Tyler-Ryder-Brady

        We’ve been calling Tyler, Tyler-Ryder and Ryder to get him used to his new name. His new family thought it over during the Thanksgiving Holiday and decided that no one really liked that name. So now we’re calling him Tyler-Brady and Brady to get him used to the new name. Our first grey was named Carol’s Wheel. She didn’t really look like a Carol, so we tried out a few names and decided on Stella. We kept Lucas/Luke for Roar Lucas. Hard to pick out a name with just a description or picture. Luckily, they usually don’t know their names. So Brady it is. I’m sure with four kids in his forever family calling him Brady while giving him hugs, he’ll quickly catch on.

        This shot is of our muzzle and key holder to our back door. We bought it at a cute little shop in Wilmington, NC. Over Thanksgiving, we watched Merit (Minnie) and Vesta (Kay) whom we had fostered just a few weeks ago. So they had no problems spending the night here. That made six greys and Parker. We hang the muzzles here for easy access. They also don’t fit on the leash rack because it is full. And their coat/collar rack is also full. Also, if we go near the leash/coat/collar racks to take anything off, it gets our guys excited because they think they are going somewhere.
        Kris washed all their stuffie toys last night. Some didn’t make the cut. Ones with no stuffy left or with too many amputated limbs that couldn’t be sewed back on were thrown away. The others were run through the wash on gentle cycle. We went over the other night to see Kris’ sister’s new house. Kendall is just over two years old and had toys all over the place. I was thinking how many toys she had laying around and in baskets. Then I come home to a family room covered with dog beds and stuffie toys. Two baskets in the corners filled with more toys in case they get bored with the ones already strewn all over the floor.

Tyler becomes Ryder

        I’m Tyler, and I’m only here till the end of the week. Then I will go to my forever home. I woke up in Florida, then they put in me in the dog hauler and I went to sleep and woke up in North Carolina. Then I slept in the back of an SUV and woke up in Richmond for a pee break. Then back again another hour to Fredericksburg. All the other dogs were taken by their new families here. Only I was left. They said my family had just had their home visit that morning. That’s ok. I just wanted to eat and take a nap.

        As you can see, I’m practicing being retired. The first day I stayed in my crate a lot. Since then, I’ve learned many things from the Park kids. It helps that I’m a quick learner. My new favorite is when I am outside, and I hear the squirrel call. I run up the deck steps, go through the doggie door, and someone is waiting with chicken jerky for me. This place must be one of them bed and breakfast places. I hope my new family’s house is a bed and breakfast too. I like my name, but my new family already has a child named Tyler. To avoid any confusion about me getting blamed for something the skin kid does, they are going to call me Ryder.

        Since I hadn’t seen much while I was in Florida, they decided to take me for a walk downtown. Kennel, track, kennel, track...... Kinda gets boring. Downtown Fredericksburg was much more exciting. It had lots of new stuff for me to see. In this pic, it’s (l to r) Parker, Lucas, Shirley, me, and Stella. Kinda chilly so we all had our coats on. Lots of people stopped and told me how handsome I am. I could get used to this. I even stopped to smell the flowers (then pee on them). The weirdest thing I saw was these huge dogs that I didn’t recognize. My humans said they were horses. I just stared in amazement. All this writing makes me tired. Nap time.

Birthday Dog Haul

        What does a VAGA volunteer do for his 36th birthday? A dog haul of course. Eleven greys made it up to Virginia from Florida this past weekend. Nothing like getting up at 4am to drive for hours to meet the dog hauler. I don’t even get up that early for work :) We had a three vehicle convoy. Dropped off four in Richmond at Trina’s and then five went to Fredericksburg, then the final two went to Northern Virginia.

        Luckily, every grey had a forever home to go to. So no long-term fosters. We will be fostering Gemstone Tyler for a week until after Thanksgiving till he goes to his forever home. The pic of the ears is Tyler. Just wanted to see what a view from his angle looked like. He was like a kick in the pants for our long-term foster Shirley. She’s been reluctant to use the doggie door. But when Tyler started to figure it out after a few minutes, all of sudden, she could use it. Guess she didn’t want to be shown up by a grey fresh off the track. Within a day, he’s doing stairs, the doggie door, roaching on a dog bed, and playing with toys.

        The other pic is of Cyanide Billy and Cyanide Andy. They are semi-celebrities. They were in the winter 2005 issue of Celebrating Greyhounds magazine for saving their family. A little background. After hurricane damage, their family was using a generator for power. Carbon monoxide was leaking into the house. Billy and Andy woke up the family and they were able to get out safely. So how are they repaid for saving the lives of the family. They were dumped at a dog sitter’s house when the family supposedly left to go on vacation, but left for good and never came back to pick them up. So now they are in their true forever home here in Virginia. They are with a retired couple with a track record of helping special seniors.

Life before the Greys

Was there life before the greyhounds? Let’s just ask Parker and the kitties. The pic shows Parker, Isabel (tortoise), Greyson (gray), and Noah (orange tabby). Parker didn’t mind sharing the bed with the kitties. No one was a bed hog, so everyone fit on the bed nicely. Now Noah, the Crabby Cat, is the only one who really ventures up from the basement these days. The other two are too scared of the greys. Mainly foster greys. They have gotten used to Stella and Lucas, but since we have fosters in and out all the time, they spend most of their time in the basement where they can sleep in peace. Since this pic was taken, we have upgraded to a king-size bed, and though Parker curls up in a little dog ball, Stella and Lucas are all leg. So finding space on the bed can be tricky.

Hide 'n Seek with Hercules

        We lost two fosters and gained one over the weekend. Kay and Minnie went to their forever home on Saturday. They worked well together, so I was glad to see them go to the same home. Such sweet girls. Wish all fosters were so easy. While Kris was adopting out Kay and Minnie, I was picking up Hercules Spirit. I had seen him race when I was down in Orlando a few months back. He was racing at close to 90 lbs. He got his butt handed to him by a 55 lb girl during that race. Little did I know that he would be in my house a few months later.


        Here he is playing hide and seek with me. First he tried to hide in the euonymous bush, but he was too easy to spot. So he decided to hide in plain site. With all the leaves changing color, he just kind of blends in.
        He is a real sweetheart. Both Kris and I have a thing for the big goofy boys. That’s what we were looking for when Lucas came along. With all the fosters we’ve had since then, Hercules is only our second one that fits that description. He’s as tall and long as Lucas, but he still needs to put on a few pounds. He will easily be 90+ lbs at his couch potato weight. There are some fosters that just make you want to chip. Hercules is one of them. He is such neat dog. Gets along with everyone, is a quick learner, and just fits in pretty well. The rational side says let him go, but my heart wants him to stay, or at least be a long-term foster. This afternoon, we introduced him to a family that just lost their Dobie and are looking for a playmate for their alpha grey girl. Hercules fit in very well there, and enjoyed having the kids love on him. We will be dropping him off there on Fri. Easy come easy go.