The vet says her ataxia may improve if it was just a minor brain bleed..but if it was a tumor or something that didn't stop..it will only get worse.
So far she has remained the same.  And she reminds me of the Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.
She seems comfortable most of the time, exceptionally happy a lot of the time and knows who I am some of the time..
So now...I live every minute with her. 

Cali seems to want to spend time with her too..or maybe she was tired of all her attention and wanted to get in the middle..not sure which.

 What will I do....

Pouty face

We went to the Pet Expo on Saturday. I couldn't resist a quick post to show Cali's pouty face. 
 When we first arrived..bright eyed and relatively happy to be there.

 Just a few short hours later....squinty eyes, scrunched lips and not happy. This wasn't a 'photo caught in a bad moment. I have 10 of these..

 

Luckily, Shane and Dana are much happier about going places and appreciate being with me ;-)  They were up and meeting/greeting with the best of them. 

She is such a diva...but we do love the little Diva..