Rose Is Our Newest Foster & First Fredericksburg MnG

Rose (Erato) is our latest foster. She will be going to her new home in a week or so. She has a lot of energy and is very playful. She should be a great play partner for her new labrador brother. As you can see in the picture, she is quite a cutie.


Not so cute when she is eating. It’s all teeth and spit flying everywhere. You can see all the rice that is already outside of the bowl. Not to worry. Parker will clean up every last piece of rice. He is our little ‘Hoover’.


We had our first downtown Fredericksburg Meet ‘n Greet the other weekend. We always get a great turnout for this event. It really is just an excuse for the humans to get together to talk about how cute their dogs are. Because if we try to talk like that to someone who isn’t a member of the ‘greyhound cult’, you can see their eyes start to glaze over after a couple of minutes of talking about how your grey is so cute when she does this or that. If you look closely at this pic, you can pick out seven hounds. From L to R, the fawn is Allie, the dark brindle in the back is Milo, The brindle with the donation jacket is Goldie, my Jaime has her head resting on Goldie, Goldie’s brother Winston is next to her, you can see Lucas’ head next to Winston, and Stella on the right with Lucas’ butt on the far right. Quite the colorful bunch.


Joining us on the adjacent street corner were a group of college kids giving out ‘Free Hugs’. It’s an international movement that essentially just gives free hugs.



Some of the greys decided that getting petted wasn’t good enough. They wanted their free hugs. Kris took our kids over to receive theirs. Parker (behind Lucas) and Lucas get hugs with their mommy. Jaime is hugging her sister Stella. Stella and Jaime receive a hug from the college girl. Stella is looking back at me like, ‘Dad, are you serious?’ What is this movement you want me to be a part of? People shouldn’t be hugging me, they should be bowing to me. Jeez!

Bank of America Environmental Fair

We attended the Bank of America Environmental Fair in Richmond on Saturday. What a great weekend for it. The weather was absolutely beautiful. After the recent cold bout, this was much anticipated.

This is a group pic of some of the greys and Parker and Shiloh.


Ana was our donation dog. She is working the one-ear method here.


Shiloh and Parker discussing why all the doggie activities have to do with the greyhounds.

























The snake booth was right next to us. The greys didn’t really seem that interested. Except for Dana! She just wanted to get in one lick!







As the day wore on, we began to lose our shade. Except for Dante. Greyhounds make great shade.

























Lucas is a leaner. Jaime is a head-rester. Stella says, ‘ get her off my back, daddy!’
















Lucas is such a momma’s boy. If I’m holding the leash, he is always looking for his mommy. So it’s just easier if he’s with his mommy.

























At the Easter parade, a little girl just had to hug Jaime. At this Environmental Fair, a little girl just had to hug Stella!

My First Non-Grey Post In A While

I wasn’t even going to mention it, but I saw Trina’s blog entry, and felt like I was just side-stepping the issue. I guess it hits close to home. I am speaking of the tragedy at Virginia Tech this past Mon.

In a way, it’s a very local thing. But it’s a national obsession. I’m sure it’s even hit the international airwaves by now. It happened at Va. Tech. Both Kris and I attended Tech, though I graduated in the spring of ‘92 and Kris entered the fall of ‘92. The first two shootings were at West Ambler-Johnston dormitory (West A.J.). Both Kris and I lived in West A.J. during our respective times at Tech. I managed to live there the first year it was Co-Ed. Yeah! I guess what hits me closest to home is that he’s a native South Korean. I was born in South Korea, grew up in the States, faced bourgeois decadence, not religious, a bit anti-social at times, and attended Va. Tech. But, I managed to make it through, get a degree, a job, get married and be a daddy to a gaggle of furkids.

Appreciate everything you have, and every day you have to enjoy it.

It’s too bad that for most people, the name Va. Tech will be grouped with certain other names. Like Kent State, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City, Columbine... Hopefully the name Va. Tech will be able to grow beyond the association with this event.












"We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness ... We are the Hokies ..."
-- Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist

How Come You Never Told Us About This Airbed Thingy?

It was a cold rainy weekend, so we decided to pull out the airbed and camp out in front of the tv and work our way through the DVR. Stacking two king-size airbeds is close to the level of the couch, so the kids were switching between the couch and airbed depending on availability of space. Stella and Lucas have seen the airbed before and love it. I’m sure it’s gotta be cushier for them than the couch or even the pillow top human bed.

Jaime is trying to figure out what this thing is that has just taken over the family room.


It doesn’t take long before she quickly figures out why everyone else is on it.


She’s wondering if this comes in a greyhound-size version.

LuLu Visits & Stella Shares the Couch

We watched Lulu for a few days this past week. Her family took a spring vacation. They got back a day early because beach time is hardly worth it with this cold, windy, rainy weather we’ve been having. She was an absolute breeze to watch. She’s not nutty like all of my kids. She’s calm and demure. While my kids were barking at passersby and running around the yards with stuffies or sticks in their mouths, Lulu was upstairs on her dog bed taking a nap.


I tried to get a few shots of her, but no luck. She was afraid of my camera.








Trina has watched her before and said she is not afraid of cameras. Maybe it has something to do with sticking this big black object up to my head and the lens makes me look like cyclops. I couldn’t even get a clean shot if I laid the camera on the coffee table.


The autofocus takes 0.6s. That’s long enough for Lulu to become a blur.


Stella is the self-proclaimed ‘Queen of the Couch’. She has been known to ‘discourage’ a foster who gets too close to the couch. She doesn’t mind if any family members get on the couch with her. Now she knows Jaime is no longer a foster. But we’re still quite surprised that Stella not only shares the couch with Jaime, but actually allows full-on contact.


Jaime is a very touchy-feely girl when she lays down. Stella seems OK with it.

Kids Dress Up for Easter on Parade

The kids got all dressed up for the annual ‘Easter on Parade’. It has turned into quite the doggie event over the years. We had about 10 hounds show up. About 6 blocks of Monument Ave are blocked off. It took us about 2 hours to make the loop because every few steps we were stopped by people wanting to pet the hounds or take pictures. Kris even got a soundbite on the local news.

Lucas is dressed with his bunny ears with a few peeps on his back.


A group pic. How could you not want to pet the hounds.


We were being stopped every few steps for petting and pictures


Lucas, Dana, and Sara

























The hounds pose with the Easter bunny.













Lucas greets an Olde English Sheepdog.












The hounds are happy to meet the local Shakespeare group













Blue in his dapper hat with his sister Anna


















Tristan with his top hat, his sunflower sister Sara, and Dana wondering why she couldn’t just get a bonnet.



















Logan is tired and shows that greyhounds do indeed know how to sit.

























A cute shot of my two girls, Jaime and Stella

















Sara looking regal in her sunflower hat

























Dana still has her bunny ears on a couple of hours into the event

























A little girl squealed when she saw Jaime and just had to giver her a hug

























Jaime and Stella waiting in line to ride the ponies.

Freak April Snowstorm Makes the Kids Frisky!

It was in the 80’s earlier this week. Then we get this freak April snowstorm that left us with about 2-3 inches of snow. The kids absolutely love it. They got to get all frisky and play in the snow in the morning. And by afternoon, it was all melted. That’s my kinda snowstorm.

Stella knows I am taking a picture so she tries to look regal. Hard to do with snow on your nose and a bit of tongue hanging out.


Let the hunt begin. Stella has found her quarry. The elusive black greyhound


Lucas decides to join in on the hunt. Hey sis, can I help?


ATTACK!!! ATTACK!!! Jaime didn’t even flinch.


Hey, we just wanted to see what you were up to.


Parker decides to join in the fun.


By the time the greys are turning around at the bottom of the yard, Parker is only halfway there, so he has to cut his circuit short.


Lucas and Jaime taking a break.


Lucas has that I’m sorry I stalked Jaime look. Stella says Jaime was asking for it.


Stella asked to have her regal shot taken again, now that she got the snow off her nose and promised not to stick her tongue out.


Can’t you just see the little gears working in Lucas’ head? Should I stalk Stella and attack? Oh she’ll be so mad.


Stella stalks. She doesn’t like being stalked. She puts up her kangaroo defense posture.

Lucas fights back with his T-Rex stance that he learned from a kung fu master while at the track.



Since the snow was melting so fast, the kids decided to do some zoomies before going back in.