Annette

Jeff and Trudy I am so sorry to hear about Ryan. He will always be just a memory away Annette

So sorry. Annette

We haven't done anything with Scarlett, Rhett or Taffy's (kitty) ashes. Scarlett's tin/urn is still in the box that the Dover, DE emergency vet mailed her in. They are all in a closet. We have an area that we are going to turn into a memorial garden for all our fur kids. So far only Garfield is buried there (she died in summer so we could dig her a grave and didn't have her cremated). One of the local fruit orchards (pick your own) has apples called "Scarlet Suprise", I am going to find out where I can purchase a tree and plant it in the memorial garden. Maybe then we will be able to open the ashes. I want to save just a little to put in a pendant for each "fur" and bury the rest. Annette

Roy and I want to thank everyone for the kind thoughts and notes. Annette

Just over 19 1/2 years ago there were three kitties living under my parents porch after a neighbor left behind a pregnant kitty. The mom was hit by a car leaving these three to fend for themselves. One kitty went to live with someone my mom knew, one kitty came to live with us - Taffy, who died 2 years ago and the third stayed with my parents. When my mom died just over 10 years ago, Garfield (a girl, don't let the name fool you), came to live with us. Taffy and Garfield seemed to instantly recognize each other. Neither Roy or I remember any real cat fights between the sisters. When Garfield lived with my parents, she was a very shy little girl and anyone visiting was lucky to catch a glimpse of her. When she came to live with us, she almost magically came out of her shell. We don't know exactly why she changed after coming to us, maybe it was the quieter house; maybe it was the fact that she had lived alone for almost a month while my mom was shipped from hospital to hospital to nursing home and was relieved to have human contact again; maybe she knew there was something wrong with my mom before anyone else knew about it and was relieved to be in a different environment. We will never know. Lately, Garfield had boughts of pancreatitus and developed high blood pressure. After Anne did an ultrasound, she determined there was a tumor on her pancreas and most likely it was cancer. We weren't going to put such an old kitty through surgery. She took her pills well, only on occasion would she bite us when we gave her high blood pressure medicine and prednisone. She was such a laid back little kitty. When she came to live with us, she weighed almost 13 pounds; we got her down to a healthy weight of around 8 - 10 pounds (depending how much cheese she could get her dad to feed her ). Recently, she lost more weight even though she ate well because of the prednisone. She also appeared to sometimes be in pain after eating. She also seemed to be developing kidney problems by the amount of water she was drinking. When we took her to the vet yesterday, she weighed less than 5 pounds. Garfield is now with her sister Taffy and her first human mom. Garfield, October 1988 - May 17, 2008 Annette, Roy, Dixie and Lefty

Our sweet boy Rhett Butler (aka Kiowa Day Juice), just 6 days past his 14th birthday. 12/22/93 - 12/28/07 Annette

I am sorry that I didn't post sooner. When I posted about us losing our Rhett, I forgot that my email address associated with my account didn't exist anymore so I couldn't post again. We are finally connected to the internet again. Our satellite tv is being installed as I write this message. I want to thank everyone for the kind thoughts and condolences. Dixie is doing well, but she misses her big brother. Even our boss kitty, Lefty, has mellowed enough since Rhett's death that Dixie isn't really afraid of her anymore. Rhett's already "channeled" through his sister. Last Saturday, when it was -22 when we got up in the morning, she decided to sample some kitty snacks in the litter box. This was one of Rhett's favorite pass times. Well anyone here who has kitties and puppies knows what sometimes happens after the pups injest these morsels. Needless to say, I was out quite a bit with Dixie since we do not have a fenced in yard yet. Our driveway is 4 electric poles long, and Dixie had to walk the entire lenght of the driveway before she found the right spot. We didn't get above -10 last Saturday. I am looking forward to a fenced yard this Spring! Annette, Roy, Dixie, Lefty and Garfield

We just celebrated his birthday. He turned 14. He was weak and no longer happy. I will write more when we get internet service at the house. Rhett (Kiowa Day Juice) Butler, Sir Barks a Lot 12/22/93 - 12/28/07 Annette, Roy, Dixie, Lefty and Garfield Rhett and Scarlett together again

I am so sorry. Just remember, Brandy is just a memory away. Annette

Annette

Annette

Scarlett, it’s been two years now. We miss you a whole lot. Especially your dad. Your brother Rhett is showing his age. He’s pretty weak in his back end, but he is still happy and goofy. I spoke with your aunt today, she wonders if Rhett would ride in a doggy wheel chair. You and I know he isn’t about to do that. He’s a tough guy . Dixie is slowly coming out of her shell. Do you remember how shy and afraid you were when we adopted you? Dixie is much shyer than you were. She has started to curl up in your chair. I am sure you are happy she is using it. I wish you could let her know that she doesn’t have to be afraid. She’ll come around just like you did. Ollie, Hobo and Taffy are no longer with us. Your grandparents adopted Ralphy from the humane society. He and Dixie get along real well. You see, Ralphy is even shyer than Dixie and I think they share a connection in their fears. We’re finally moving to the farm. Don’t worry, you and Taffy will be coming with us. Your dad is finally gonna do what he’s wanted to do for a long, long time. He was accepted into the police academy. What do you think? Can you picture your dad as a cop? I am going to be the main “biscuit-winner” till your dad finds a job after graduation. I see I need to educate the folks I work with about Greyhounds. You think people in Wisconsin would know something about the breed after having a total of five tracks. Sheesh! Guess what? You finally made THE CALENDAR! Your are the November calendar girl. You and Rhett were the September calendar couple in the Texas Greyhound Adoption calendar. I think I will go back to Dewey one more time. Don’t worry, your brother and sister will not board an elevator. I’ll see if I can share a condo with someone. Your dad will not go to Dewey, it’s just too hard for him. He is going to Delaware next month. Hopefully he can get some closure. I better close this letter now. Love, Mom

Scarlett is also the November calendar girl for Celebrating Greyhounds Annette

My husband and I are trying to move to the "Nortwoods" in Wisconsin. We absolutely hate the Chicago Suburbs. The only saving grace we have there is when we run out to the MGA kennel where we can hang out with our own Greyhound kind. I am actually in a temporary position in Marshfield, Wisconsin hoping that having a local address and phone number will help in finding a job up here. These country towns are skeptical of outsiders even though I have more relatives in the area than most the people I interview with. My dad was one of 12 kids and my mom one of 13 kids and they all grew up in the area we are trying to move to. Hopefully something will happen soon because being apart from the dh and fur kids is hard when we only see each other on weekends. In the next weekend or two we will also have to buy a new computer (hopefully one without a Vista operating system) because the one in Illinois crashed. I see I will be re-creating a lot of stuff if all the info can't be pulled off the hard drive Annette

I flipped my calendar to August today and there smiling back at me with her ears straight up was Miss Scarlett. She looked so happy posing with her brother Rhett on the beach. She was so excited to be on the beach. Her picture was taken the day before she was killed. doG I miss that girl. Sometimes I swear she is "channelling" through Dixie with the mannerisms she has. It's hard to believe it is coming up on 2 years. Annette

I answered as unsure. I have lost three pups suddenly: My childhood toy poodle, Tinker, who came into our family's lives when I was 3 years old. We grew up together. I am pretty sure she had parvo. She died next to me in the back seat of the family car on the way to the vet. Tinker was 13 years old. Our (Roy and I) first Greyhound, Wheat. He came into our lives before anyone really was adopting greyhounds as pets. He was retired not only from racing, but also from being a blood donor at Colorado State University. We didn't know how strong they were and they made special collars just for sight hounds. Wheat was hit by a car. He was only 4 years old. I don't think either Tinker or Wheat suffered much before they died. If I have to lose a family member suddenly, I truly hope there is little or no suffering. I don't think I could survive if I would have to witness another "child" die a horrible death. I know Scarlett suffered. I saw the fear in her eyes when if first started happening. I don't know who was screaming louder, her or me. It probably was over in less than a minute, but it felt like forever. I felt relief when her body finally stopped convulsing and then horrible grief when the blood poured out of her mouth because I knew she was dead. With our other "kids" we knew the time was coming. Icabod, our second greyhound and also a retired blood donor, had a tumor rupture on his spleen. He had hemangiosarcoma. He survived eleven months post surgery (with the aid of chemo). We were told probably less than 3 months, but as much as 6 months. Icabod had the opportunity to play and run around in that amount of time. A week before we had him put down, he started showing signs of pain. We rushed him to Urbana and the vet confirmed the cancer had spread to his spine. Our local vet came to the house and put him to sleep. He was 11 years old. Spooky was a black tomcat Roy adopted when he got his first job out of college. He became my son when we moved in together. Talk about not approving another person in his life and his dad's life. Spooky wouldn't give me the time of day when I first moved in. I was trespassing in his territory. He eventually became my chest weight at bed time. He would climb on me and lay his chin on my chin. He was such a sweetie. Icabod and Spooky were the best of buds. They never cuddled, but they played with each other. When the vet came to the house to put Icabod to sleep, Spooky seemed to be watching in disbelief. When Roy and the vet carried Icabod out on his blanket to his grave, Spooky ran to the window and let out the most haunting and pathetic scream I ever heard come out of a cat. Spooky always seemed to have a breathing problem. Eventually we took him to the emergency clinic. The vet there couldn't make a proper prognosis, but he suspected throat cancer. Spooky died at the vet's office in an "oxygen tent". We think he was 13 or 14 years old. Taffy was our first girl kitty. She was why we had to get married . She was born under my parent's porch not long before we got married. Some people moved out of the neighborhood and left behind a pregnant cat. Taffy was a "scaredy cat". She was afraid of us a good part of the time. Spooky actually tried to kill her when we brought her home. He would grab her by the neck and shake. Because of that, we had to keep her separated from the rest of the family until she got bigger and could defend herself. Unfortunately, that is probably the biggest reason she was a spook. Taffy was getting old. She had diabetes and other health issues. We tried treating her ailments, but she would then just hide for days and not eat. We couldn't let her live that way, so we discontinued all her treatment and let her live out her life on her terms. She eventually went blind. A couple weeks after that happened she had a stroke, and that is when we had her put to sleep. Taffy was 17 1/2 years old. Now we are trying to mentally prepare ourselves for losing our two oldest kids. Rhett is 13 1/2 years old. He has LP and LS. He has his good days and bad. As long as he acts like the "light isn't on in the attic", we know he is still happy. And believe me, the light hasn't come on yet . I do believe Rhett aged a lot that night on the elevator. I think he sometimes wishes Dixie was Scarlett. We also have Garfield, who is a littermate to Taffy. Garfield came to live with us when my mom suddenly died in 1998. She has always been part of the family. Garfield started out as my "sister" and now is my little girl. She is approaching the age of 19 and is in relatively good health for a kitty that old. She gets pills for highblood pressure and I am sure her kidneys are aging. Garfield spends her days and nights mostly sleeping on our bed. She is the one kitty that can out sleep a Greyhound . I hate playing the "waiting game". All you can do is love your "kids", give them all that they need because they give back ten fold, and keep them happy. When they are gone, you just have to remember they are just a memory away. And sometimes you may have to grab at the happy memories when you lose them suddenly. Annette

Deanna, I am so sorry to hear about Frazzle. He and Scarlett are talking about their wagon adventures and how special they felt because of their special "rides". Remember, Frazzle is just a memory away. Annette

I am so sorrry :grouphug Annette

f_yellow I am so sorry. Just remember, she is just a memory away. Annette

We didn't know Scarlett's exact birthdate. We just know she was born February 1993. We weren’t planning on adopting you. I was still in school. We were going to wait just a few more months before considering adopting another son or daughter. Chance stepped in. Your dad found a Greyhound wandering the streets. He had no problem coaxing him into the back of the car and brought him home. I called around to the area adoption groups. Your dad found the hound’s parents while I was still making calls. I was talking about your brother Icabod (who you never knew) to the man who had you. He told me that he just got back a sweet little girl. She was shy and lived in a bad situation. I told him no, we weren’t ready to adopt. I only had a few weeks left of school. A week later I called back, “can we come and meet her?” Next thing we knew, you were climbing into the back of the car. We were not prepared for a new hound child. There was no dog food or dog beds anymore at home. On the way home we stopped and picked up food and treats for you. I couldn’t help but wonder what you were thinking when we took you home that day. I was sure you understood what we were talking about and we had no food for you. You had to be confused. And to top it off, you were riding in a car made by a company that had been out of business for 9 years. Could you possibly trust riding in a dinosaur? You made it home with us in that old dinosaur. We adopted you not knowing if you were kitty safe, so on went the muzzle when you met the kitties. Spooky who was afraid of no dog was afraid of you in your muzzle. He soon learned otherwise. Then there was Lefty. You weren’t afraid of her, you were just nervous over the entire chain of events. You just wanted her off your bed. As time went on, you and Lefty came to an understanding. You were Alpha over everyone and Lefty was also alpha over everyone but you. Taffy was a shy little girl and you got to know her over the years. You were also very shy. You were even afraid of your dad, grandpa and men in general. Also, if something looked like a stick, smelled like a stick, it was a stick, even if it was a soda bottle or a rolled up newspaper. Just the sight sent you running to hide. We took you out and about to help you get over your fears. Some friends were members of the Harley Owner’s Group and were part of an event called the “Mayor’s Ride” that originated in one of the 4-H barns at the fair grounds. It was a fundraiser for the local humane society. They wanted us to come with all our Greyhound friends to show all these people how wonderful you were. There were going to be hundreds of Harleys in the barn before the ride and our friend Mary said not to come too early before all the bikes were there because the rumble would surely scare you. Being only human, we got there early (something unusual for us!) and you just shook at the sight and sounds of the bikes outside the barn. We were so sorry and upset. We were ready to take you back home. Then along came Pharaoh, a tall, handsome fawn colored boy. He was your knight in shining armor; you stuck to him like glue for the rest of the day. The event lasted until 4:00pm. That was a long time for you and your Greyhound friends. We were going to leave at 1:00pm, and the rest of the hounds did. You were just getting into the show by then, so we stayed for the duration. You turned into a perfect ambassador, batting your eyes at the “big, tough Harley Dudes” so they would pet you. At the end of the day when the bikers were leaving, you didn’t shake a bit. You didn’t even budge when the bikes passed in what seemed like inches from your nose. You just slept. As time passed, you became the Alpha Queen that we loved. When we babysat for two friends (a black lab and cocker spaniel), you let it be known that you were the queen of your castle. They were not allowed on any furniture. The lab was to overweight to even jump on the couch, but the cocker spaniel so wanted to sleep on the furniture. You eventually gave in, letting her have just one chair to sleep on. You were confident with your authority over other dogs. Why, you even sent a German Shepherd running with his tail between his legs when he got to fresh with you. Even your cousin Ollie, who is alpha over all that enter his castle, had to bow down to you. On that Thanksgiving Thursday, you took his easy chair and ignored his pleas to move. Ollie begged all the humans to have you move, but we didn’t. Ollie was knocked down a peg by you. You were a sweet and wonderful girl who liked to run in a star pattern. Not an oval or a figure eight. You wanted to be different than the others and you were. You were ours. Scarlett Mattson, Princess of Whine, OBH February 1993 – October 8, 2005

We are so sorry. Just remember, Pammy is just a memory away. Annette, Roy, Rhett, Dixie

That's her title from the Greyhounds Reach the Beach board. Scarlett, Princess of Whine, OBH - Order of the Brave Heart, for her battle with cancer. Annette

We weren’t planning on adopting you. I was still in school. We were going to wait just a few more months before considering adopting another son or daughter. Chance stepped in. Your dad found a Greyhound wandering the streets. He had no problem coaxing him into the back of the car and brought him home. I called around to the area adoption groups. Your dad found the hound’s parents while I was still making calls. I was talking about your brother Icabod (who you never knew) to the man who had you. He told me that he just got back a sweet little girl. She was shy and lived in a bad situation. I told him no, we weren’t ready to adopt. I only had a few weeks left of school. A week later I called back, “can we come and meet her?” Next thing we knew, you were climbing into the back of the car. We were not prepared for a new hound child. There was no dog food or dog beds anymore at home. On the way home we stopped and picked up food and treats for you. I couldn’t help but wonder what you were thinking when we took you home that day. I was sure you understood what we were talking about and we had no food for you. You had to be confused. And to top it off, you were riding in a car made by a company that had been out of business for 9 years. Could you possibly trust riding in a dinosaur? You made it home with us in that old dinosaur. We adopted you not knowing if you were kitty safe, so on went the muzzle when you met the kitties. Spooky who was afraid of no dog was afraid of you in your muzzle. He soon learned otherwise. Then there was Lefty. You weren’t afraid of her, you were just nervous over the entire chain of events. You just wanted her off your bed. As time went on, you and Lefty came to an understanding. You were Alpha over everyone and Lefty was also alpha over everyone but you. Taffy was a shy little girl and you got to know her over the years. You were also very shy. You were even afraid of your dad, grandpa and men in general. Also, if something looked like a stick, smelled like a stick, it was a stick, even if it was a soda bottle or a rolled up newspaper. Just the sight sent you running to hide. We took you out and about to help you get over your fears. Some friends were members of the Harley Owner’s Group and were part of an event called the “Mayor’s Ride” that originated in one of the 4-H barns at the fair grounds. It was a fundraiser for the local humane society. They wanted us to come with all our Greyhound friends to show all these people how wonderful you were. There were going to be hundreds of Harleys in the barn before the ride and our friend Mary said not to come too early before all the bikes were there because the rumble would surely scare you. Being only human, we got there early (something unusual for us!) and you just shook at the sight and sounds of the bikes outside the barn. We were so sorry and upset. We were ready to take you back home. Then along came Pharaoh, a tall, handsome fawn colored boy. He was your knight in shining armor; you stuck to him like glue for the rest of the day. The event lasted until 4:00pm. That was a long time for you and your Greyhound friends. We were going to leave at 1:00pm, and the rest of the hounds did. You were just getting into the show by then, so we stayed for the duration. You turned into a perfect ambassador, batting your eyes at the “big, tough Harley Dudes” so they would pet you. At the end of the day when the bikers were leaving, you didn’t shake a bit. You didn’t even budge when the bikes passed in what seemed like inches from your nose. You just slept. As time passed, you became the Alpha Queen that we loved. When we babysat for two friends (a black lab and cocker spaniel), you let it be known that you were the queen of your castle. They were not allowed on any furniture. The lab was to overweight to even jump on the couch, but the cocker spaniel so wanted to sleep on the furniture. You eventually gave in, letting her have just one chair to sleep on. You were confident with your authority over other dogs. Why, you even sent a German Shepherd running with his tail between his legs when he got to fresh with you. Even your cousin Ollie, who is alpha over all that enter his castle, had to bow down to you. On that Thanksgiving Thursday, you took his easy chair and ignored his pleas to move. Ollie begged all the humans to have you move, but we didn’t. Ollie was knocked down a peg by you. You were a sweet and wonderful girl who liked to run in a star pattern. Not an oval or a figure eight. You wanted to be different than the others. You were and you were ours. Scarlett Mattson, Princess of Whine, OBH February 1993 – October 8, 2005

Dixie has a lump on her shoulder. Vet aspirated the lump, he doesn't think it is cancer, he think she has an infection. The aspirate was sent off to the lab. We are hoping it's only an infection Rhett has multiple ongoing problems. He had depo-medrol shots for Lumbosacral Stenosis but they don't seem to have helped. We think the vet got the needle where it needed to be. Roy doesn't think he really is in pain, but we picked up some of the pain pills mentioned in Dr. Stack's article on LS. We will try those for a few days. At lunch time at work I started checking out this board and now I am wondering if he might have Degenerative Myelopathy. In addition to his back problems, Rhett also has Larangeal Paralysis so we are trying to keep him calm, cool and collected. This is hard because his brain has not caught up with his body. He will be 13 in less than 4 months but he still thinks that he is 2 Annette

Roy and I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers for our Taffy girl. It is greatly appreciated. Annette and Roy