Sunday, April 26, 2015

Bully Stick Sunday

 We went to Greyhounds in Gettysburg this weekend.  I try to buy the kids some bully sticks while I'm there. 
Everyone loves bully stick Sunday.  Roxi is in the back..I need to buy light beds...haha
 Even the old lady enjoys a bit of chewing. 
 Let's be clear..Roxi gets a 12 inch Bully Stick. The greyhounds get 6 inch bully sticks.  Once she completed her 12 inch Bully Stick...the greyhounds had barely made one end soft.  So I gave her a new shin bone, a new nylabone and a new antler.  But still...this is what happened.

Pitiful. 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

It's a good day

Cody's leg has healed completely.  What an ordeal..but very happy it finally healed.
Cali is doing great on Chemotherapy! Everything is normal and she is happy and playful.
This isn't a great photo but it captures her personality..she was squeaking the toy.
And yesterday, we celebrated the marriage of some amazing people! The president of the adoption group I volunteer with got married!  It was an awesome day!
All the JRG volunteers in attendance got together for a group shot.
Love my greyhound family!!!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Cats...

It is a well known fact in the greyhound community that greyhounds are not 'cat friendly' outdoors. You can't blame or change years of evolution and training.  it is something we cover extensively during home visits and adoptions.
I wouldn't call Cody cat tolerant indoors..
I just wish someone would have told this to my neighbor's cat.
Last Sunday night, during bedtime potty..the worst happened.  My neighbor's cat had, stupidly, wandered in to my yard unbeknownst to me.  The backyard light apparently didn't scare her off either.
So needless to say..Cody won that fight.
But he did not come out unscathed.
The kitty managed to bite him in the ankle.  I had thought it was just a few scratches that night..but by the next morning. Things had gotten very very bad.  We took him to our vet and it was not broken but badly infected (less than 24 hours!).  But after 24 hours of antibiotics..it was worse.  So we rushed him to the emergency specialty vet.  They shaved it, scrubbed it, lanced it and put him on HIGH power antibiotics.
 After a 5 days, we had improvement but he was still not putting weight at all on it and it was nasty..to say the least.  A 3rd visit to the vet and we started a topical antibiotic and higher caliber pain meds.
 You can see above that he just rested it on his toes..zero weight.
The high dose pain meds seem to have helped.  yesterday (day 6) he started putting weight on it every 3rd or 4th step.  Which is a huge improvement. But even though he wants to play, he just stands on three legs and enjoys the weather.
 Vitamin D will help.
Luckily, my neighbors were super understanding and, though upset, didn't blame us and knew we had done everything we could.  In the end, it was a poor decision by the cat and everyone feels horrible. But never underestimate the power of a 'minor' cat bite..they are notoriously bacteria ridden and difficult to treat.  I'm hoping Cody will be full weight bearing within a few days.  But on day 7, we still have a ways to go.

Rest in Peace, Spongebob.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Birmingham

The adoption group I volunteer for, James River Greyhounds, receives their greyhounds from Birmingham Adoption and Rescue Center located in the Birmingham Race Track (Alabama for those not in the US).  So we gathered a few volunteers and drove the 11 hours to the track to volunteer at the kennel, watch the races and pick out a few dogs.
For two days, the kennels workers enjoyed some time off while we scrubbed kennels, cleaned carpets and picked up poo..glamorous, right?  But we loved it!!
 B/c we had the most appreciative clients ever!!
 The adoption kennel is in the racing compound so set up exactly the same and you can see racing kennels in the background.
 We actually got to go to a racing kennel when the owner had some dogs to retire. so we literally walked them down the road to retirement.
 We also tagged 12 dogs for JRG that will arrive on April 17th. 
 We enjoyed picking them out and playing with them in the process
 Poppy was my favorite..I do not need a 5th so she is coming to JRG and going to a new home. But she was super cute.
 We also hit the track for Friday night races and Saturday matinee races. 
We did bring ONE back with us.  Sassy was found running the streets of Birmingham and brought to the adoption kennel. She had essentially been abandoned. We knew that she KNEW what a couch was and couldn't be happy in the kennel environment.  So we took her and brought her back with us.  We are working on her forever home.  But for now, she is happily on my couch.
It was a long trip and we were tired and stinky when we got home..but it was worth it!