sarabz

So sorry - we were there 3 weeks ago ☹️

Aw, Petunia Bella had this happen a few months ago - scared the living daylights out of us but by the time the vet saw her, she was fine and same thing, complaining about the accommodations and service She had one more episode but luckily we knew what it was, and it didn't happen again.

I can't possibly write what Bella was to us - I wish I were more eloquent with words. She was our first grey. When we went to the adoption day (April 10, 2010), she leaned against us and made it clear we were her people. Bella embraced living in the middle of Manhattan for more than 3 years. She walked through Times Square and traveled on trains (we never tried the Ikea bag on the subway, although it was tempting). She rode in taxis and didn't turn a hair from the noise of either fireworks 2 blocks away on the Hudson River or fire trucks screaming down 42nd Street. She happily stayed with friends and at kennels, at family houses with terriers and Goldens - nothing phased her. The only thing she didn't like was not having the run of the apartment - she trained us pretty quickly. Far from needing frequent walks as she adapted to home life, by the end of the first week with us she couldn't be bothered to interrupt her naps to go for a midday walk. When we moved to the suburbs, she was happy here, too. She found many places where the sun came in the windows - she'd move around the house depending on the sunbeams. We placed beds on the back and front porches for her to enjoy, and she'd spend hours listening to the birds and enjoying being outside. To a point - she never, ever willingly lay down on just grass, she had to have a blanket, and the softer, the better. She adapted to car rides instead of train rides, of having completely different smells, and chasing squirrels instead of pigeons (one of which she caught in NYC, much to our surprise). She was a great snuggler - on HER terms only, however. When she was done getting pats and affection, she would walk away - or donkey kick us to make space for herself. She loved pillows - if she was on the sofa, her head was on a pillow, and occasionally we'd find her not only on our bed, but on our pillows. We knew she was slowing down and didn't want to be without a dog in the house, so we tried a wonderful big male. Turns out he hated being without people while we worked and he and Bella just never clicked. Our group was fantastic in rehoming him, and a while later we found Gracie. In April of 2017, we brought her home and although Bella made it seem as though she was tolerating Gracie only, we are convinced that she gave Bella a jolt of energy. Bella rarely allowed Gracie to share a bed or even the sofa, but where one went, the other followed. Over the past year we have been watching Bella slow down more and more. She could no longer manage the stairs to our bedroom so the girls slept on the main level. Then she couldn't hold her waste overnight and into the kitchen they went, with plastic liners on their beds. We became used to managing our schedule around making sure she could go out every 4 hours or so, getting her meds into her at consistent times and shortening walks to what she could physically manage, although she ALWAYS wanted to go further than her body could stand. Unfortunately, she developed a limp that didn't go away, and on Friday, February 7, we learned that she had osteosarcoma in her right shoulder. We opted to manage her pain for a few more days, to allow us to come to terms with her leaving us. Even on Tuesday, February 11 she was bounding around our back yard and leaping up our back stairs - by Thursday, I had to carry her up. It was time. She will always be in our hearts, and I know in the hearts of many of you here. To those of you who met her in person over the years or just through Greytalk, thank you for the open arms and friendship you have given us - it makes this time less lonely. One of these days I'll figure out how to insert photos without a link, but for now - just a few of the many thousands of photos over the years. 2012 - greyhound picnic She loved watermelon Running on the beach - we actually have this as a canvas print, it's hanging on my son's wall at his request. Snow Pretty girl, almost 15 Bounding up the stairs on February 11

Wow Annie!!! Thanks! It was hard for me to understand fully "the rest of the story" from older threads so I appreciate the update & glad she is doing well!!

Thanks all - I really, REALLY do not want this conversation to devolve and get into anything against the TOS - Mods, can you please close this thread?

I've found several threads on this which is great. Gracie has been limping, took her in yesterday for another look and a consult (which was suggested if it flared up/didn't stop with just Deramaxx - my phone now suggests Deramaxx as a word) and nothing is showing up other than some calcification on a tendon in her left shoulder. Deramaxx & gabapentin are being prescribed. Did any of you find great long-term success with 6 or 8 weeks of crate rest or did it not much matter other than in the immediate short term? She's just realized that she's able to go on long walks again after almost six months of Bella being too unstable to go far, and now this 😟 She was going a little nuts these last few weeks but is so much better mentally with longer walks.

Thanks!! This is all really interesting.

I reached out to our adoption group to ask when their big spring event will be held this year as my husband and I were thinking that might be a good time to think about adopting another greyhound. To my surprise, I was told I might not want to wait until then as no one was sure how long to expect dogs coming up from FL with tracks closing. I'd be curious to know whether your groups are giving similar messages, what groups might do when there are no more dogs coming from FL (e.g. become more of a general adoption group, close up shop, focus more on greyhounds/galgos from overseas?) Please don't get this thread locked with any pro/anti-racing comments. I'm truly curious about what's next for our adoption groups.

Please add Bella, KT Britta, to the list April 29, 2005 - February 13, 2020

Thank you so much for posting this. This really helped today.

😁

That makes my heart happy - I needed some happy this week.

I'm sorry to say that our beautiful Bella has joined the osteo club. She would have been 15 in April so we are going with quality of life and palliative care but looking at days, maybe weeks. No consult with Dr. Couto necessary as the impacted areas were obvious to me on the images. In the meantime, after today's diagnoses, she got a cheeseburger from Micky D's which made her happy.

The first grey my husband and I met in real life was 105 lbs. He was right off the track. DH thought i was insane for suggesting we have a greyhound in our tiny Manhattan apartment if that's how big they were. At that same meet and greet was a 46 pound female, plus every size in between, luckily.

Cathy and Calvin, thank you so much!! So much fun - the girls keep stealing the bed where the new fuzzy, Calvin-approved blanket is laying I LOVE Lindt, and I LOVE fuzzy socks - great excuse to get rid of some of my old ones. Bella LOVES the treats. A proper thank you is in the mail but wanted to make sure you knew we appreciate your package! Happy New Year!

I bought these a few years ago and they are great!!

I'm so sorry.

I've mailed and received 😁

The banner is creepier than the day!!

Now THIS black Friday I can enjoy! ♥️

You soooo just jinxed yourself 😄

Exactly 😄 She's doing exceptionally well, she's pretty amazing.

🤣🤣🤣 She's doing great - had a good dinner, went for a brief walk and is snuggled up with me on the sofa.

She's out of surgery, waking up and doing fine. I'll pick her up this evening.